Power Balance is rubbish
Jan 6th
I’ve been coming across Power Balance bracelets more and more often.
These bracelets use a special hologram (or sometimes quantum effects) to “restore your body’s electrical balance, promoting a free exchange of positive and negative ions and align your body’s energy pathways.”
They instantly provide: “Faster synaptic response (brain function), enhanced muscle response (in both fast and slow twitch tissues), increased stamina (better oxygen uptake and recovery), more flexibility (faster recovery) and vastly improved gravitational balance.”
All for only R495!
Sound to good to be true. It is.
The thing is that the salesmen have some really cool “tests” that illustrate the effects of the bracelet. The tests are well done and when administered by an enthusiastic salesman they are quite tempting.
Double Blinds
Since hearing about this miracle product I have wanted to see the results of a double blind test.
In a double blind neither the tester nor the subject knows if the real product is used or some other fake is used. If the product really works then there should still be benefits even when the testers and subjects don’t know the product is being used.
Results
Over the xmas holidays I was lucky enough to come across someone with the product. I immediately made myself seem geeky by enthusiastically explaining double blind tests and then conducting them.
The results were pretty predictable. You can also watch a video showing similar tests debunking the bracelets.
No effect whatsoever.
Power Balance is just an expensive placebo. Just believing that something has an effect often causes the effect! Amazing actually.
In fact, I’ve previously blogged that more expensive placebos are more effective! These are very expensive, so they must work! Right?
Breaking the spell
Now for the really interesting part. Even if it was just a placebo effect, the guy who I was testing this with really believed that there was an effect.
By illustrating that it was a fake I broke the placebo effect. So I broke his Power Balance…
I love the whole world – boomdeyada
Jan 5th
I absolutely love the new Discovery Channel adverts. They accompany the new tagline “The World is Just Awesome”.
It’s a great tagline. They are superb ads.
And I really do love the world. I need to escape my desk!
There are two versions of the adverts: here and here. Read more about them on Wikipedia here.
What English sounds like to foreigners
Dec 18th
In 1970 the Italian singer Adriano Celentano composed the song Prisencolinensinainciusol.
What makes the song interesting is that it is gibberish, but specifically designed to sound like American English.
To an English speaker that’s very interesting because it provides an idea of what English sounds like to foreigners.
Listen to the song (it’s actually quite a fun song anyway). It does indeed sound like English – as if I should be understanding it.
Another excellent obituary from The Economist
Dec 17th
If I were to pick a single article from each week’s Economist it would be the obituary. The last article in each edition, I often find the obituaries the most enjoyable to read.
Reading an obituary in The Economist is to be given a series of glimpses into a life, after which you have a feeling for the subject that mere story telling can’t provide.
Not every such article captures me, but some are certainly stunning and I always look forward to the final article in each edition.
This week the subject of the obituary is Charis Wilson, a model and writer who was prominent in the 1930’s and 40’s.
Initially the subject of beautiful photographs by Edward Weston she eventually wrote the articles for his books.
The article is a gem and I recommend it – good returns for a single page of reading.
Photos of diving under the Antarctic ice
Dec 14th
Norbert Wu has spent a lot of time diving under the ice of Antarctica. Very dangerous, very interesting.
Despite the extreme cold, life is relatively abundant and he has some great photos.
Click through to the gallery for more pictures and explanations. Here are some of the best images.
Here a diver is swimming below a crack in the sea ice.
Starfish can be quite vicious. In this case they are slowly devouring a dead seal pup.
In Antarctica you don’t just dig a hole in the ice and start diving. They maintain ‘dive huts’ from which they dive in water as cold as -1.8 Centigrade.
Great idea – a portal and tube have been built to allow researchers to observe what is going on underwater.
Google Goggles – Search with your camera phone
Dec 8th
Google has just released a new service. It is called Google Goggles and it runs on cell phones (not many people know that Google produces a mobile phone operating system).
Basically, you take a picture with your phone and the service gives you information about what you’re looking at. In this example the service recognizes the Golden Gate Bridge and returns information on it.
It’s a very early version of the service, but it also works on books, business cards, paintings, logos, and even wine labels! Take a look at the official site to get a better idea.
I’ve read a review of the service and it seems to work reasonably well. Amazing!
It feels a lot like magic! This could also be quite scary. Imagine a day when people can find your Facebook profile by scanning you with their phone!
Get 10% to 25% off at restaurants in Cape Town
Dec 1st
Last night I tested out Diners Delight – a new service in Cape Town.
I always try to support Cape Town startups so I was very pleased that everything worked so well. And it’s a great service.
The idea is simple:
You get a discount at restaurants in return for filling out a survey on your dining experience.
Simple as that. We got a 10% discount last night. Even though I booked a table of four (the discount applies to the whole bill).
Today they emailed me a reminder to fill out the survey which took about 4 minutes to do (multiple choice questions).
