Login to EngCom

Syndicate



Save to del.ico.us Save This Page

Interesting engineering news and general interest to get you through the week.

Humour

Your Ad Here
Humour

SKorean scientists clone cats that glow

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Yan Chu  

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays, an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases, the Science and Technology Ministry said.

Three Turkish Angora cats were born in January and February through cloning with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow in dark. One died at birth, but the two others survived, the ministry said.

The ministry claimed it was the first time cats with modified genes have been cloned.

...click the link to read more 

Sunday 16 December, 2007 02:06 PM
 

Think you are good at maths? Give this a try

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  

There are 25 levels,  see how high you can get.  Very interesting in that the answer forms the url for the page that has the next question on it.  The only way to know if you are right or not is if you get to the correct page.

Give you engineering mind a mental workout.

....click the link to read more 

Saturday 15 December, 2007 02:02 PM
 

The physics of Santa Claus

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  
If Santa Claus were real then he would have some pretty awesome capabilities.  In fact I'm pretty sure we can expand this out a little with a bit of imagination.  I'm sure he's just scratching the surface.
Thursday 6 December, 2007 06:02 AM
 

Should we teach evolution or intelligent design?

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  
There is a lot of debate in Texas as to whether students in their schools should be taught evolution or intelligent design,  or a misture of both.  It is taken very seriously,  in fact  their Education Agency's director of Science has quit (or was fred,  it's not entirely clear) over expressing views about the teaching of evolution in schools.  Christine Castillo Comer forwarded an email discussing evolution and creationism where apparently she had to remain neutral on the subject.

So,  are humans,  and all living creatures on this planet, the result of brilliant engineering,  or is it just a matter of trial and error?  And which should be taught in our schools?
Monday 3 December, 2007 10:17 PM
 

Cake To Save The Planet

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Yan Chu  
Forget nuclear power stations and tidal barrages, there’s an exciting new solution to global carbon emissions which involves turning carbon dioxide into bicarbonate of soda.
....click the link to read more
Saturday 1 December, 2007 04:08 AM
 

Want to slow down the earth?

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  

This is just a silly cartoon but the science behind it is probably correct (just on a rediculously tiny scale).  Turns out that the Earth may in fact be slowing down (very slowly mind you).

....click the links to read more 

Monday 26 November, 2007 04:03 PM
 

Robocomedian, the comic computer

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Adam Crighton  

The dream of developing a computer with a keen sense of humour has edged closer to reality.

A mathematical model to reveal the science of laughter has been engineered and it not only explains where jokes came from in the first place but suggests that humour is inevitable because it is a kind of error detection mechanism to keep the most complex known machine - the human brain - working efficiently. In short, we laugh at our mistakes to improve performance.


....click the link to read more

Sunday 25 November, 2007 04:05 PM
 

Effective way to swat a fly

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  

Like most people,  you have probably been frustrated at some point or another by that elusive fly that you could just not swat.  There have been many attempts over the years to come up with means of alleviating us from this conundrum but none have been that effective.

With a little understanding of their behaviour you can devise a simple strategy for catching flies.  I haven't actually spent much time studying the habits of flies so I can't tell how accurate this is but it is now on my list of things to observe over the next few days.

....click the link to read more
Sunday 25 November, 2007 02:02 AM
 

Top 10 business viral video chart

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Dave Ellery  

Welcome to the hilarious and often deeply disturbing world of business viral videos
Think those stories about hysterical company bosses yelling motivational words across huge conference halls are made up? Missing the sharp tongue of the Apprentice's Katie Hopkins? Want to know how not to apply for a job on Wall Street? Or simply wondering which footage gets the best shot of Sir Richard Branson's grimace after that publicity stunt went wrong?

We bring you rapping accountants and Bernanke-bashing, boardroom sniping and a motivational song about a bank merger.

There's even some educational items among the chart in case the boss wants to know why your morning has been spent on YouTube.

.....Click the link to read more
Monday 19 November, 2007 10:10 AM
 

Why you should put the handbreak on

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  
What can I say.  You'd really hate to be the one responsible for this.  A new Airbus 340-600 decided to go for a little bit of a spin during technical tests at a French Airport.

The picture says it all really.
Sunday 18 November, 2007 12:10 PM
 

Strange experiments

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  
At some stage or another in your engineering lives you have probably had to test a theory.  And you've probably gone about it in a logical and methodical manner.  Where's the fun in that?  Wouldn't it be a lot more fun to investigate reversing death,  or, the look of eugh,  or,  can you sleep with your eyes open,  or,  is it possible to make a 2 headed dog,  or any of these other weird experiments.

