Going off road
A CITRO脣N car could move you in unexpected ways, discovers Chris Barrett. The manual for his new C3 Picasso informs him that the traction control featured in this model 鈥渒eeps the vehicle on the trajectory required by the driver, within the limits of the laws of physics鈥�.
鈥淧resumably,鈥� he says, 鈥渋f I switch it off I can select a trajectory outside the laws of physics.鈥� We鈥檙e eager to hear back from Chris, and discover where in the universe, multiverse or timeline his motoring trips have taken him.
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Fluid dynamics
RECENTLY Feedback pondered on manifestations of quantum superposition in everyday life (13 February). Ian Turnbull is prompted to ask 鈥渋s the glass half-empty or is the glass half-full?鈥�
鈥淚 have done a lot of experiments,鈥� writes Ian, 鈥渨hich show that the state the glass collapses to is dependent upon the arrival of a third party influence.鈥� Welcome guests make a glass half-empty, prompting you to ask for another as they head to the bar.
However, the arrival of someone you鈥檇 rather avoid makes the glass half-full, so you decline the offer. 鈥淭hen while the third party pops off to the bar to buy a pint for themselves, very quickly the half-glass is consumed and you disappear,鈥� explains Ian.
Muddying the waters
NEVER let a good crisis go to waste: before the ink was dry on their (roundly debunked) hypothesis that GM mosquitoes were to blame for Zika (20 February), The Ecologist was pursuing , that pesticides were responsible for the microcephaly associated with the virus.
Pyriproxyfen, an insecticide that inhibits the growth of mosquito larvae, has been added to water tanks in Brazil since 2014. There is no evidence to suggest it causes birth defects 鈥� and plenty to demonstrate that it doesn鈥檛, having been 鈥� but that didn鈥檛 stop The Ecologist republishing the claims.
Work is under way on a vaccine for Zika 鈥� if only one existed to prevent the spread of conspiracy theories.
In the dark
MAYOR of London Boris Johnson fielded questions on Twitter earlier this month, prompting one member of the public to ask for his views on the recent discovery of gravitational waves (20 February, p 8). 鈥淎 bit fishy that they detected this billion-year-old collision of two black holes just when they switched it on,鈥� the mayor .
As one wag was quick to point out: 鈥淭hey were hardly likely to find the evidence before they switched it on, were they?鈥�.
Strapped in
SAFETY first: on a recent order for a laminating machine, Peter Duffell couldn鈥檛 help but notice the guidance that 鈥渢his machine needs to be used with a life jacket if cut up or small pieces of paper are being laminated鈥�.
This seems unusual, though Feedback supposes that there is no better time to laminate all your small personal effects than when cast headlong into the sea.
More or less
GUIDELINES for the multiverse: Bruce Mardle鈥檚 pack of macaroons gives nutritional information on the contents, specified as 鈥淧er macaroon: 卤42g鈥�. Presumably, this information tells you not just the calories you will accrue by eating one, but how many calories the alternative version of you will forgo by abstaining.
Zeroing in
HIGH specifications: those planning to spend a night at the Wood Norton Hotel in Worcestershire will be safe in the knowledge of not just which room they are heading towards, but which hair on the carpet.
Ralph Bowsfield spots an interesting detail on its website, which gives the of the 19th-century manor in grid coordinates to 16 decimal places 鈥� a level of precision that directs us to the nearest picometre.
Dose doubts
A TOUGH pill to swallow? Alaric Sanders writes to tell us that his father was prescribed some antibiotics to treat a prolonged illness. The pharmacist鈥檚 instructions tell his father to: 鈥淭ake one tablet daily immediately after food. Take on an empty stomach, at least half an hour before food or two hours after food.鈥�
鈥淧erhaps the new procedure for avoiding antibiotic resistance without disappointing antibiotic-craving patients is to give them the drugs, but confuse them into not taking the pills?鈥� he suggests.
More mindwash
PREVIOUSLY Feedback discussed the value of things we鈥檇 be much happier not knowing (30 January), and what to call the chance arrival of these unwelcome facts on our computer screens. 鈥淵uk hit?鈥� retorts Neil Armstrong. 鈥淗ow about 鈥榞ross encounters of the nerd kind?'鈥�
Letting off steam
FINALLY, while driving along more conventional geometries in the Devonshire resort of Dawlish, Adrian Wilkins came across a sign for a holiday park advertising, among its other leisure facilities, a 鈥渟uper heated pool鈥�.
鈥淚 wonder whether they carried out a proper risk assessment,鈥� ponders Adrian. Further online searches uncovered more establishments offering a similar scalding experience, such as the Hotel Bonaventure in Montreal. 鈥淪hould the unthinkable happen,鈥� writes Adrian, 鈥淚 can only assume the coroner would give the cause of death as 鈥榤isadventure at the Bonaventure鈥�.鈥�
