Improbable Research

Who waves what at whom, and to what effect, are the central questions in a study called Deceptive Digits: The Functional Significance of Toe Waving by Cannibalistic Cane Toads, Chaunus Marinus. Professor Richard Shine, of the University of Sydney, and his postdoc student Mattias Hagman published this nine-page report in the journal Animal Behaviour.

The cane toad, they muse, “is one of the most intensively studied anuran species worldwide … It is thus remarkable that the distinctive toe waving behaviour of this species has not been reported in earlier literature.” This is the toad Australians have loved to hate ever since the 1930s, when it was imported from Hawaii to prey on certain agriculturally annoying beetles. Because nothing much in Australia is keen to eat cane toads, the warty immigrants have bred themselves into multitudes ever increasing.

So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian.

The authors, at the University of Arizona, Tucson, explain:

Why do sexually appealing women often attract derogation and aggression? According to terror management theory, women’s sexual allure threatens to increase men’s awareness of their corporeality and thus mortality. Accordingly, in Study 1 a subliminal mortality prime decreased men’s but not women’s attractiveness ratings of alluring women. In Study 2, mortality salience (MS) led men to downplay their sexual intent toward a sexy woman. In Study 3, MS decreased men’s interest in a seductive but not a wholesome woman. In Study 4, MS decreased men’s but not women’s attraction to a sexy opposite-sex target. In Study 5, MS and a corporeal lust prime increased men’s tolerance of aggression toward women. Discussion focuses on mortality concerns and male sexual ambivalence.

“The Siren’s Call: Terror Management and the Threat of Men’s Sexual Attraction to Women,” M.J. Landau, J.L. Goldenberg, J. Greenberg, O. Gillath, S. Solomon, C. Cox, A. Martens and T. Pyszczynski, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 90, no. 1, January 2006, pp. 129-46 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.1.129). (Thanks to Tatiana Divens for bringing this to our attention.)

(That’s an excerpt from the article “Bombshell Research Review,” published in AIR 14:3.)

“Halitosis Among Racially Diverse Populations: An Update,” S Rayman and K Almas, International Journal of Dental Hygiene, vol. 6, no. 1, February 1, 2008, pp. 2-7 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18205647). (Thanks to Kristine Danowski for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at Eugenio Maria De Hostos Community College of The City University of New York, report:

Halitosis (oral malodour or bad breath) is caused mainly by tongue coating and periodontal disease…. The paper reviews the prevalence and distribution of halitosis, oral malodour, its aetiology, concepts of general and oral health and diseases and their perception among racially diverse population… The perception of halitosis is different in culturally diverse populations.

(That’s an excerpt from the article “Improbable Medical Review,” published in AIR 14:3.)

“Biomechanics: Are Fast-Moving Elephants Really Running?” J.R. Hutchinson, D. Famini,
R. Lair and R. Kram, Nature, vol. 422, no. 6931, April 3, 2003, pp. 493-4(http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/422493a).
(Thanks to Jörgen Linder and Jost Weber for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, who are at various institutions in Thailand and the U.S., explain that:

“Usually, the various criteria for walking and running are consistent, making it relatively easy to distinguish walking from running, but this is not true in the case of elephants. Our observations suggest that, at greater speeds, elephants do more than merely walk.”

(That’s an excerpt from the article “Improbable Research Reviews,” Published in AIR 14:3.)

Correlation and Causation

Around 20% of women who go into labor do so after eating Chinese food.

Another 17% or so go into labor after eating Indian food.

True facts.

So writes Chad Orzel, hoping to demonstrate that statistics have the power to overwhelm thought.