Slanted Science

Welcome to part one of SlantedScience’s look at scientific and medical research papers which have a festive theme. Some of them are serious, some of them silly, and some of them will need to be categorized under WTF?.

Just remember, ladies and gentlemen, that in each case these studies were carried out by trained professionals, and published in proper journals. Even scientists can have a laugh once in a while…

Today we have three papers for you to digest, including a horrible-sounding case study of intestinal eruptions. But rest assured, that isn’t the most disturbing thing you’ll read in this series.

Kicking off part one is:

Details: “Cinnamon odor is more familiar and pleasant during Christmas season than summertime.” Appetite Journal, 2009.
Key Quote:

This study demonstrates that attributes of some odors change throughout the year.

You know how it is, that a certain smell can transport you a thousand miles and twenty years in a moment? Well, scientists have also shown that your reaction to smells depends on on the time of year. In this paper, the boffins asked 100 people to take a sniff of several scents – including oranges, shoe leather and cinnamon – and assign each as being associated with “Summertime“, “Christmas“, or “Neither“. They repeated the experiment: once during the summer and again around Christmastime. The volunteers had to rate each scent for ‘familiarity‘ and something the authors call ‘hedonicity‘ (we’re guessing they mean whether or not it was pleasurable).

The study found that 97% of people tested associated the smell of cinnamon with Christmastime, as did 87% when the scent was clove. Roses, on the other hand, were associated with summertime by 75% of people. Most interesting, though, was that when the tests were carried out at Christmastime, people reported an increase in pleasure derived from the cinnamon smell.

So there you go: you are not alone in feeling all warm inside when you detect the aroma of baking cookies at this time of year.

Next up is a rather disturbing warning about the under-appreciated dangers of Christmas trees. Who’d have thought?

Details:“Eye damage from Christmas trees.”The Lancet, 1984.
Key Quote:

Sir, Casualty [ER] officers will soon begin to see seasonal cases of eye injury caused by Christmas trees.

We liked the quote used above because it seemed to have a hint of menace about it: we imagined it being whispered into a telephone by a Germanic bad guy, with Bruce Willis listening on the other end and asking himself if he was ever – just one year – going to make it home in time for Christmas.

Anyway, this was a 1984 letter to The Lancet from a Dr Brazier, of Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. In it, Dr Brazier warns his fellow Casualty officers (‘ER doctors‘ in the US) to be prepared for a seasonal influx of tree-associated eye injuries. As he describes, his own ER saw fifteen such cases in the preceding year.

Some good news, though: if you are the kind of clumsy buffoon who can’t even get a small tree through your front door without stabbing yourself in the eyes, you should consider getting an artificial replacement: these caused only two out of the fifteen injuries, and those two patients had a better long-term outcome than the rest.

And now, a description of a most unusual drug side effect…

Details:“Christmas cracker or Duogastrone symptoms.” The British Medical Journal, 1969
Key Quote:

there was a timid woman of 40, Mrs.A,who called out apologetically that it was her and her capsules…

This story needs a couple of background comments before reading. Firstly, you need to know that a ‘Christmas cracker‘ is a type of party toy which is common at this time of year in the UK. It is a decorative paper tube, inside of which are a novelty gift and a small explosive charge(!). Two people grasp the tube, one at each end, and pull it apart, causing the gift to fall out and the gunpowder to emit a “crack‘ sound (hence the name).

Secondly, you should know that ‘Duogastrone‘ is a drug used to treat digestive tract ulcers.

And now, the utterly bizarre story of exploding Christmas bowels…

So if anyone you know is taking Duogastrone, make sure you invite them for Christmas dinner this year…it will be hilarious.

Check back over the next few days for more Christmas science stories, plus the usual collection of science news. All delivered with the SlantedScience.com humor guarantee. And a cupful of eggnog.