麻豆传媒

Nested dishes

TURKEYS may vote for Christmas, but what about canaries? Festive-minded Robert Campbell recently purchased a couple of roasting dishes from Lidl. The attached notes warn him not to 鈥渙verheat your cooking utensils, so as to avoid smoke which can be dangerous for small animals (e.g. birds) with especially sensitive respiratory systems. We recommend not keeping birds in the kitchen!鈥�.

Robert says he was unaware that kitchens were off limits for birds, while Feedback wonders why it is up to the vendors of kitchenware to raise awareness of this danger and not, say, the vendors of small birds.

This is of particular concern to us, as our own kitchenette is packed with a seasonal gift haul: a small flock of swans and geese, four calling birds, three french hens, a pair of turtle doves and a partridge. (We also received a pear tree, which is sitting in the garage.)

While our incumbent guests will certainly keep us mindful not to overdo the parsnips, we suppose any accidental fatalities will only put extra meat on the table. Turducken? So 2017! Make ours a six-layer meat matryoshka: swagoocallhendovtridge.

鈥淎 walking, talking android was lauded as the most advanced of its kind when it appeared at a recent Russian technology forum. Alas, Robot Boris was in fact an unnamed man in a 拢3000 costume鈥�

Perfect pairing

SPEAKING of seasonal food, it鈥檚 not just European nationalists who hold a deep-seated loathing for Brussels. We are talking sprouts, of course. Brassicaphobic readers will be thrilled to hear that a new study has revealed one weird trick to dampen the green gremlin鈥檚 bitter taste.

Volunteers reported that a sip of red wine considerably lowered the sprouts鈥� intensity. Gravy and water had no effect. Researchers say the wine鈥檚 astringency may somehow counter bitter tastes. All you need to know is that a fruity red is just the thing to wash down your Christmas dinner 鈥� whether sprout infested or not.

Yule be sorry

鈥楾IS the season when millions of people who couldn鈥檛 keep a cactus alive decide to bring a mature fir tree into their home. Keeping this festive pot plant alive until the 12th day of Christmas can be a challenge, but technology is here to help.

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a cyborg plant that can drive itself about. Electrodes inserted in the plant detect its reactions to light, heat and more, and cause the wheels to relocate the plant to a comfier spot.

Of course, the idea of waking up to find a tinselled triffid looming over your bed, its cold, sap-filled heart intent on revenge, should be enough to have you reaching for the hatchet. Best play it safe and buy an artificial tree this year.

Having a crush

A DOG is for life, but adorable animals are for any day of the week. The question is: why do most of us get the urge to squeeze cute creatures?

Psychologists have dubbed the phenomenon 鈥渃ute aggression鈥�. In a new study, 54 people looked at pictures of animals and babies while EEG caps recorded their brain activity. The results suggest these aggressive urges happen when people can鈥檛 handle how cute something is.

Katherine Stavropoulos at the University of California, Riverside, says, 鈥淥ur study seems to underscore the idea that cute aggression is the brain鈥檚 way of 鈥榖ringing us back down鈥� by mediating our feelings of being overwhelmed.鈥�

Small bills

IN A previous edition, Feedback reported signage that declared a running tap wastes 鈥�250 penguins or 拢22 a day鈥� (24 November). 鈥淭his exchange rate makes one penguin worth 8.8p,鈥� says Ian Binnie. 鈥淲here can I buy a penguin for 8.8p, and are these the fairy or king kind?鈥�

Feedback urges Ian to waddle down to the biscuit aisle of his local supermarket, where we are sure he can p-p-pick up a penguin for around that price.

Hal-AI-lujah

AND finally, it wouldn鈥檛 be the holidays without a little carolling. In what is bound to become a time-honoured tradition, researchers at Made by AI have raised a machine-learning intelligence on a steady diet of Christmas carols, and asked it to produce some new ones.

Visit christmas.madeby.ai to listen to spirited renditions of future classics such as Cinnamon Holybells, Merry Jinglelog and the charming Cocoa Jollyfluff.

Not to be outdone, the panoptical AI behind Google鈥檚 search algorithms is also having a go. Search for 鈥減artridge in a pear tree鈥� and you will be treated to an information box containing what this machine intelligence believes to be the correct lyrics. The first few lines are spot on, but things quickly get weird:

鈥淏etter not shout, you better not cry / You better not in a pear tree / On the ninth, no! / On the eighth, come on!鈥︹��

鈥淣ine ladies dancing they were dancing for me / Eight maids a milking they were milking just for me / I had Christmas down in Africa鈥� I had Christmas down in Africa (five golden rings) / Couldn鈥檛 take the halls into the things we never had鈥� Partridge in a big pear tree / Partridge in a big pear tree鈥�

What more is there to say? Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, jolly Yule and season鈥檚 greetings one and all.

You can send stories to Feedback by email at feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This week鈥檚 and past Feedbacks can be seen on our website.