1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,319 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Be there 2 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeartRadio. And how the tech 4 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: are you? As you might be able to tell, I'm 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 1: under the weather. Like I thought when I was on 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: that work trip, I was starting to get sick, and 7 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: I was hopeful that it was nothing more than maybe 8 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: some congestion or whatever. But no, despite all the wearing 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: of masks and hand washing and all that stuff, I 10 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: still got COVID. It's no joke, y'all. Do your best 11 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: to protect yourself when you're out there. I know that 12 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: it can seem lame to wear a mask this long 13 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: after the pandemic, but it can make a difference. Like 14 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: my case is not as bad as it could be. 15 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: My guess is that wearing the mask helped at least 16 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: a little bit. I didn't wear the mask the whole 17 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: time because I had to participate in some events and 18 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: do some recordings and stuff, So it's entirely possible it 19 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: was during one of those instances where I contracted it. 20 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: But yeah, I've been spending the last several days isolated 21 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: in my office at home because fortunately my partner does 22 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: not have it. So anyway, all that's just to say, 23 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: I love y'all and I want you to be safe. 24 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: So be careful out there, to your best, to just 25 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: you know, take care of yourself. I know not everyone 26 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: wants to wear a mask, and I get it, but 27 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: I want you to be around for a while, whether 28 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: you're listening to my show or not, I want you 29 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: to be around, So just be careful. But enough of 30 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,759 Speaker 1: all that sappy stuff. Last Wednesday, although now it feels 31 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: like that was an eternity ago, I published an episode 32 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: about the ig Nobel Prize, So this joke set of 33 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: awards is a spoof of the more prestigious Nobel Prize, that, 34 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: of course was established from the wealth of a dynamite 35 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: gap named Alfred Nobel, the guy who invented dynamite. Perhaps 36 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: no Bell wanted his legacy to be more associated with 37 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: celebrating human achievement rather than blowing stuff up, you know, 38 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: like the Fast and Furious franchise, because that's all about family, 39 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: or at least that's what I'm told. I haven't seen them. Anyway, 40 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,519 Speaker 1: The Ignobel Prizes grew out of one satirical science journal 41 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: called the Journal of Irreproducible Results, and then later migrated 42 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: to a second satirical science journal called the Annals of 43 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: Improbable Research. Mark Abrahams, who at different times helmed each 44 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: of those publications, serves as the Master of Ceremonies. He's 45 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: also been called the Commander of Comedy, and Abrahams likes 46 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: to reference the prizes as something that first makes you laugh, 47 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: then it makes you think. Now. Some Ignobel Prize winners 48 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: received the award for seemingly spending a great deal of 49 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: time and effort studying something that, at least on the surface, 50 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: does sound like it matters that much like why would 51 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: you even bother looking into that? Others can sometimes receive 52 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: the award as a kind of raz from the scientific community, 53 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: kind of like almost like a for shame kind of thing. 54 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: For example, the former US Vice President Dan Quayle received 55 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,959 Speaker 1: the nineteen ninety one ig Nobel for Education because he 56 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: demonstrated quote the need for science education end quote. That 57 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: was just a snarky way of saying dan Quayle's own 58 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: command of science was somewhat lacking. But anyway, in that 59 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: last episode, I left off at two thousand and five. However, 60 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: I wanted to talk about a few more winners who 61 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: received an ig Nobel Prize for stuff that relates to tech, 62 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: because obviously not all the prizes do. In fact, most 63 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: of them don't. They do all relate around things like 64 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: science and peace and literature, kind of a reflection of 65 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: the real Nobel Prizes, but in a very cheeky, tongue 66 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: in cheek kind of way. Now, one of the ones 67 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: I want to mention next. It requires me to go 68 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: back a bit, because, like I said, I left off 69 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: around two thousand and five in the last one, but 70 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: there's one where I need to go back to two 71 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: thousand because the person that I really didn't mention. I 72 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: think I briefly gave a nod toward this person, but 73 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: I don't think they even named him was Andre Geiin, 74 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: who with Sir Michael Barry, earned the Ignobel Prize for 75 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: Physics back in two thousand. But what garnered them such 76 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: an honor, Well, it was for a scientific experiment that 77 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: involved the use of magnets to levitate frogs. And while 78 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: that description is technically true and accurate, it doesn't tell 79 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:46,919 Speaker 1: the whole story obviously, So Gime is a kind of 80 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: an interesting person in that he likes to do exploratory 81 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: experimentation to just