That's Interesting
-
Skin in the Game: Operating Growth, Firm Performance, and Future Stock Returns
08th December, 2022Prior research documents that asset growth is negatively associated with future firm performance. In contrast, this article shows that growth financed by product market stakeholders (i.e., “operating growth”) is positively associated with future firm performance.
Read More -
Here are the winners of the 2022 Ig Nobel Prizes
17th October, 2022Would you give yourself an alcohol enema for science? Test the running speed of constipated scorpions in the lab? Build your very own moose crash test dummy? Or maybe you’d like to tackle the thorny question of why legal documents are so relentlessly incomprehensible. These and other unusual research endeavors were honored in the 2022 annual Ig Nobel Prizes.
Read More -
Why shaving dulls even the sharpest of razors
11th October, 2022Human hair is 50 times softer than steel, yet it can chip away a razor’s edge, a new study shows.
Read More -
Found: a controversial painting hidden inside a painting by Vermeer
11th October, 2022When restoring a painting by Vermeer, conservators discovered an image of Cupid covered up by an additional layer of paint. The paint was removed, revealing the painting as the Dutch master had originally intended it. While this discovery settles old debates about the work, it also raises some new questions — like: who covered it up?
Read More -
The Midlife Crisis
14th September, 2022This paper documents a longitudinal crisis of midlife among the inhabitants of rich nations. Yet middle-aged citizens in our data sets are close to their peak earnings, have typically experienced little or no illness, reside in some of the safest countries in the world, and live in the most prosperous era in human history. This is paradoxical and troubling.
Read More -
Mechanical Watch
14th September, 2022In the world of modern portable devices, it may be hard to believe that merely a few decades ago the most convenient way to keep track of time was a mechanical watch. Unlike their quartz and smart siblings, mechanical watches can run without using any batteries or other electronic components.
Read More -
The Gambler Who Cracked the Horse-Racing Code
26th August, 2022Bill Benter did the impossible: He wrote an algorithm that couldn’t lose at the track. Close to a billion dollars later, he tells his story for the first time.
Read More -
Essential Climbing Knots — The Complete Guide
11th August, 2022Seven essential climbing knots to learn first: The Trace Eight, Prusik, Clove Hitch, Ring Bend, Double Fisherman’s, Girth Hitch, and Figure-Eight On A Bight.
Read More -
Wasps force zombie spiders to weave ‘cocoon’ webs
11th August, 2022For some unlucky spiders, the zombie apocalypse is now. Some parasitic wasp larvae can take over their minds, forcing them to weave special webs the wasps use to support and protect their cocoons.
Read More