SURPRISING scientific claim of the week: Thaddaeus Frogley draws our attention to H2Om water, “the world’s first vibrationally charged, interactive water”. Each bottle of this water, we are told at , promotes “positive thinking and positive energy for people and the planet”.
How so? Well, it works like this: “Once our water is in the bottle, we play restorative compositions of music, frequencies, and spoken word to the water.” Ah. That makes a difference, does it? Apparently so. Water, you see, “is mutable, receptive and sensitive… In fact, recent scientific studies have proven that water is directly effected by the words, sounds and thoughts it is exposed to.”
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Frogley tells us he couldn’t find these studies, and unfortunately we can’t either. Until we do, we feel obliged to add “interactive water” to our ever-expanding list of fruitloopery indicators.
HERE is a very strange definition. A press release from the European Space Agency received by Martin Gardiner talks of remotely monitoring the use of “Plant Protection Products” in Europe. Wondering what these are if they aren’t what we normally call pesticides, he did a bit of web searching and eventually came up with the answer on the website of the German government’s Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety at .
“Plant protection products are substances which are intended to protect plants or plant products against animals, plants, micro-organisms or diseases. Substances which destroy plants, regulate growth or inhibit germination are also regarded as plant protection products.”
“Seen on the package of a compact fluorescent light bulb at the market in Oxford, UK: “Saves approx 80 per cent more energy than a standard light bulb.” Oliver Tickell asks: “Can anyone explain?”
Is that clear?
ON THE outside of a nice new kettle that Vanda Hamilton bought there is a sticker below the spout that has a line on it and says “max fill”. This would be handy information, she observes, if the kettle were see-through – but it isn’t. It is matt black enamel. So she has to find out how full the kettle is when it is under the tap by resorting to the old-fashioned method of waiting until the water comes out of the spout, and then tipping some more out to be sure.
THE great American humorist James Thurber wrote that his aunt made sure the electric sockets in her house always had a plug in them because she was worried that if they didn’t the electricity would leak out. Julian Clokie wonders if the prosecution in a court case in Hampshire, UK, had a similar view of electricity. According to a report in the Portsmouth News, a man owning an electronic stun gun pleaded guilty in court to a charge of “possessing a weapon designed for the discharge of a noxious liquid”.
Lake in an island on a lake in an island…
MAX MAGUIRE has a question for us. “Everybody knows that the largest lake is the Caspian Sea,” he says, “and the largest island is Greenland. But have you ever wondered what the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island is?”
We hadn’t, but the question seemed sufficiently odd for us to click on the link he gave us – – where Elbruz, the Dutch scientific and educational organisation, supplies the answer. You can click on the link too, if you badly want to know. In the meantime we can all reflect on the strange things some people do with their time.
IAN BRAY tells us – and why shouldn’t we believe him? – that the manual for servicing the keel-lifting mechanism of a Beneteau Oceanis 311 yacht advises: “Unscrew the bolt THM8 located at the end of the endless screw.”
Flirt with science competition
FINALLY, don’t forget to send in your entries to our “Flirt with science” end-of-the-year competition. This year you are invited to seduce the person of your dreams with a science-related chat-up line (17 November).
You may submit more than one entry. All entries must reach us by Monday 3 December 2007 and should be no longer than 30 words. Send entries by post to: 91av Feedback Competition, Lacon House, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS, or by email to: feedback@newscientist.com – please write “competition” in the subject line – or enter online at www.newscientist.com/feedbackcomp.
Ten lucky winners will each receive a 91av goody bag consisting of: one 128-megabyte USB stick, a set of the three 91av best-selling books (How to Fossilise Your Hamster, Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? and Does Anything Eat Wasps?) plus a fabulous 91av bag (vibrant blue on the outside with a zingy red lining, a zipped pocket under the main flap and an internal pocket to secure your laptop).
The results will be published in the 22/29 December issue of 91av. The editor’s decision is final.