learn new stuff, just to try new 82 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: things and see what happens, Like I wonder what would 83 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: happen if we this to that, and then he tries it. 84 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: So the story he tells is that one day he 85 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: was walking through the lab late one night when his 86 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 1: eyes beheld an eerie sight. I mean, with his spooky season, 87 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: I guess I can quote the monster mash. Now, he 88 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: was walking through the lab and he had this huge 89 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: like electromagnet device, and the coil of the electromagnet creates 90 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: kind of a cylinder, right like you've got an empty 91 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: cylinder in there, and he thought, I wonder what happens 92 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,919 Speaker 1: if I pour water into that cylinder. Now, this is 93 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: a very expensive piece of equipment, and he actually says like, 94 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: without even really thinking about and certainly without using any restraint, 95 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: I decided to try it out. He turned on the electromagnet, 96 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: which was extremely powerful, and he poured some water in it. 97 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: Well water has a very weak magnetic property to it. 98 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 1: It's not really noticeable most of the time. But he 99 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,160 Speaker 1: was using a very very strong electromagnet and perhaps that 100 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: magnetic property of water is one of the things that 101 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: has set up a lot of pseudoscientific discussion about water, 102 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: you know, like the idea of water having some sort 103 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: of molecular memory and that leads to things like homeopathy. 104 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: But that's not really what he was looking at. He 105 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: was just like, I wonder what happened. And what happened 106 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: was that the water kind of stalled as it was 107 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:25,799 Speaker 1: pouring into the cylinder that this electromagnet had sort of created, 108 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: and that he was seeing that the water would beat 109 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: up into little spheres and float, and you know what, 110 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: frogs have a lot of water in them, you know, 111 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: So he tried putting a frog in essentially an electromagnet, 112 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: where like again, the electromagnet forms a cylinder, and by 113 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: putting the frog there, the frog floated right there because 114 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: the electromagnet was generating enough of a magnetic field to 115 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: levitate the frog to keep him or it, I guess, 116 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: floating within that little cylinder. I actually saw a video 117 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: of this. It looked like the frog was on one 118 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: of those parabolic flights, you know, the vomit comet, the 119 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: aircraft that goes up in big arcs and simulates microgravity, 120 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: and Lily the frog was in one of those also 121 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: didn't seem to be particularly happy about it. Can't say 122 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: I blame it anyway. This odd experiment actually contributed to 123 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: science beyond the fact you know that if you use 124 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: a strong enough magnet you can levitate water and or 125 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: a frog, because Geime started to dedicate a small amount 126 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: of his time around ten percent according to his own accounting, 127 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: toward conducting weird moonshot experiments. He said it was the 128 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: sort of stuff that probably wouldn't be likely to result 129 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: in anything important, but if it did, it could potentially 130 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: be a game changer. As it turned out, he was right, 131 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: because you see, Geime was also involved in the research 132 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: that led to the discovery of graphene. So, graphene is 133 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: a sheet of carbon atoms. It's a sheet that's just 134 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: one atom thick. Right, you could have billions of atoms 135 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: in width and length, but it's only one atom thick. 136 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: Guayman's colleagues used an ordinary pencil which has graphite that's 137 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: a form of carbon, and they use some sticky tape, 138 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: and with the sticky tape and the graphite, they were 139 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: able to isolate graphene from the graphite. Well, graphene is 140 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: also the basis for things like carbon nanotubes. A carbon 141 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: nanotube is just a sheet of carbon atoms that have 142 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: been rolled up kind of burrito style. And the way 143 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,680 Speaker 1: you roll it up, the direction that you roll the 144 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: graphene so that you know the way the atoms align 145 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: with each other, that actually determines the physical properties of 146 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: the carbon nanotubes. You know, you roll them one way 147 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: and the carbon nanotube might act like an insulator. You 148 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: roll them a different way, could act like a conductor. 149 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: That kind of thing. It's really cool stuff, and it's 150 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: one of those things that's like constantly referenced as going 151 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: to be the basis of the next generation of technological revolutions. 