CSI & Reality

A new study showed that forensic experts are not that great at estimating the age of a bruise--something forensic experts do to estimate the approximate time a crime (such as child abuse and sexual assault) was committed. The median difference between the estimated age and the actual age of the bruise was 26 hours, which could be a pretty significant difference in practical terms.

I do have a question about the study, though. Bruises were created on Caucasian volunteers by using a suction cup. I would think that most assault bruises would be from rough contact. Do bruises created by these different means differ in important ways?

Sand Art

More here.

I Vote Not Him

Weather is Cool

Cumulonimbus clouds above Africa.

Bic Pen

I wish my Bic did this.

Whale Snot

Apparently, you can't really collect whale blood without killing it first. That seems inadvisable, so a researcher started collecting whale snot by flying a helicopter over whales when they breach and flying through the mist they spray out of their blowholes. What an odd job that must be.

Concerning Polling Data

Andrew Sullivan