I don't know about you but I reckon I'd have a lot more to talk about down at the pub if I spent my days testing out some of these things.
Saturday 17 November, 2007 10:05 PM
 

Sobering thought: Jack Daniels may be tossed

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Rose Shah  

Here’s a sobering thought: Hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey , some of it almost 100 years old, may be unceremoniously poured down a drain because authorities suspect it was being sold by someone without a license.

Officials seized 2,400 bottles late last month during warehouse raids in Nashville and Lynchburg, the southern Tennesse
....click the link to read more

 

Saturday 17 November, 2007 02:03 PM
 

Artificial Stupidity

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Sean  
Artificial intelligence has for decades been the Holy Grail of the engineering and computing research community and the AI dream recently took a huge leap forward with the announcement that its sister research arm, Artificial Stupidity , is now a genuine reality.

 ....click the link to read more

 

 

Saturday 17 November, 2007 10:04 AM
 

Science proves curvy women are smarter

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Administrator  

What relevance this might have to engineering is a moot point - however we never let small issues like that get in the way of a good story - so read on -

IT was already known that men find curvy women more attractive and that they live longer. Now research suggests that women with an hourglass figure are brighter and have cleverer children, too.

However it should be noted that curves are often a result of food and more than 90 percent of the nations food budget is spent by a women.  This is despite the fact that often the star cooks are men whilst most of the countries food is cooked and served by woman.

Several parts of the female anatomy are curved and over 90% of North American women wear a bra , many without ever asking why. Women give various reasons for wearing a bra. Some women with large breasts need it and want it - yet some women suffering from fibrocystic breast disease can get tremendous relief from breast pain by going without bras.

So the bottom line is that when it comes to measuring intelligence,  

there are a number of different methods, the most famous of which is perhaps the IQ, or 'Intelligence Quotient' test.
Wednesday 14 November, 2007 04:09 AM
 

THE NULL'S TOP TEN WEIRD THINGS FOUND ON GOOGLE EARTH

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Adam Crighton  

Google Earth has opened up a whole new world of time-wasting. As engineers,  most of us were content to spend a couple of minutes trying in vain to find our house before heading out for a pie, some dedicated fellows have been scouring the world for oddities. Mark Steer wantonly reaped the fruits of their labour.


 

Tuesday 13 November, 2007 04:03 PM
 

Do you tap the top of cans before opening them?

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  
Do you tap the top of a soda can before opening it?  Do you know anyone else who does?  Do you even know what the theory is behind why it is supposed to stop the can from frothing when opened?  Do you know where the theory came from?  Did you know it may even do more harm than good?

If you would like to know the answers to these questions then look no farther.  What I would really like to see however is someone engineer a way to indicate to the user (opener,  whatever you want to call them) what the potential is for the can to explode upon opening.
Monday 12 November, 2007 06:01 PM
 

Ten Habits of Incompetent Managers

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Dave Ellery  

 Three years ago, I joined the board of a company whose management, I soon recognized, was incompetent . I said so, but I was a new board member and the management had a lot of old friends and allies on the board. I was listened to respectfully but nothing much happened.

 

Monday 12 November, 2007 10:05 AM
 

Beer better than water and milk.

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  
As engineers I doubt you never really needed an excuse to drink more beer.  Well now you have one regardless.  Beer is better for you than both milk and water.

Beer has fewer calories and less sodium than milk as well as a few other benefits.  And beer also is now thought to be better than water after a bit of strenuous exercise,  having a slightly better hydration effect and the carbohydrate is also good for replacing lost calories.
Sunday 11 November, 2007 04:03 PM
 

History of useless inventions

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Sean  

Inventors and engineers have been registering bright ideas with the world's
patent office for over 150 years.
how has technology changed the world?
while the flush toilet, aspirin, the computer, the pill,
the photo-copier and the mobile phone have proved invaluable,
the same cannot be said of every innovation.
but, huuu... what makes a good invention? 

Tuesday 6 November, 2007 12:08 PM
 

Another roll of the dice

Clipped to the Drawing Board by Ryan  
Did you know that casino dice are generally hand made?  Or that they are perfectly cubical to within one five-thousandth of an inch.  That's some pretty impressive engineering.  It seems that dice have been in use for quite some time,  and show no signs of being replaced any time soon.  Find out some more interesting facts about this simple implement.
Monday 29 October, 2007 06:09 PM
 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>

Results 21 - 40 of 70
Your Ad Here

Midweek Trivia

Get this weeks Midweek Trivia!!


(1st October) 

and challenge your workmates.

Find out who knows the most useless trivia. 

"A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible" - Freeman Dyson