152 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: We've already done a ton of stuff with like graphene 153 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: and carbon nanotubes since this discovery. Anyway, it means that 154 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: in twenty ten, Geime and his colleagues would win the 155 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: Nobel Prize for their experimental work in isolating graphene, which 156 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: means that Geime would become the first person to ever 157 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: win an ig Nobel Prize and then later win a 158 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: Nobel Prize. All Right, so now we've done with the 159 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: stuff that I forgot to cover in the last episode, 160 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: we can jump back to two thousand and five. Now, 161 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: this next one isn't really tech related, but I kind 162 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: of feel the need to mention it because of how 163 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: wild it is. Back in the nineteen thirties, New Zealand 164 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: had an exploding trousers problem. If you're a fan of 165 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: the podcast Ridiculous History, you might already be aware of this, 166 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: because they actually did an epist sod about it back 167 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty, which disappointed me. Because you may know this. 168 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: I occasionally show up on Ridiculous History as a character 169 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: known as the Quiztor, and when I came across this 170 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: while researching the Ignobel Prize, I thought, Oh, this would 171 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: be great to do in a Quiztor segment. And then 172 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: I did a quick search and found out, oh, they 173 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: already covered this years ago. Anyway, this all has to 174 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,599 Speaker 1: do in New Zealand's Department of Agriculture. The Department of 175 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 1: Agriculture was giving recommendations to New Zealand farmers to use 176 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: a chemical compound called sodium chlorate as a weed killer. 177 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: The New Zealand farmers were transitioning away from herding sheep 178 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:42,319 Speaker 1: to herding cattle instead, But the sheep had been eating 179 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 1: an invasive weed, and when they started switching to the cattle, 180 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: those weeds were starting to grow out of control. So 181 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,439 Speaker 1: the Department of Agriculture says use the sodium chlorate to 182 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: kill off those weeds. However, sodium chlorate is extremely flammable, 183 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: like explosively amable, so naturally as farmers would use the stuff, 184 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,320 Speaker 1: some of it would end up getting soaked in on 185 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: their trousers. So one such farmer, a fellow named Richard Buckley, 186 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 1: not the famed fashion designer I should add, was drying 187 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: his sodium chlorate soaked trousers in front of a fire 188 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: when he observed those pants began to explode like like, 189 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: there were a series of explosions within the pants. Once again, 190 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: I am reminded of the Fast and Furious franchise, or 191 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 1: at least as much as I know about it based 192 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: off trailers and the podcast the worst idea of all time. Anyway, 193 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: Buckley wasn't the only farmer in New Zealand with exploding pants. 194 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,199 Speaker 1: Some others, unfortunately, were wearing their trousers when they caught fire, 195 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: and as you can imagine that had disastrous and tragic results. Actually, 196 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 1: but a fellow named James Watson wrote a scholarly article 197 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: examining this period in New Zealand history, and he called 198 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,840 Speaker 1: it the Significance of mister Richard Buckley's Exploding Trousers Reflections 199 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: on an aspect of Technological Change in New Zealand's Dairy 200 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: Farming Between the World Wars. Pretty wordy title. The journal 201 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:12,439 Speaker 1: called Agricultural History published this article. Now, as that title 202 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 1: actually points out, this is a case of technological change, 203 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: and the change didn't arrive simply for change's sake. There 204 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: were multiple factors that drove this change, and I think 205 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: that's a valuable lesson to pick up. Often we can 206 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: reduce technological advancement as if it were almost like a 207 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: natural process that if you just wait over time, tech 208 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: gets better. But obviously tech isn't some sort of biological 209 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 1: creature following an evolutionary path. Technology advances because people advance it. 210 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: Sometimes the reasons for going in a certain direction with 211 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: technology are complicated and diverse and external. But by understanding 212 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 1: those driving forces, we can better understand why technology went 213 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: one way rather than another, and it might even open 214 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:06,439 Speaker 1: up an opportunity to develop technology in a different way. Okay, 215 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: we're gonna take a quick break. When we come back, 216 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about some more ig Nobel Prize winners. Okay, 217 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: we're back. We're still in the year two thousand and five. 218 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,319 Speaker 1: That was also the year that the quote unquote Internet 219 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 1: Entrepreneurs of Nigeria received an ig Nobel Prize in Literature, 220 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 1: specifically for the creation of the Nigerian Prince scam. And yes, 221 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 1: this does relate to tech because this is a subset 222 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:42,959 Speaker 1: of scams that have been around for ages. Like it's 223 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: not a new idea, but the Internet and the popularity 224 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: of email really had them proliferate and become widespread. So 225 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: if you've ever heard of the Nigerian Prince scam, or 226 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: sometimes just the Nigerian scam, or I think sometimes the 227 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: four nineteen scam, then this is what that refers to. 228 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,680 Speaker 1: And in case you have never heard about this, here's 229 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: how the scam works. The scammers will send out waves 230 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:17,079 Speaker 1: of emails to potential targets and the email will claim 231 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: that the target, your mark, the person you're hoping to trick, 232 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: has the chance to make a boatload of money if 233 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: they just help the scammer out. So all they have 234 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: