The Onion: Researchers Quietly Chuckling At Placebo Group
Although the trial is expected to run for two more months, Rodriguez told reporters that he almost could not wait to analyze the data, compile the results, publish the findings, and see the looks on their stupid faces.
Someone asks, What is it?
I surmise this was found at Freddy Roentgen’s yard sale, selling his grandfather’s dusty lab equipment. It’s an x-ray tube — boil off electrons, accelerate them and have them slam into the copper target, where they emit bremsstrahlung and also ionize the target, which will give some x-rays during the recombination if it involves inner-shell electrons. It’s unshielded, so it’s probably pretty old and/or taken out of a shielded device. I’d imagine a newer device to be more compact and with more recognizable connectors.
OMG
To test your knowledge of scientific concepts and recent scientific findings and events, we invite you to take this 12-question science knowledge quiz. Then see how you did in comparison with the 1,005 randomly sampled adults asked the same questions. You’ll also be able to compare your Science IQ with the average scores of men and women; with college graduates as well as those who didn’t attend college; with people who are your age as well as with younger and older Americans.
I got 12/12, but I’d expect anyone with a science degree to do pretty well — this is targeted to a lay audience. And it sets the bar pretty low; numerous bloggers have discussed the poll results and implications. The poll is reasonable, I think, with two exceptions. One is a question that is not so much science as current events, and another is the type which becomes harder to justify when you know more about the topic. Look at the quiz first, though.