Feedback is 快猫短视频鈥檚 popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com
Down under
No less a personage than 快猫短视频鈥榮 editor, Catherine de Lange, alerted us to this development. Naturally, we have made it our lead item: it鈥檚 our way of saying sorry for all the times Cat has had to say things like, 鈥淔or crying out loud, don鈥檛 print that, you鈥檒l get us sued into oblivion for a one-liner.鈥�
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Cat had been sent a press release for a company called , which she forwarded to Feedback without comment. It鈥檚 always a good sign when a colleague sends us something and doesn鈥檛 even bother to say anything snarky. We assume they have been so floored by what they read that they simply couldn鈥檛 think of anything to add.
Underdays鈥� product is underwear infused with beneficial bacteria that nourish your skin microbiome. Or, as the press release puts it: 鈥淭he most intimate layer just got an IQ鈥�. Feedback briefly considered whether bacteria could be said to have an IQ, but we decided not to fall down that particular rabbit hole because there was so much else to discuss.
The press release invites us to consider the prospect of 鈥減rebiotics and probiotics, infused into the fabric, transferring to your skin all day鈥�. This, we are told, 鈥渟upports your microbiome鈥�, 鈥渟trengthens your skin barrier鈥� and 鈥減romotes a healthier appearance鈥�.
These new garments offer a potentially significant time-saver: 鈥淣o creams. No serums. No extra steps. Just get dressed and have your skincare, woven in.鈥� Because if there鈥檚 one thing we all need, it鈥檚 to further optimise our mornings so we spend less time on self-care.
Feedback has a lot of questions about this, but we will focus on just one: what happens when you wash the undergarments? Over the years, we have become aware that underwear needs to be washed regularly, but in this case, that seems to pose an issue. Won鈥檛 the elevated temperatures and laundry chemicals take a toll on the probiotic bacteria in the underwear?
To find out, we switched to private mode on our browser and visited the Underdays website. After scrolling past a lot of photos of different underwear, we found an FAQs page. There we learned that the underwear doesn鈥檛 actually replace your existing skincare routine, because you should 鈥渦se it alongside your existing products鈥�. It seems that vital time-saving element may be a mirage. Curses.
But what about washing? The FAQ offers explicit guidance: 鈥淲e recommend washing all our underwear on a cool wash, maximum 40 degrees in a garment bag. Air-dry flat in shade. Do not iron or tumble dry.鈥� However, users are advised to 鈥渨ash at 30掳C on a gentle cycle鈥�. If you do so, it promises, the probiotics in the underwear will last for 鈥渦p to 40 washes鈥�.
Underlays didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment about how this all worked, scientifically. And if you think about it, the phrase 鈥渦p to 40 washes鈥� encompasses a wide range of possibilities.
Places to go
Increasingly niche scientific tourist attractions continue to trickle into our inbox, following the foraminifera sculpture park (11 April) and moss garden (9 May).
Carolyn Smith writes in to confirm our suspicion that there might be a curated set of beach pebbles somewhere in the world. 鈥淗ere on the North Norfolk coast we have two 鈥� count them 鈥� shell museums,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 am not sure if there is a big rivalry between them,鈥� she adds, nor is she 鈥渁ffiliated or getting any shell commission鈥�, but Carolyn asserts nevertheless that the best one is the in Glandford. It claims to be the home of 鈥渢he finest seashell collection in the UK鈥�.
Carolyn didn鈥檛 identify the other shell museum, perhaps because it鈥檚 paying her negative commission, but Feedback thinks she was referring to the in Sheringham, which hosts 鈥渁n exhibition of almost 200 stunning shell-art sculptures鈥�.
At the other end of the planet, Catrin Kerlin 鈥済rew up in a small town called Maffra in Victoria, Australia鈥�, which has 鈥渁 museum about the history of sugar beet farming鈥�. Feedback was reluctant to believe this, but there is indeed a in Maffra. 鈥淒espite living in Maffra until I was 18, I think I only actually went inside there once,鈥� says Catrin. 鈥淔ar more memorable was playing on all the old, rusting farming equipment outside.鈥�
Catrin also identified the reason the museum hasn鈥檛 achieved the fame it perhaps deserves: it is open 鈥渙nce a month for three hours鈥�. Specifically, from 10am to 1pm 鈥渙n the first Sunday of each month, from February to November鈥�.
Plan trips accordingly.
Feeling tense
Plenty of people can鈥檛 park a car. At the time of writing, Feedback is still recovering from a wave of irritation caused by some nitwit who had parked in a two-car bay. Owing to failing to pull all the way to one end of the bay, they had blocked anyone else from using the spot. Clearly, some instruction is required.
However, the instructions sent in by B. Evans, who spotted them in a car park in Devon, UK, appear less than instructive. The sign reads: 鈥淎LL VEHICLES [that first bit is underlined] MUST NOT PARK OUTSIDE OF BAYS鈥�.
As Evans says: 鈥淚t seems to have invented a new grammar tense鈥�, which we might call the 鈥渘egative imperative鈥�. Evans was initially unsure how to obey the sign, but did find a solution: 鈥淚 attempted to comply by not parking, in a positive way.鈥� Feedback wonders if Evans has achieved some sort of vehicular quantum superposition, and congratulates them heartily if so.
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