Dr. X's Free Associations

Who Knew? Neurological Problems Associated with Denture Adhesives

Fixodent and Poli-Grip can cause problems -- rarely, but it can happen (Corpus Callosum)

The Pope and The Spice Girl

...Holy Spice

In 498 CE, after rival church factions elected two bishops of Rome -- Symmachus and Lawrence, Theodoric the Great picked Symmachus to assume the papacy, a decision he soon came to regret.  There were numerous scandals associated with Pope St. Symmachus (498-515), including rumors of a sexual relationship with a woman known around town as 'Conditaria' (Spice Girl).

from Raymond Davis: The Book of Pontiffs, The Ancient Biographies of the First 90 Roman Bishops to AD 715.

Cars That Run On Compressed Air

Story: Wm Ferguson for the NY Times:.

Guy Nègre, a onetime Formula One engineer, has created a car that runs on compressed air. It gets up to 120 miles per tank in the city; you can fill it up in as little as three minutes; its emissions are minimal. A working prototype has been available for more than 10 years. So why aren’t we all whooshing around in cars that run on air? Well, Nègre’s car isn’t magic. The engine needs energy to run a generator to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks. And at speeds greater than 35 miles per hour, the efficiency of the compressed-air engine diminishes, and a fuel-burning heater kicks in. But the engine hasn’t been the real challenge; selling the idea has. That task may become easier when the first compressed-air cars hit the road in India, where Nègre’s company, MDI Enterprises, has finally attracted a powerful business partner: Tata Motors. India’s largest carmaker  continue reading...   or watch the video below to see how the car is constructed and to watch it run.

Who Knew?

Who knew that more gender reassignment surgeries are performed in Iran than any other country except Thailand?  Not only does the Islamic government approve of the procedure, the government pays for it.

Who Knew?

Heidi Harley reports on an unexpected discovery made during research on learning French as a second language.  It seems that native French speakers often disagree on noun gender.