Multiple Organisms.net is an eclectic and earnest series of web pages that catalogue all sorts of organisms. It covers everything from Streptococcus mutans, the tooth decaying bacteria to Kerri Kabela’s page on Bellis perennis, the English Daisy, which reminds us of that oft overlooked quote of Meg Ryan’s from You’ve Got Mail: “Don’t you think that daisies are the nicest flower?” Like I said, for a wickedly titled website its content is awfully sincere. 

None of us use washboards anymore. But its namesake dirt road is around in spades. And it causes hiccup-like speech in those trapped inside the trucks barreling down it. Every now and again, road crews scrape the road flat. But lo and behold, the bumps rise again like little ocean swells.

In my personal experience, the best way to mitigate washboard’s grating effect on the belly and vision is to simply drive faster. That way you tires pretty much skim the crests of washboard. Granted this increases the risk of skidding or fishtailing but that’s half the fun. Turns out this is all very ironic because a group of physicists recently concluded that the only way of stopping washboard from rising out of dirt roads is to drive slow. And by slow they mean like 5 miles per hour slow. To figure this out they created a computer model of the grains of dirt on a road to study how the ripples form. According to Science News, which reported their findings:

Any bed of dirt or sand, even a very smooth one, has minuscule irregularities that slightly jog a rolling wheel. Each time the wheel hits a bump, the computer simulation showed, it pushes the dirt forward a bit, enlarging the irregularity. Then, as the wheel passes over the top of the bump, the force of its descent pushes dirt forward into the next bump. Repeat these actions a hundred or more times and the familiar pattern of ridges appears.

So basically, I think the take home message is “suck it up.” Because let’s face it, no one’s going to drive 5mph on a dirt road. And if there’s no permanent way of keeping them at bay, I think they’re he-he-e-e-re t-o-o-o sta-a-a-a-a-y-y-y-y.

Welcome ye olde faithful Inky Circus readers!

The content’s the same. The font’s a bit different. There’s slightly less orange. But this is it. Our new digs.

But as we tame this new beast, and settle in, we need all the feedback we can get! So with your judgements.

p.s. Here’s our new RSS feed. 

About a year and a half into Inky Circus’s existence we’ve gone and moved. That’s right, your favorite science show has switched circuits to Inkling magazine. But other than the change in url, things are business as usual. It might be a little rocky while we sort out the new formats, so stay with us.

We’ll be just as candid. Just as silly. Just as bitchy. And just as nerdy. We’ll continue to do our best to keep you distracted from your day job.

As for logistics. Our archives will forevermore be available at www.inkycircus.com. And our new RSS feed can be got right here on our left hand column.