to do is put up a relatively small amount of 235 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: their money, and then the scammers say they're going to 236 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: use that small amount of money to unlock a big 237 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: old honkin' wad of cash, and then they will share 238 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: or even give that cash to the target. And so 239 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: for a little bit of money, you're going to get 240 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: an enormous payout. And the particulars vary depending on the 241 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: person who's sending out the scam, but the Nigerian prince 242 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 1: version typically frames the issue as this. They say that 243 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: a person of very high status, such as a prince 244 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: of Nigeria, has temporarily lost access to their wealth. It 245 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 1: may be due to political unrest something like that. Often 246 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: it's that the person of high status has now been 247 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: thrown in jail and they need some help in order 248 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: to get out. And there's usually some other details that 249 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: will go into this as well to kind of try 250 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: and play upon the target's compassion. So maybe they might say, like, 251 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:36,480 Speaker 1: the prince's family is in custody and their lives are 252 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: at risk, they're under threat, and so if you can help, 253 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: if you can put this small amount of money forward, 254 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: that will be enough for the prince to use to 255 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: do things like I don't know, post bail or to 256 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: bribe officials to get out of prison, and that once 257 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: they do, they will regain access to their wealth, they 258 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: will be able to rescue their family, and they'll be 259 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: able to reward the target by giving a huge share 260 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: of the wealth to the target. So obviously this is 261 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: just a scam. There is no prince in danger, there's 262 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: certainly no huge amount of wealth that will be shared 263 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: with the person. So if the target falls for the scheme, 264 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: they'll discover that the only thing that happens if they 265 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: wire the money to whatever account is attached to this scam, 266 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: the only thing that happens is that their bank account 267 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: will go down. So the two thousand and five Ignobel 268 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: Prize for Literature is cheekily applauding the ingenuity of con 269 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: artists as they create stories meant to separate a fool 270 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: from his money. In two thousand and six, Howard Stapleton 271 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 1: received the Ignobel Prize in Peace for a technological innovation. 272 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: It was Stapleton who created a device meant to repel teenagers. 273 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: I've actually talked about this before. The typical range of 274 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: human hearing spans frequencies as low as twenty that would 275 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: be a very very very low pitch, to as high 276 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: as twenty kill a hurtz, a very high pitch. That's 277 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,440 Speaker 1: typical range for human hearing. Obviously, as individuals go that 278 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: range varies. However, as we age, our range of hearing 279 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,200 Speaker 1: usually starts to narrow. We start to lose the ability 280 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,280 Speaker 1: to hear certain frequencies. Usually it's off the high end, 281 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,880 Speaker 1: so we start losing the ability to hear those higher 282 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: pitches as we get older. That means younger people can 283 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,680 Speaker 1: hear higher pitches that older people can't. And there's the opportunity. 284 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,639 Speaker 1: Stable didn't came up with the idea to use a 285 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:48,119 Speaker 1: device that generates a very loud, very high pitch, a 286 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:52,400 Speaker 1: piercing sound. But it's a sound that people of adult 287 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 1: age are not likely to be able to hear at all. 288 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: They wouldn't even know there was a sound playing, but 289 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,160 Speaker 1: young people would be able to hear it. So let's 290 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: say you're the proprietor of a convenience store and you're 291 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,199 Speaker 1: sick of all these lazy teenagers hanging out in your 292 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,880 Speaker 1: store and loitering. They never buy anything, and they're upsetting 293 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: your paying customers. So you install one of these sound 294 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 1: generators in your shop, and when the kids are like 295 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: taking up too much time and not buying anything, you 296 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: turn it on. This ends up irritating the teenagers enough 297 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,160 Speaker 1: for them to leave because it's a very loud, high 298 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: pitched sound. You can't hear it because you're an adult, 299 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: but the teens can hear it, so they you know, 300 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 1: they make tracks. Apparently Stapleton was an equal opportunity kind 301 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 1: of guy, because according to the Ignobel Prize, they have 302 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,120 Speaker 1: a whole page about past winners and they actually explain 303 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: that he also used this concept to design ring tones 304 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,680 Speaker 1: for cell phones that kids would be able to hear 305 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: but adults would not be able to hear, which would 306 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: mean that kids in school could hear when their phone 307 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: got a notification, but their teacher would remain none the 308 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: wiser because it would be a pitch too high for 309 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: them to perceive. Very sneaky. Now it's time for another 310 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 1: raz Award. This one is a doozy. It's from the 311 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 1: two thousand and seven Peace Prize and it goes to 312 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: the United States Air Force. Y'all, this one is bonkers, 313 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,639 Speaker 1: so okay. In two thousand and seven, as part of 314 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:29,439 Speaker 1: a Freedom of Information Act request, some researchers got some 315 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 1: information about the US military that was actually, I'm not 316 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: even sure how to put this in a way that 317 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,159 Speaker 1: is a valid representation of how I feel about it 318 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: and is also family friendly. Let's just say it was unconventional. 