Bargain!
That’s a great return. I effectively got paid R40 to fill out a quick little survey. Awesome.
The best thing is that the discounts get better. Next time I eat at that restaurant the discount will be 15%. Then 20% and then 25%!
Check out their explanation of how Diners Delight works.
The service currently applies to 35 restaurants but more are being added regularly. The site includes a full menu and details about each of the restaurants.
I recommend giving Diners Delight a try. Quick, easy and saves you money.
Nazi U-boat off Sea Point
Nov 24th
A few weeks ago I was running on the promenade when I was absolutely stunned to see a U-boat (German submarine from WW2) just off shore.
Since then I’ve seen the U-boat regularly. It’s often surrounded by life rafts and often has stacks of people standing on the deck.
That was all too much for my notorious curiosity.
Short Answer
A two-part BBC drama called “The Sinking of the Laconia” is being shot in Cape Town at the moment. The ‘submarine’ I have been seeing is a prop constructed for the filming (see photo below).
Long Answer
The movie is about the Laconia Incident which is a fascinating story from World War 2.
On 12 September 1942 the armed troopship RMS Laconia was off the coast of West Africa. There were well over 2,000 people on board – mostly Italian prisoners of war.
At about 10PM the Laconia was spotted and torpedoed by the German submarine U-156 under the command of Werner Hartenstein.
The German crew surfaced and were amazed to find so many people in the water. Remarkably Hartenstein ordered a rescue operation and sent out the following message:
If any ship will assist the ship-wrecked ‘Laconia’-crew, I will not attack providing I am not being attacked by ship or air forces. I picked up 193 men. 4, 53 South, 11, 26 West. – German submarine.
Before long U-156 had rescued 400 survivors with 200 crammed onto the deck (see picture) and 200 being towed in life boats. Two other U-boats also turned up to help in the rescue operations.
Soon all of the submarines were displaying red cross colors and transporting hundreds of survivors to safety.
In a remarkable twist an American B-24 bomber spotted U-156. Seeing the red cross flags and life boats the pilot radioed his base – a secret airfield on an island.
Fearing that the vital secret base would be discovered and attacked the base commander ordered the pilot to “sink submarine”!
In panic U-156 cut the life boats loose and dived leaving the survivors to fend for themselves. Fortunately due to earlier radio messages other rescue ships soon arrived and many were rescued.
As a result of this incident Dönitz, the chief of the German navy, understandably ordered that U-boats should no longer rescue survivors of attacks.
After the war Dönitz was convicted of war crimes for this order even though the American navy made the same rule in the Pacific ocean!
Hartenstein (pictured alongside) and the rest of the U-156 crew were killed the next year when they were sunk by another American warplane (this time a Catalina).
Trapped in a coma for 23 years
Nov 23rd
EDIT: The authenticity of the article described below has been called into serious doubt. At this stage I’m not sure how true it is.
This article describes a very unlucky man who was trapped in a paralyzed body for 23 years!
Summary of the story:
- He suffered head injuries in a car accident
- Doctors thought that he was in persistent vegetative state
- In fact he was conscious but unable to move – locked in
- He was trapped in this state for 23 years!
- Recently a doctor used a new scanning technique and discovered that he was conscious
- After therapy he has learned to communicate using a computer and is able to tell his story
Can you imagine that?
Just lying there with nothing to do, no way of moving, no way of communicating. For 23 years! I can hardly imagine doing it for 23 days.
How terrible.
Several other notable examples of locked in syndrome exist. You can read more about this fascinating and horrible condition on Wikipedia.
Guido Fawkes – A Summary
Nov 10th
When I was a kid Guy Fawkes day was very exciting. Fireworks, party, bonfire. What’s not to like?
This year I noticed Guy Fawkes referred to as Guido Fawkes. Jules calls me Quizzy Pott because it is very, very easy to get me curious about things.
So here is a brief summary of Guido Fawkes.
Guy Fawkes (1570 to 1606)
Guy Fawkes was a Catholic who plotted to assassinate the King and Parliament of England in order to overthrow Protestant rule.
At the time the Catholics were being persecuted (sometimes brutally) by the Protestants in England.
Guy Fawkes fought for Catholic armies in Europe and during this time became known as Guido Fawkes.
The Gunpowder Plot was an attempt to kill King James I, his family and the aristocracy by blowing up the House of Lords during the opening of parliament
The plot was discovered and Guy Fawkes was arrested in a cellar with 36 barrels of gunpowder.
He was tortured for information but over 3-4 days gave almost no useful information. Here is his signature on the confession.
Fawkes was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. In a last act of defiance he jumped off the ladder to the gallows breaking his neck before he could be executed.
A tradition celebrating the November 5th breakup of the plot began and persists into modern times.
The modern English word ‘guy’ comes from Guy Fawkes.
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