Dutch courage
IN VINO veritas, as the Romans would say, but the linguistic benefits of alcohol might include more than just a predisposition for blunt honesty. Researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands wanted to know if there was any truth in the belief that imbibing alcohol can also improve your second language skills.
Fifty native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch were given a 鈥渓ow dose鈥� of alcohol or a placebo, and then took part in a standardised speaking test. Tipsy Germans were consistently rated as having better pronunciation skills than their sober counterparts.
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Feedback thinks it鈥檚 essential this study be replicated in other languages, not least to find out if Dutch simply benefits from sounds like slurred German phonemes, but also to know which languages we ought to learn to justify alcohol as a
No smoke without fire
MEANWHILE, US president Donald Trump seems keen on rejuvenating the US manufacturing industry by making the nation the leading exporter of alternative facts. Previously, Feedback noted his selection for a role in the Environmental Protection Agency of energy industry attorney William Wehrum 鈥� a man who struggled to see the facts on climate change even when they were printed out on a giant chart in front of him (28 October).
鈥淭丑别 Daily Mail reports that Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino keeps a bowl of lemons on his desk to 鈥渁bsorb negative energy鈥�. Is he taking the pith?鈥�
And this trend, like the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, shows no signs of abating. Last month, Kelly Craft found herself sworn in as the US ambassador to Canada after she and her husband donated $2 million to Trump鈥檚 presidential campaign. Asked by CBC news whether she believes in climate change, Craft said she thought there was accurate science 鈥渙n both sides鈥�, and that she would 鈥渁ppreciate and respect both sides of the science鈥�.
Well, it is the diplomatic answer, we suppose. But what prompted CBC to raise the topic of climate change at all? Could it be that Craft鈥檚 husband is none other than Joe Craft, the billionaire CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, third-largest producer of coal in the US?
Robo-rights
AN IMPORTANT victory in the rise of the robots: Saudi Arabia has awarded citizenship to Sophia, an android built by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics. Sophia appeared at the Future Investment Initiative summit in the country鈥檚 capital Riyadh to accept the distinction. Taking the stage without a male chaperone and with her head uncovered, it seems the animatronic puppet has already been granted more freedoms than the .
Clearing the air
COULD drinking probiotic yogurt deflate troubled tummies? Researchers at the Seoul National University Research Park and their colleagues fed 21 healthy adults a mix of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria to see the impact on gut flora.
After 60 days, pathogenic strains such as Citrobacter, Klebsiella, and Methanobrevibacter were all significantly reduced 鈥� the last one correlated with a decline in flatulence.
Good news perhaps for the makers of probiotic supplements, such as CTCBIO Inc, which funded the study. But our attention is drawn to the disqualifications.
Two participants were dropped from the final analysis: one left the study for personal reasons, while another was rejected after their stool sample failed to pass a 鈥渜uality control test鈥�. And you thought your .
Absent asses
FEEDBACK has been collecting theories on what the mysterious object discovered on a Rhode Island beach might be (28 October). Bob Ladd writes: 鈥淚 can say with some certainty that donkey rides along the beach are not a feature of American life, and that this rules out Jo Watson鈥檚 proposed explanation of a hay feeder.鈥�
A Rhode Island native, Bob says he spent many summer hours at beaches in the north-eastern US as a child without spying donkeys of any variety. 鈥淚n fact, I鈥檓 embarrassed to report that despite having lived in the UK for more than 30 years, it was only two years ago that I even became aware of the British association between beaches and donkeys.鈥�
Don鈥檛 be too hard on yourself, Bob 鈥� there aren鈥檛 that many beach days in a British summer鈥� or even 30 of them.
Access all areas
NOT content with selling consumers remote buttons that can order household items directly from Amazon, the tech giant unveiled the latest in frictionless commerce: a smart lock that will allow the company鈥檚 delivery personnel into your home.
What could possibly go wrong? Still, it is surprising that after resisting the UK home secretary鈥檚 demands that back doors be added to their security software, tech companies are so keen on us giving up the keys to our own.
Dean of doom
A SIGN of the times: University of Pennsylvania professor Justin McDaniel has started a gruelling 7-hour class on existential despair 鈥� and there鈥檚 already a waiting list.
Every Tuesday from 5 pm, students sit in silence for 4-and-a-half hours while they make their way through the set text, and then take part in a class discussion. The Huffington Post reports that the material will include books on 鈥渞eligious struggle, the nature of faith, moral crises, illness, the end of life, the end of relationships and struggles with identity.鈥� A little light relief for those keeping up with the news, .