Waist Not, Want Not
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But a lot of beholders, even those from different cultures, have remarkably similar eyes. According to a study recently published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B,
men across time and cultures have gone gaga for thin-waisted women. The authors examined British literature from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries along with ancient works from India and China. In each case, they searched for the word "waist" and classified the mention as either non-romantic or romantic. Of the 66 romantic mentions in British literature, all referred to the waist as narrow or small. In the 66 romantic mentions in ancient Chinese and Indian literature, again, all referred to a slender waist. The oldest reference the researchers found was to Nefertari, principal wife of Rameses II, whose "buttocks are full, but her waist is narrow"&emdash;in other words, "little in the middle but she's got much back." The researchers hypothesize that people subconsciously recognize that female abdominal obesity is linked to low fertility and increased risk for major diseases.
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Miles To Go
For all too long, NASA has refused to accept that we count in base 10, and has used English, rather than metric, units in its missions. But finally, in a move that will unite the globe, NASA has announced that all operations on the lunar surface will be conducted entirely in metric units. The change will not only allow the US to accept equipment-related help from other space-bound nations but will also prevent scientists from making pesky unit errors like the one that sent the Mars Climate Orbiter robotic probe way off course. Jeff Volosin, strategy development lead for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, said that representatives from other agencies cheered when they announced the change. "I think NASA has been seen as maybe a bit stubborn by other space agencies in the past, so this was important as a gesture of our willingness to be cooperative when it comes to the Moon," he said. Ha! They'll never suspect our imminent annexation of the lunar territory as the 51st state. It's our manifest destiny.
Zoo-ology
For too long, animals have been subjected to experiments designed to better the lives of humans. Finally, the tables have been turned. The Adelaide Zoo in South Australia is conducting an experiment on humans to better the lives of captive great apes. For the next month, human subjects will be displayed in cages, living as the chimps do for a week at a time. Animal psychology specialist Carla Litchfield will spend the entire month as part of the human exhibit, observing "the smells and sounds and what it's like to be stared at by thousands of people every day," she said. Litchfield said she hopes to determine what sorts of activities best stimulate captive animals and apply what she learns to the zoo's more permanent residents. "The human zoo" will also raise money for a new chimpanzee enclosure, and visitors to the zoo will be encouraged to vote for their favorite human specimen. No word yet on what the winner will receive. I imagine "freedom" would be the most tempting prize.