Feedback – A weekly column packed with quirky stories, unbelievable ad claims, and confusing instructions.
The Physics of Defecation
News editor Alexandra Thompson, hailing from the University of Amsterdam, discusses the topic of Hoe de poep-emoji zijn vorm kreeg, which translates to “how the poop emoji got its shape.”
For emoji novices, it’s worth noting that the poop emoji is part of the emoji lexicon. This glyph presents itself in various forms but resembles a conical tower, akin to coiled feces. Emojipedia simplifies it by comparing it to “soft serve ice cream,” although the current heat wave brings a rather grotesque image to mind.
Fans of the 2017 film Emoji Movie may remember the poop emoji as a noteworthy supporting character, voiced by the famed Patrick Stewart, who brings a theatrical flair to the role.
The press release directed us to a study published in Nature Communications examining the physics behind lugworm feces. The researchers elucidate how numerous animals, including earthworms and certain mammals, produce coiled feces, similar to the emoji itself. This coiling effect results from “a rope” of fluid cascading onto a firm surface, influenced by gravity, inertia, and viscosity.
Interestingly, lugworms distinctively defecate upward, against gravity. Residing in U-shaped burrows on sandy beaches, they position their anus just below the burrow’s entrance at low tide, leaving their deposits on the sand’s surface.
Despite this unconventional method, lugworms efficiently create coiled feces, maintaining their structure against “buckling instability,” which is usually a concern for other animals.
In contrast to downward-defecating animals, where the height of the drop matters, lugworms’ coils are defined solely by material properties and rope shape.
The researchers further detailed their findings mathematically, suggesting that the same principles can help describe the curling of materials like rice noodles and spaghetti, emphasizing the beauty of nature’s design.
Bayeux Tapestry Queuing
The mathematics of queuing reveals fascinating insights into fairness and efficiency. When a train arrives late, should it take precedence, potentially delaying other trains? What approach ensures fairness for passengers while optimizing the rail system’s functionality?
Managing editor Kelsey Hayes, a history enthusiast, recently faced the challenges of online queuing while attempting to secure a ticket for the Bayeux Tapestry’s unveiling at the British Museum—an event marking the tapestry’s first showing in the UK in 900 years. Members received early ticket sales access two weeks prior to general sales.
The invitation prompted her to “register to reserve” a slot, which she saw as a mere formality. Unfortunately, Kelsey encountered an online queue with “over 1,400 people,” requiring a 20-minute wait.
During this time, Kelsey discovered that this was essentially an effort to help members manage their login details, ensuring a smoother ticket purchase process later on. If you know Kelsey or the Feedback column, you understand the frustration of navigating a 20-minute wait just for a password reset.
Ultimately, member reservations began, but it took Kelsey four hours to snag an appointment time. She might be displeased to learn that the tapestry was neither made in a bayou nor is it a tapestry in the traditional sense.
Jurassic Leather
Here at Feedback, we often critique overconfidence, so we were amused to bring you news of a bag crafted from the so-called “T-Rex Leather.” This item surprisingly failed to sell at a Paris auction last June, despite initial predictions of a bid exceeding $500,000.
Reportedly fashioned from preserved collagen from a Tyrannosaurus rex femur, the notions surrounding “T-Rex leather” are questionable at best. Leather is derived from skin, but this particular material does not originate from T. rex skin.
Collagen is one of many proteins within skin. To effectively recreate T. rex skin, scientists would need a complete T. rex genome for regenerating cells. The oldest recovered DNA, a 2-million-year-old specimen from Greenland, does not hold a candle to the fact that T. rex has been extinct for around 66 million years.
Thus, replicating T. rex skin remains impossible without the requisite DNA, let alone the complete genome. While we are intrigued to hear that the bag’s unsold status may be due to these factors, it seems more plausible that its outdated color played a significant role.
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Source: www.newscientist.com