319 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: So the actual story goes back much further because this 320 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: was classified information and otherwise without the Freedom of Information 321 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: Act you would never be able to get access to it. 322 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: But the story goes back to the nineteen nineties. So 323 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: apparently back then people at the US Air Force explored 324 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: the possibilities of using chemical warfare, but not chemical warfare 325 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 1: in the sense of using like deadly chemicals in an 326 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: attempt to poison or to burn or to otherwise cause 327 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:19,679 Speaker 1: physical harm to enemy combatants. Instead, they were looking for 328 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:25,880 Speaker 1: chemicals that would alter behavior in combatants in different ways, 329 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 1: you know, as a way to reduce them as a 330 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,640 Speaker 1: threat in war. So imagine like you find a chemical 331 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:37,120 Speaker 1: that reduces aggression, for example. Well, one of these proposals 332 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: explored the use of quote strong afrodisiacs, especially if the 333 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,679 Speaker 1: chemical also caused homosexual behavior end quote. Now, the media 334 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: ran with this and began to reference the whole idea 335 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: as a quote unquote gay bomb. Now there's no real 336 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: need to dive into how awful all of this is, 337 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:03,400 Speaker 1: but I used to say that even considering some theoretical 338 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 1: weapon that would compromise a person's agency to that regard 339 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: raises some really serious questions. It's like saying, what if 340 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: we just roofeed everybody and also somehow turned them gay? 341 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:23,119 Speaker 1: And it boggles the mind, like the scientific basis for 342 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: such a weapon as flimsy at best. So it ends 343 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: up being just a theoretical discussion because it's not like 344 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,680 Speaker 1: it's not like humans act on you know, pheromones or 345 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: aphrodisiacs like this. We're more complicated than that. But it's 346 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:39,679 Speaker 1: still wild to me that anyone would even consider it 347 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: as a viable weapon. I think it reveals, at the 348 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:48,399 Speaker 1: very least a pretty strong homophobic tendency. Anyway, congrats on 349 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:53,159 Speaker 1: winning an Ignobel prize. I guess another two thousand and 350 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: seven honoree was Ching Hussey, whose name I am sure 351 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: I have completely butchered. Anyway, he received a patent back 352 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: in two thousand and one for a quote net trapping 353 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:11,399 Speaker 1: system for capturing a robber immediately. End quote. This is 354 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: a reminder also that these awards, these Ignobel Prizes, they 355 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 1: don't always come out the same year that something happened. 356 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,640 Speaker 1: Sometimes it's years later, because you know, people just didn't 357 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,800 Speaker 1: notice the inciting event, or maybe they had not had 358 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: a full appreciation of the impact of that event. But yeah, 359 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: this was for a net trapping system for capturing a 360 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: robber immediately, which is kind of like have you ever 361 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: seen a film where someone's walking along a forest or 362 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 1: jungle path and then suddenly they get swept up in 363 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: a big net that then holds them up over the ground. 364 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 1: It's kind of like that, except this net would actually 365 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:54,440 Speaker 1: be installed above a point of entry, as the patent explains. 366 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: This is a direct quote from the patent quote. The 367 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,159 Speaker 1: device looks like a storing box and is installed above 368 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: the entrance of the business. When a robbery takes place 369 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 1: and the system is activated, an infrared detecting device determines 370 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: if a robber is in a zone beneath the storing box. 371 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: A net, a curtain, and a plurality of barriers will 372 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: drop down immediately and simultaneously after a lifting motor is activated. 373 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: The system traps the robber and suspends him above the floor. 374 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 1: End quote. First of all, robbers could be women. Let's 375 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: not put gender to this, but no. I imagine the 376 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 1: fact that this invention would replicate a scene found in 377 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: various adventure movies is what prompted the Ignobel designation. And 378 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 1: you can actually read this patent yourself if you want to, like, 379 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: if you want to look at what this design actually 380 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: looks like and to debate whether or not it would work, 381 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: you can just go to a patent search site like 382 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: Google has a patent search site, and the US patent 383 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: number for this one is sick million, two hundred nineteen, 384 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:07,120 Speaker 1: nine hundred and fifty nine. Okay, skipping ahead to two 385 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: thousand and nine, we have a prize in public health 386 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:15,399 Speaker 1: that went to a