Who nose?

I've written about my lack of a sense of smell before, but yesterday I encountered another article about another person suffering from this affliction. Bonnie Blodgett writes:

About 5 percent of the population suffers from smell dysfunction. (It can also be caused by a virus or a head injury, allergies or polyps, or a brain tumor.) Many anosmics endure debilitating depression as well, and they are more prone to suicide long term than those who go blind or deaf.

Again, I'm thankful that I can't remember having the sense; losing it seems more stressful than never having it. Also, at 5 percent, it isn't actually that rare. And I hope it is not the result of a longstanding brain tumor. ("It's not a tumah," Arnold says somewhere back in my brain.)

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Scientists at Clemson are testing the time-trusted 5-second rule. Why are scientists always trying to mess with our completely unsubstantiated beliefs?

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Lastly, a history of ketchup, written by Malcolm Gladwell. Since I'm only in Ireland for a limited time, and my roommate doesn't do ketchup, I've refrained from purchasing the condiment. However, after baking some potato wedges, I did whip up a homemade batch of ketchup-esque substance. Gladwell explains why my version cannot live up to the "actual" thing.

Now I'm off to Dublin to see the magical Guinness brewery. Cheers.