Debunking the Hypnotizing Cereal Study

No, the Trix Rabbit is not trying to mesmerize your children. General Foods responded to the "absurd" cereal study that showed how cartoon mascots were trying to "hypnotize" kids. The story went all around the web. I did my part last week, but thought it was silly. Here's General Food's blog:

The study's author responds in the blog credits. I don't doubt that there's marketing psychology involved in the design of cereal boxes, but the idea that there's something deeeevious and subliminally manipulative about it? No.

Final spanking:

Ouch.

Speaking of which:

SCIENCE! ASA released some video of a solar flare and it's beautiful. Absolutely deadly, but beautiful.

And that would seem to be enough; how can the experience be altered or improved or made worse?

2. AP added a pop-up ad - technically, a slide-in ad - that recommended I watch someone skydive off a Dubai skyscraper, because 22 seconds into the video I was probably getting itchy, wondering WHAT NEXT, OH INTERNET, HELP ME PLEASE;

3. Buzzfeed reduced it to a several-second GIF in case the prospect of 43 seconds worth of video made you twitchy and impatient. Then they added another GiF of some guy saying "Science."

URBAN STUDIES Heartening and not-so-good: ten years after two photographers canvased Gotham looking for venerable signage, they return to the scene to see how things changed. I have the original book, and it's fascinating. Anyway: Here's one example, from 22 words:

Here's the Google Street View image as of today:

Was it ravaged between the time the Google camera drove past, and the photographers took their picture? Wikipedia:

ICK I've always wondered about things like this. Consider this Atlas Obscura tale about severed limbs.

Except, of course, that it didn't, which anyone who tried it would have known. But they never had the chance to talk to anyone, since they were caught and hung. In old movies it's always a sign you're about to hear secret wisdom: "it is said." It is said that if a man of pure heart places his hand on the Stone of Kali on the first midnight of the year, the passage shall open.A nd so it happens!