trio of inventors Elena Bodner, Rafael Lee, 387 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 1: and Sandra Margin. They perhaps anticipated the pandemic of twenty 388 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:25,640 Speaker 1: twenty because their invention was a garment piece of clothing 389 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:28,920 Speaker 1: that you could quickly separate to create a pair of 390 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 1: face masks to be worn in situations where a face 391 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 1: mask might be needed. That garment was a bra. Yeah, 392 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: they invented a brazier that, when removed, could then be 393 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 1: converted into a couple of face masks, allowing a pair 394 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: of bosom buddies to stay abreast of the situation while 395 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,720 Speaker 1: remaining safe. And they got a patent for it. If 396 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,680 Speaker 1: you want to read up on that patent, including to 397 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: see the various sketches of the proposed invention, you can 398 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,240 Speaker 1: search for u US Patent seven million, two hundred and 399 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: fifty five thousand, six hundred and twenty seven. Personally, I 400 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,880 Speaker 1: wish to thank them for supporting public health while simultaneously 401 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: removing personal support. Okay, I think that's as many juvenile 402 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: jokes as I can get away with without completely alienating 403 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: all of you. I'm sure I've alienated most of you, 404 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:24,680 Speaker 1: but some of you are still there. I hope we're 405 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: gonna take another quick break, and then I've got a 406 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,440 Speaker 1: few more Ignobel Prize winners I want to mention before 407 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:43,120 Speaker 1: we sign off. Okay, we're back now. I only have 408 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: one prize in twenty ten to mention in this episode, 409 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 1: and it's sort of indirectly about technology. The Ignobel Prize 410 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 1: for Medicine went to a pair of researchers from the 411 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: Netherlands for quote, discovering that symptoms of asthma can be 412 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 1: treated with a roller coaster ride end quote. Now, the 413 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:08,240 Speaker 1: actual paper that prompted this award has the title roller 414 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:15,160 Speaker 1: Coaster Asthma when positive emotional stress interferes with disnea perception. 415 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 1: Nea is new to me, dyspnea. I mean, I know 416 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,359 Speaker 1: apnea and things like that, but dispna is hard for 417 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: me to say, and I may I may be pronouncing 418 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: it totally wrong, so that's fair play. But anyway, this 419 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,680 Speaker 1: is this is more about the euphoric thrill that you 420 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: get with certain activities can apparently interfere at least with 421 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: our perception of asthma symptoms. If not the actual symptoms, 422 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:46,400 Speaker 1: are perception of them, which ultimately in our brains kind 423 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: of means the same thing. So it's less about the 424 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,920 Speaker 1: technology itself. It's more about how roller coasters are the 425 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:56,719 Speaker 1: way to create this euphoric response. But I just love 426 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: the idea of a doctor advising a patient to take 427 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:00,719 Speaker 1: a trip out to six Flags and ride some roll 428 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,199 Speaker 1: leaue coasters in order to treat their asthma. In twenty eleven, 429 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: some researchers in Japan received the Ignobel Prize in chemistry 430 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: for figuring out quote the ideal density of airborne with 431 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,960 Speaker 1: sabi to awaken sleeping people in case of a fire 432 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,440 Speaker 1: or other emergency end quote. So it's kind of like 433 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,440 Speaker 1: using with sabi, which you know, you could also think 434 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,440 Speaker 1: of as horse radish. It's a little more complicated than that, 435 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,240 Speaker 1: but similar. You can think of it as sort of 436 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:32,879 Speaker 1: like smelling salts. But Jonathan, you may say, while this 437 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: is no doubt amusing, what does it have to do 438 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:41,680 Speaker 1: with technology. Well, my friend, while they took the knowledge 439 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: of this, like they learned what concentration of this smell 440 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,960 Speaker 1: does it take to wake someone up? They then applied 441 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,960 Speaker 1: that in a technology. They created a special type of 442 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: smoke alarm and it emits a synthesized with sabi smell 443 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:02,240 Speaker 1: upon detecting smoke. Now, some of y'all might think, well, 444 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 1: that seems excessive, why would you do that? But if 445 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: you are hard of hearing, like if you are deaf, 446 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: an audible smoke alarm may not wake you out of 447 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 1: a sound sleep, and in the event of a fire, 448 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:19,920 Speaker 1: obviously that creates an urgent situation. So this study, which 449 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: at first sounds absolutely silly, led to the development of 450 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 1: a technology that potentially could save lives. So they actually 451 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 1: did some research here. They found out that all but 452 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: one of their test subjects would wake up within two 453 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 1: minutes of the scent reaching them. The one outlier who 454 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: did not wake up within those two minutes happened to 455 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: be really congested at the time, so it was a 456 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: nasal blockage, so the wasabi had no means of reaching them. 457 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 1: But a pretty ingenious use of technology, like the idea 458 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 1: of spraying with sabi to synthesize with sabi in this case, 459 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 1: but to spray with sabi and wake people up so 460 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: that they can respond to an emergent situation. Just one 461 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: of those kind of weird inventions you wouldn't have necessarily 462 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: thought about. All right, now we're up to twenty twelve. 