The "close-door" button in the elevator, the crosswalk button at the intersection, even the thermostat in your office — there's a good chance that they're all placebos. Over the last 20 years or so, many (though, weirdly, not all) of these buttons have become technically useless, but are left in place both because it's expensive to replace existing equipment and because, psychologically, they still serve a purpose.
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9:23 am Fri
Aug 2, 2013
Placebo buttons
The DNA in his semen was completely replaced with another man's DNA
Writing for the New York Times, Heather Murphy has a fascinating story about the unexpected results of a bone marrow transplant. When a patient receives a bone marrow transplant, the patient’s own cells are destroyed and replaced with cells from a donor. Thereafter, the patient is a “chimera,” with two sets of DNA. It’s believed […]
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This rebar-tying video is weirdly calming
I’m not an engineer, but I can’t stop watching this hypnotic and oddly satisfying video of tying rebar.
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A "Google Street View" for the natural sounds of remote Australia
The Australian Acoustic Observatory project, described by its creators as a kind of “Google Street View of sound,” is a new acoustic sensor network of hundreds of microphones and digital audio recorders distributed across multiple remote ecosystems on the continent. The solar-powered system will record animal and natural sounds continuously for 5 years. According to […]
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These home vision tests offer a clear look at the state of your eyesight
Concerned about your eyesight? You probably should be. And we’re not just talking about seniors here. Young or old, we’re all at risk of coming down with vision issues Most of us might get a vision test only once every couple of years or so when we get a new pair of glasses – if […]
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This 5-row Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard rolls up so you can take it on the go
We love our smartphones and tablets, but we also love to write. For a while now, there hasn’t been a workable solution. Either hook it up to a keyboard (which defeats the purpose of a portable gadget) or resign ourselves to typing on tiny, unresponsive glass icons. Looks like technology has finally caught up to […]
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Save over 50% on this slim battery case for your iPhone 11 Pro Max
So you’ve got an iPhone 11 Pro Max. It’s an impressive piece of hardware – sometimes, too impressive. The more you’re compelled to use it, the more an age-old problem pops up: The dreaded low battery warning. Even if you’re on the go, perhaps the best solution to this is also pretty unobtrusive. It’s the […]
