Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Does a duck's quack echo ?

Apparently not ! Much to my great disappointment it turns out that a ducks quack does indeed echo. One of my great nuggets of useless and pointless trivial is now dead and buried. Mythbusters on BBC2 used fancy hi-tech sound recording equipment to break this long held and much derided myth. It turns out that there is an echo but it is very difficult to pick up with the human ear without technological help.

Next they will be telling me that most polar bears are not left-handed.

NB This urban myth/statement started when researchers studying polar bears in the artic monitored their hunting habits. They found that when hunting the right paw was used to hide their black nose and the left to kill the prey (seals mostly). It was surmised that the killing required the greater skill and so the dominant paw must be used. Therefore, most polar bears are left-handed !

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