463 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: Next up is the Ignobel Prize for an invention. I've 464 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: referenced many times on this show. In fact, I talk 465 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 1: about this actually more often I talk about it off 466 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: the show than on the show. Just a couple of 467 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 1: weeks ago, while I was trying to record an interview 468 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: over the Internet, I talked about this. So the prize 469 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: was in the field of acoustics, and it went to 470 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 1: Katsutaka Kurihara and Kojitsukata for their invention. They called the 471 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 1: speech jammer. So this is the device that plays back 472 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:45,400 Speaker 1: a person's own spoken words at a very small delay. 473 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,560 Speaker 1: So essentially, this device has a microphone which picks up 474 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: a target's speech. Then it has a slight delay device, 475 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: so it just it inserts a digital delay, and then 476 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: it plays back the spe each by a very short 477 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: delay through a speaker system, and it plays it back 478 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 1: at the person who's making the speech. Now, if you've 479 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: ever had the experience of being in say like you know, 480 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,480 Speaker 1: a video call or something like that, and you hear 481 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: yourself on a delay, you know that before long it 482 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 1: starts to get difficult to continue to speak to make sense. 483 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: The longer you go, the harder it gets, and you 484 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: might find yourself stumbling over your own words or even 485 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:32,560 Speaker 1: saying stuff that isn't words at all. Well, the speech 486 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 1: jammer was meant to do this on purpose. The inventors 487 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: intended it to be used by agencies like law enforcement. 488 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: So imagine you've got a big crowd that's getting all 489 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: riled up. Maybe there's a charismatic speaker standing on a 490 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: little platform and delivering a rousing speech, and you're worried 491 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 1: that the crowd is going to become unruly and maybe 492 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,160 Speaker 1: it'll turn to a riot. Well, then you would use 493 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 1: the speech jammer, and you would pointed at the person 494 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 1: giving the speech, and they would soon find it difficult 495 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,080 Speaker 1: or maybe even impossible to continue to rally the troops. 496 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: Now you can argue this isn't exactly a noble cause. 497 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: Maybe it is more of an ignoble one. I guess 498 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 1: if you've never experienced this feeling, it really is a 499 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 1: bit disconcerting. I think a lot of people could actually 500 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: work through it. Like, I don't think it's as effective 501 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,440 Speaker 1: as it's always made out to be, at least not 502 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 1: for everyone. I've done it myself, and I've seen other 503 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 1: people really push through when this is happening. It's just 504 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,080 Speaker 1: not an ideal situation where you're getting that little bit 505 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 1: of a delay and you're in playback and it's causing 506 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: you some issues. In my experience, you can get through. 507 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: It just takes a lot of effort and it's not pleasant. 508 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 1: There's also a great twenty twelve prize in neuroscience for 509 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: the ignobels. I would argue this one was actually extremely important. 510 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: This went to a group of VA searchers who use 511 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: some very sophisticated brain brain activity detection equipment like including 512 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: an fMRI machine, and they detected brain activity in a 513 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: dead salmon and as in the fish. And yes, if 514 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: this were a research project that somehow proved that dead 515 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:26,120 Speaker 1: fish can have meaningful brain activity throughout the entirety of 516 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,680 Speaker 1: their bodies, that would be weird. But no, this was 517 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:34,800 Speaker 1: actually a demonstration to show that without using very careful 518 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:40,960 Speaker 1: controls and rigorous scientific discipline, the possibility for false positives. 519 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: Using these types of instruments and the typical types of 520 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: statistical analysis, false possibility is extremely high. Obviously, this means 521 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: any conclusions that you would draw from such work would 522 00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: have to be couched in the fact that the process 523 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,360 Speaker 1: isn't always reliable, that it does require that extreme effort 524 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 1: to try and eliminate false positives as much as possible, 525 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: And if you don't have those strict controls in place, 526 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:15,200 Speaker 1: you actually can't be confident in any conclusions you've drawn 527 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:21,320 Speaker 1: from using that equipment. So it's obvious that deadfish cannot 528 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: have meaningful brain activity. So obviously, if the research suggests otherwise, 529 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 1: something has gone wrong, right, Like, you can definitively say 530 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:35,760 Speaker 1: this deadfish does not have any brain activity, So that 531 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,600 Speaker 1: means something has gone wrong in the process, and you 532 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 1: can start to take a look at that. It also 533 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:43,800 Speaker 1: means that if it's possible to get that kind of 534 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:48,360 Speaker 1: reaction while you are measuring a dead fish, it brings 535 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:53,960 Speaker 1: into question the validity of data from procedures that have 536 