February 2006

02.22.2006
The Moon Illusion
"The Moon looks bigger on the horizon because the air acts like a lens, magnifying it." I think this is an interesting phenomenon, and I had a chance to study it in one of my college psychology classes. It turns out the atmospheric magnification theory is a myth - the phenomenon is purely psychological, as this article from space.com nicely illustrates:

"Almost everyone has seen the Moon, red and swollen, looming hugely as it rises over the horizon. A few hours later, when it's high in the sky, it has shrunk considerably, looking more 'normal.' Most people are also aware the Sun exhibits this behavior, and even constellations do, too.

"It's true that the Earth's air is thicker near the horizon. When you look up, you are looking through the thinnest part of the atmosphere, and the closer you look toward the horizon, the more air you look through.

"However, the air actually compresses the Moon's image, instead of magnifying it. Have you noticed that the Moon looks noticeably squashed when it's right on the horizon? That's because the varying thickness of the air near the horizon distorts the Moon's shape, making it smaller top-to-bottom.

"It turns out this effect of the Moon looking larger near the horizon, called the Moon Illusion, really is an illusion. You can see this for yourself, by comparing the rising Moon's size with some household object (say, the tip of a pencil eraser held at arm's length), and then wait a few hours and do it again. You'll find the size hasn't changed appreciably. This illusion is convincing, but it's not real.

"What's going on here is that your brain is interpreting the sky as being farther away near the horizon, and closer near the zenith (directly overhead). This isn't surprising; look at the sky on a cloudy day and the clouds overhead may be a few kilometers above you, but near the horizon they might be hundreds of kilometers away. The Moon, when it's on the horizon, is interpreted by your brain as being farther away. Since it's the same apparent size as when it's high up, your brain figures it must be physically bigger. Otherwise, the distance would make it look smaller.

"This effect is the well-known Ponzo Illusion. Recent tests have shown pretty conclusively that this is indeed the cause of the Moon Illusion. By the way, when it's on the horizon, the Moon is actually a few thousand miles farther away than when it's overhead. So in reality, it's actually a bit smaller when it's on the horizon."

02.17.2006
Deadly Vices
Last week, Dick Cheney followed in the footsteps of one of his predecessors, Vice President Aaron Burr, and shot a man. The only obvious difference is that Cheney's victim, Harry Whittington, survived the melee. Additionally, the United States Treasury has announced that it has no plans to put Whittington's face on the ten dollar bill in commemoration. Imagine this thing popping out of your wallet:





His face now bears a striking resemblance to the face of Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko, who was poisoned with Dioxin last year by the KGB:



Poisoning someone with Dioxin is almost as bad as shooting a defenseless old man in the face. Nevermind, Whittington had a gun too... just like Alexander Hamilton! It remains to be seen if Dick Cheney will continue in Aaron Burr's footsteps and flee the capitol, attempting to forge an empire west of the Appalachians funded by the Spaniards. Good luck with all of that.

02.16.2006
Roses of the Prophet Muhammad
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranians love Danish pastries, but when they look for the flaky dessert at the bakery they now have to ask for "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad." Bakeries across the capital were covering up their ads for Danish pastries Thursday after the confectioners' union ordered the name change in retaliation for caricatures of the Muslim prophet published in a Danish newspaper.

"Given the insults by Danish newspapers against the prophet, as of now the name of Danish pastries will give way to 'Rose of Muhammad' pastries," the union said in its order. "This is a punishment for those who started misusing freedom of expression to insult the sanctities of Islam," said Ahmad Mahmoudi, a cake shop owner in northern Tehran.

In Zartosht Street in central Tehran, cake shop owner Mahdi Pedari didn't cover up the word "Danish pastries" on his menu, but put the new name next to it. "I did so just to inform my customers that Rose of Muhammad is the new name for Danish pastries," he said.

Some customers took immediately to the new name. But others were less enthusiastic about the protest. "I just want the sweet pastries. I have nothing to do with the name," homemaker Zohreh Masoumi told the sales clerk taking her order.

The drawings, which have offended many Muslims, were published in a Danish newspaper in September and then reprinted in European and American newspapers. One depicted the prophet with a turban shaped like a bomb with a burning fuse. Islam widely holds that representations of Muhammad are banned for fear they could lead to idolatry. At least 19 people have been killed in protests over the past several weeks, most of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Consumer boycotts of Danish goods, from Havarti cheese to Lego, are costing Denmark's companies millions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Muslim countries. Iranians love sweets, often bringing candies and pastries to parties. So-called "Danish pastries" are extremely popular.

In Iran, the pastries are domestically baked, not imported. Iran has cut all commercial ties with Denmark in retaliation for the prophet cartoons.

02.10.2006
Better Living Through Chemistry
I drink a lot of water, mostly to combat my neverending sense of dehydration. I'll take it any way I can - from a jug, a faucet, a bottle, or straight out of the ol' shower head. Sadly, the tap water in Tempe kind of tastes like pool water - but it may be better than the bottled alternative.

Bottled water consumption, which has more than doubled globally in the last six years, is a natural resource that is heavily taxing the world's ecosystem, according to a new US study. "Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year," according to the study.

Emily Arnold, the author of the study, said although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, it can end up costing 10,000 times more. "At as much as 2.50 dollars per liter (10 dollars per gallon), bottled water costs more than gasoline," the study says.

The study warned that the rapid growth in the industry has also ironically led to water shortages in some areas, including India where bottling of Dasani water and other drinks by the Coca-Cola company has caused shortages in more than 50 villages.

It said that while consumers tend to link bottled water with healthy living, tap water can be just as healthy and is subject to more stringent regulations than bottled water in many regions, including Europe and the United States. "In fact, roughly 40 percent of bottled water begins as tap water," the study says. "Often the only difference is added minerals that have no marked health benefits.

Tap water won't kill you.
But terrorists might.
Every time you drink bottled water, the terrorists win.