麻豆传媒

Have you heard that pyridaben carbozole sound?

THE oddest things can send Feedback on quests of epic work-avoidance. Take Julian Parmegiani鈥檚 attempt to buy a professional video light on eBay, which led him to the LED 5001 at and the seller鈥檚 鈥淗ow to use鈥� instructions: 鈥淚nstall the battery into the battery jar, when heard a weak 鈥榩yridaben carbazole鈥� sound the installation is completed.鈥� Julian would like to know what a weak pyridaben carbazole sound is.

Surely, we thought naively, in this age of instant access to all the world鈥檚 true facts (and even more of the other kind) it would take only a moment to find the answer. Or any answer. All, arguably, part of Feedback鈥檚 job.

The search results we found to 鈥減yridaben carbazole sound鈥� directed us, with one exception, to the same instructions Julian found. But we did discover that carbazole is and diphenylenimine and several other things. Carbazoles in general can be synthesised (though this is but ) by reacting naphthols and aryl hydrazines using sodium bisulfite. Does this reaction make a sound? Is it squelchy? Crackly?

We found plenty of other references to 鈥渢he carbazole sound鈥�. Examples include: the instructions for what appears to be a from China; a description of an ailing knee-joint on a ; and 鈥� perhaps importantly, for here鈥檚 the exception mentioned above 鈥� a strange, oddly translated which contains this sentence: 鈥淗e heard the guard outside of a person who asked, and then latch issued pyridaben carbazole sound, the door opened.鈥�

So we have a sort of triangulation on what it might sound like (if we use our imaginations). But are we, as the anti-intellectual but neurologically correct phrase goes, 鈥渙ver-thinking it鈥�? Do the characters that say 鈥渃arbazole鈥� in a Chinese language also stand for something like 鈥済raunch鈥� or 鈥渂zzzt鈥�? Could it merely be a typo in Chinese?

We even resorted to leaving the computer and asking, face-to-face, a video and lighting technician. She had never heard of pyridaben or carbazole. Surely someone can put us out of our misery? Perhaps, given the internet鈥檚 failure to provide a satisfactory answer, a handwritten postcard would be the way to do so.

鈥淪een on a pack of toilet tissues at Sainsbury鈥檚 supermarket: 鈥淪ainsbury鈥檚 supersoft quilted tlt tiss 4 脳 170 shts.鈥� That鈥檚 sheets, we presume鈥�

Many an iPod makes a mile

WHAT鈥橲 that in iPods? Following our reports on elephants (15 May) and blue whales (19 June) as units of measurement, Google has launched into the field with a unit of its own. Describing its new search index, called , the famous web search engine starts off on familiar territory: 鈥淐affeine processes hundreds of thousands of pages in parallel. If this were a pile of paper it would grow three miles taller every second.鈥�

So far, so ordinary 鈥� but then, as several readers have pointed out, it breaks new ground: 鈥淵ou would need 625,000 of the largest iPods to store that much information; if these were stacked end-to-end they would go for more than 40 miles.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 15,625 iPods per mile,鈥� Justin Bailey points out. 鈥淲ill the iPod replace the foot soon?鈥�

Do hole-nesting birds use Twitter?

SEVERAL readers have questioned our assertion that most hole-nesting birds do not have internet access (5 June) by pointing out that they are able to tweet. We are ashamed that we hadn鈥檛 thought of this ourselves.

Meanwhile, Richard King tells us that in Old Winchester Hill nature reserve in Hereford, UK, there are notices saying 鈥淕round Nesting Birds please keep to the footpath鈥�. Richard says it is just as well that the birds can鈥檛 read as their nests would get trampled underfoot.

11 years of rigorous testing

鈥淲ITH every one of our notebooks subjected to 95,000 hours of rigorous testing,鈥� says HP in an advert Jon Gregory has copied to us, 鈥渨e provide the latest and most reliable technology for small businesses today.鈥�

Jon points out that this would seem to mean that each notebook is tested for 11 years before being released for sale.

Jon is not clear on how this will help him 鈥渓ive life in the fast lane鈥�, as the advert proclaims.

Last chance to enter World Cup competition

FINALLY, you still have a week to send us your entry to our World Cup competition with the chance of winning an official Adidas World Cup football. You are invited to send us up to 50 words on the theme of: 鈥淲hat is your best scientific or technological excuse for having lost at sport?鈥�

The winning entry will be the one the editors judge the wittiest and most inventive. You can enter by post to Feedback, by email to feedback@newscientist.com, or online at newscientist.com/article/dn18983. The winning entry will be chosen from entries received by 5pm GMT on 5 July 2010. No entries will be accepted after that time.

The winning entry and the best runners-up will be published in the 31 July issue of 麻豆传媒. Come on you inventive losers!