This is Neil deGrasse Tyson's favorite science joke "Higgs boson walks into a church, and the priest says, 'I'm sorry we don't allow Higgs bosons to come to churches.' And the Higgs says, 'But without me, you can't have mass.'" Mar. 20, 2015 http://www.businessinsider.com/neil-degrasse-tysons-best-science-joke-2015-3 [with comments]
Pope Francis swarmed by a superfluity of nuns, forcing Archbishop to intervene: ‘They are going to eat him’ March 23, 2015 BOLOGNA — Pope Francis was mobbed by a group of cloistered nuns who were let out of their convents for his visit to Naples. The nuns had to be reined in by the Archbishop of Naples after they swarmed towards the pontiff ... [...] “They are going to eat him!” Cloistered nuns observe rules of “papal enclosure” and rarely leave their nunneries, receiving visitors through a grill. [...] http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/23/pope-francis-swarmed-by-a-superfluity-of-nuns-forcing-archbishop-to-intervene-they-are-going-to-eat-him/ [with comments]
Kudos to Pope Francis. When Francis was told of the fractioned-miracle he replied with a joke .. he got that right .. just perhaps the Pope gives more credence to science
--- SCIENCE WATCH; Chemists Duplicate Miracle of Saint's Blood Published: October 15, 1991
THE preserved, clotted blood of early saints of the Roman Catholic Church liquefies on certain ceremonial occasions, drawing crowds of faithful pilgrims eager to witness the miraculous phenomenon. But a team of Italian scientists has conducted experiments showing that medieval chemists could easily have created imitation blood that would do the same thing.
In a report published by the British journal Nature, a group headed by Dr. Luigi Garlaschelli, a chemist at the University of Pavia, says that blood liquefaction can be explained in terms of a phenomenon called thixatropy. Certain substances, including some types of mayonnaise, are normally thick gels, but can be liquefied instantly by shaking or stirring. Part of the ritual of checking the miraculous blood of Saint Januarius, observed every few months in Naples, for example, involves inverting the blood's reliquary container. This simple act is enough to liquefy certain thixotropic gels, the authors note. Left to stand, such liquids soon revert to gels.
The Italian team prepared one type of imitation blood using a solution of ferric chloride and calcium carbonate. Another successful experiment involved extraction of material from animal gut, and subsequent treatment with iron oxide and sodium chloride. In these and other experiments, the scientists said, they produced a brownish material that clotted when left alone but was easily liquefied each time it was gently moved.
Is the famous liquefying blood of Saint Januarius a fake?
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
AI