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:57,160 Speaker 1: actual people involved. What if that was also wrong because 537 00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: the equipment wasn't calibrated correctly or trolled for properly, that 538 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,560 Speaker 1: brings into question. They're really pointing out you've got to 539 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: be super careful because otherwise you're drawing conclusions on data 540 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,640 Speaker 1: that might not be reliable. And researchers have been using 541 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:18,879 Speaker 1: fMRI machines, which create images through magnetic resonance, to track 542 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:23,200 Speaker 1: brain activity as people do everything from like simple tasks 543 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 1: like you know, lifting a cup of liquid, to watching 544 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 1: for emotional responses, to various stimuli like watching to see 545 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:35,759 Speaker 1: how a brain reacts as a person looks at a 546 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,640 Speaker 1: different set of photographs. That kind of thing. Now, this 547 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: information could potentially teach us a lot about how the 548 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:46,320 Speaker 1: brain works, and clearly could be really useful for practical 549 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,440 Speaker 1: stuff in the future, like designing brain computer interfaces. Like 550 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 1: having that understanding of the brain's workings can mean that 551 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 1: we could create better brain computer interfaces, which could end 552 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:01,000 Speaker 1: up opening up all sorts of opportunities, particularly for people 553 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: who may not have any way of moving around on 554 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 1: their own or communicating outwardly. But these researchers were showing 555 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:13,320 Speaker 1: that any kind of work that is based around this 556 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:17,920 Speaker 1: field has to be accompanied by carefully applied strict procedures 557 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: to mitigate the risk of false positives, because otherwise we 558 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,719 Speaker 1: might end up pursuing a path that actually doesn't lead anywhere. 559 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:28,960 Speaker 1: And it's because the way we used, or maybe I 560 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,759 Speaker 1: should say misused the scientific instruments gave us the wrong 561 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:34,839 Speaker 1: idea about what was going on in the first place, 562 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:38,359 Speaker 1: and we were pursuing something that just didn't exist. It's 563 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:42,480 Speaker 1: like we were snipe hunting. The research serves as a warning, 564 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:46,600 Speaker 1: and I honestly think that's incredibly valuable. It's also good 565 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,279 Speaker 1: for me to remember when I see press releases about 566 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 1: technology meant to interact with the brain. We should all 567 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,120 Speaker 1: be critical thinkers about this kind of stuff, and to 568 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:59,439 Speaker 1: remind ourselves that without scientific rigor, we can't really count 569 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:01,960 Speaker 1: on result, especially if it's something that just kind of 570 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,560 Speaker 1: popped up out of nowhere. I'm reminded of all those 571 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:10,920 Speaker 1: various toys that proclaimed they used brainwave activity to allow 572 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:15,360 Speaker 1: you to control something, and a lot of that is 573 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:19,480 Speaker 1: questionable at the very least, right, So, yeah, I think 574 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:24,840 Speaker 1: this particular Ignobel prize is for something that is genuinely important, 575 00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:28,359 Speaker 1: and I can see it's a perfect example of something 576 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 1: that first makes you laugh and then makes you think, 577 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:35,880 Speaker 1: because the whole thing was precipitated upon the scientists detecting 578 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,800 Speaker 1: brain activity in a dead salmon as a way of 579 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,760 Speaker 1: showing how you have to be careful with your scientific process. 580 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:48,480 Speaker 1: So fantastic prize there, all Right. That wraps up this 581 00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: episode of tech stuff about the Ignobel Prizes up to 582 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:56,600 Speaker 1: twenty twelve. Clearly we've got a little bit more than 583 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,440 Speaker 1: a decade left to catch up, so we'll do another 584 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:04,799 Speaker 1: episode about this not too long from now and really 585 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:08,360 Speaker 1: focus on the technology angles. Obviously, there are lots of 586 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 1: other prizes that were awarded over the years for other categories. 587 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:14,239 Speaker 1: I highly recommend you check them out because some of 588 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,879 Speaker 1: them are really interesting. Some of them are just they'll 589 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,080 Speaker 1: make you scratch your head, and some of them are 590 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,960 Speaker 1: again those sort of raz awards to say, shame on 591 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:25,880 Speaker 1: you for doing this, because you made the world worse. 592 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 1: There's a few of those in the Ignobel Prizes as well. 593 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,080 Speaker 1: It also is really amusing to me that a lot 594 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:36,560 Speaker 1: of the recipients of the Ignobel Prize will take the 595 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 1: effort to attend the ceremony, and often there are Nobel 596 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:46,279 Speaker 1: Laureates there as well. So it all like seems to 597 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:48,759 Speaker 1: be done in pretty good humor, and I like that 598 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:52,280 Speaker 1: a lot too. I think that's really encouraging. Actually, Okay, 599 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:55,760 Speaker 1: I hope you're all well. I hope you're all staying safe. 600 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: I'm slowly getting better myself. Hopefully in tomorrow's episode i'll 601 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,439 Speaker 1: sound a bit better than I do today, and we'll 602 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 1: just be on an upward swing and I'll talk to 603 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:16,920 Speaker 1: you again really soon. Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. 604 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:22,239 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 605 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:24,400 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.