Failure analysis can be fun

There’s a tool for everything.

Mechanical Coital Model
“Male condoms that break in use do so mostly by a “blunt puncture” mechanism“, White et al, Contraception 77, 360 ( 2008 ), doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2008.01.014

(via Nature)

Read what you write!

Until context-sensitive spellcheckers become a mainstay of word processing programs, it often pays to read through any written article before submission:

Plank’s Constant: Probably the most misspelled term in physics, leading to generations of confused undergrads wondering about the link between carpentry and quantum mechanics.

Hardon: Already a Bad Science classic!

Atomic Farce Microscopy: No, really, we’re getting atomic resolution, even if the whole thing’s suspended on bungee cords. Yeah, sure.

Currant source: Why else would you lick a 9 volt battery? Ribena, mmmm!

Contact Angel: How many of them can dance on the surface of a water droplet?

Nonofabrication: The new Zen technique of making structures so small you wonder if they even exist.