And other stories from the stranger side of life
A new study has found that despite popular belief, people may not get “beer goggles” after having a few drinks. Researchers in California have found that “consuming a few alcoholic drinks does not make others seem more attractive”, reported the New Scientist, but the alcohol “may give people the courage to approach those who they already found attractive”. Alcohol may “free us from our preoccupation with rejection”, according to the scientists who conducted the study. “For some people, interacting with attractive others can be intimidating, so alcohol may be reducing some of that fear,” said one.
Fragments ‘from outside solar system’ found
A Harvard astrophysicist claims to have found material that “originated from outside the solar system” for the first time in history, said The Telegraph. Professor Avi Loeb has “provoked condemnation from peers” for claiming that initial analysis of fragments recovered from the Pacific Ocean may have an “extra-terrestrial” origin and could be proof of higher intelligence. The “controversial” astrophysicist has earned the moniker the “alien hunter” and “long attracted criticism for his bold claims”, said The Telegraph.
Device will ‘tap’ you to destination
Scientists have invented a wearable device that silently and invisibly “taps” your wrist to tell you which way to turn, said The Times. Inventers at Rice University in Texas wanted to create a lightweight, discreet device that could guide people to their destination without the need to look at a map or for audible cues such as those from a GPS. “Wandering around a strange neighbourhood looking with bemusement at a map app on your phone could become a thing of the past”, said the paper.
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