EXTREMELY BIZARRE RESEARCH PAPERS

DO WOODPECKERS GET HEADACHES?

“Cure for a headache”, British Journal of Ophthalmology, 2002

The answer is basically that, no, they don’t get headaches

because they have sturdy jaws and small brains.

WHICH WEIGHS MORE, A POUND OF FEATHERS

OR A POUND OF LEAD?

Although they are obviously the same, researchers at Illinois

State University determined that people consistently rated

the lead as weighing more.

IS A FULL OR AN EMPTY BEER BOTTLE BETTER

FOR BREAKING A HUMAN SKULL?

“Are full or empty beer bottles sturdier and does their

fracture-threshold suffice to break the human skull?”,

University of Bern.  Apparently full bottles strike with more

force, but both can be used to break skulls.

HAVE PEOPLE REALLY BEEN ABDUCTED BY

ALIENS, AND WHY?

David Michael Jacobs. 1992. Secret Life: Firsthand, Documented

Accounts of UFO Abductions. New York: Simon & Schuster

The basic conclusion of these medical researchers from

Harvard and Temple Universities was that people have

indeed been abducted and the primary reason was the

“production of children”. We’re not even joking.

HOW OFTEN DO DEPLOYED US TROOPS GET CONSTIPATED?

Sweeney, WB; Krafte-Jacobs, B; Britton, JW; Hansen, W (1993).

“The constipated serviceman: prevalence among

deployed U.S. troops.”. Military medicine

A pressing question, this study features some of the most

detailed statistical analyses ever performed regarding

rates of defecation.

DO PATIENTS PREFER WAXED OR UNWAXED

DENTAL FLOSS?

Beaumont, R. H. (1990). “Patient preference for waxed or

unwaxed dental floss”. Journal of periodontology

After pages upon pages of thrilling suspense, the conclusion

is…waxed floss. Patients prefer waxed floss.

HOW DOES WATER AFFECT BREAKFAST CEREAL?

Georget, D. M. R.; Parker, R.; Smith, A. C. (1994). “A study of the

effects of water content on the compaction behaviour of

breakfast cereal flakes”. Powder Technology

As you may have suspected (and any 3rd grader could

confidently tell you) the water makes it soggy. But it’s always

good to have research papers backing up your observations.

DOES WEARING WET UNDERWEAR MAKE YOU

FEEL COLD DURING WINTER?

Bakkevig, M. K.; Nielsen, R. (1994). “Impact of wet underwear on

thermoregulatory responses and thermal comfort in the cold”. 

Ergonomics The University of Denmark really went all in with

this one. The answer is a resounding yes, wearing wet

underwear outside during winter will definitely make you

feel cold. Good to know.

HOW DOES ALE, GARLIC, AND SOURED CREAM

AFFECT THE APPETITE OF LEECHES?

Baerheim, A; Sandvik, H (1994). “Effect of ale, garlic, and

soured cream on the appetite of leeches”

How can you get a leech to suck more blood?

Apparently dunking it in ale or smearing it with

soured cream do the trick.