Science

Study: Lawyers Under Stress Are Critical, Cautious and Distant

According to a study reported in the ABA Journal, lawyers under stress are tense, overly critical, cautious and emotionally distant. In a related story, lawyers not under stress are tense, overly critical, cautious and emotionally distant. The data for the study…


Sunshine No Longer Free, Says Sun’s New Owner

Angeles Duran did not say how much she was going to charge people for using the Sun, but she did confirm that she owns it, that her claim is legally valid, and that she will be charging a fee.  Duran, a…


2010 Ig Nobel Prize Winners Announced

I'm a big fan of the Ig Nobel Prize(s), awarded every year by the editors of the magazine Annals of Improbable Research. At least a few of this year's winners conducted research that might be of some distant relevance to the…


Not Guilty by Reason of Caffeine

Reports today say that a 33-year-old Kentucky man will argue in his murder trial this week that he should be found not guilty of killing his wife because he was under the influence of caffeine at the time. Woody Smith's…




“Baby Einstein” Will Not Make Your Baby Einstein, Lawsuit Claims

A complaint filed in Orange County, California, on January 22 alleges that the makers of "Baby Einstein" videos and the Walt Disney Company (which bought the original company) falsely claimed that the "Baby Einstein" videos were educational products that would make…


Bill Would Designate Bacterium as Wisconsin’s Official State Microbe

Boing Boing reports that the Wisconsin legislature is considering whether to designate Lactococcus lactis (right) as the state's official microbe.  If it passes, Assembly Bill 556 would honor Lactococcus for the crucial role it plays in the Wisconsin economy (it turns milk into…


Chicago Courts Rejecting Evidence Gathered by Laser

The Chicago Tribune reports that judges in Cook County, Illinois, have been dismissing speeding tickets issued to drivers whose speed was measured with laser guns rather than boring old radar.  The traffic court has taken the position that evidence gathered…