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WEIRD STUDIES: WHAT SCIENTISTS HAVE DISCOVERED THIS WEEK

by Hazed

For some reason I have found a whole bunch of strange research projects which were reported in the media this week. Normally each of these would make a real life news story in its own right, but because I’m not short of news, and I won’t be publishing next week, here’s a quick round-up.

A study which wondered whether clothes make the person has discovered that wearing a white lab coat makes subjects perform better in tests that require close attention: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/authors_of_lab_coat_study_wonder_whether_
judicial_robes_spur_changes

Typing words on the left side of the keyboard makes you miserable, and typing words on the right hand side makes you happy. That’s because using your left hand to type makes you feel more negative about what you are writing. What happens when the letters in a word range across the full width of the keyboard, I don’t know: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9131379/Why-typing-sad-makes-us-miserable-but-jolly-cheers-us-up.html

This really is one of those “WTF!” studies: women who have just finished ovulating are better at spotting snakes than they are at other times in their cycles: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9132222/Women-who-have-just-finished-ovulating-are-best-at-spotting-snakes.html

And finally, the moon was to blame for the sinking of the Titanic because it pushed icebergs into its path. Probably: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/moons-close-proximity-to-earth-may-have-pushed-icebergs-into-path-of-titanic-7544513.html

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