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THE LAST WORD It’s a fin thing Apart from the convenience of researchers, film producers and beach wardens, why do sharks spend so much time displaying just their fins?
n Very few species of shark make a habit of poking a dorsal fin out of the water. The main exception is the basking shark, which has a large dorsal fin and often swims close to the surface to feed on plankton. Other sharks show their fins rarely, and when they do, just like the basking shark, it is incidental to activity that brings them to the surface. To describe exposing the fin as a “display” is misleading, because the shark is not doing it deliberately, any more than you “display” your foot to worms if you step into mud. The fin is simply appearing when the shark approaches the surface. The dorsal fins of many sharks that swim constantly act as keels, helping to keep them upright and to provide control in high-speed turns. Most bottom-dwelling sharks don’t need that kind of control, so many of them don’t have conspicuous dorsal fins. Jon Richfield Somerset West, South Africa
hence less dense, so this may also tempt sharks to the surface. Andrew Doherty Tongala, Victoria, Australia n Over the past 50 years, I have done more than 2000 ocean swims, totalling approximately 8000 kilometres. I occasionally see sharks, but I have never seen a shark with its fin out of the water. It is worth noting one consequence of sharks spending a lot of time near the surface: they produce melanin and can develop a suntan. As for why people think sharks show their fins above the water a lot, there are two reasons. First, movies love to portray them this way because it is easy to make a fake shark fin, poke it out of the water and film it. It is much harder to make a realistic fake shark. Second, most people are at the surface when they see sharks, so inevitably only see them at this point. This is a form of availability bias, where we tend to think that what we see represents the general case when actually it probably isn’t. Stephen Johnson Eugene, Oregon, US
It’s a gas Why are farts funny?
n Fin display is not a deliberate action, but a consequence of a shark putting its mouth and eyes where the food is – in this case near the surface. One other consideration is that surface water has a slightly higher oxygen level and is also slightly warmer,
n There are several reasons why flatulence puts a smile on some people’s faces. The first is the relief felt by the farter as they get rid of troublesome bowel gas. The next is the sound of the fart as it
We pay £25 for every answer published in New Scientist. To answer a question or ask a new one please email [email protected]. Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address. You can also send questions and
answers to The Last Word, New Scientist, 25 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ES. New Scientist Ltd retains total editorial control over the published content and reserves all rights to reuse question and answer material that has been submitted by readers in any medium or in any format and at any time in the future. All unanswered questions and previous questions and answers are at newscientist.com/lastword/
announces its departure. This raises an air of expectation: will the fart be unscented or malodorous, and to what degree? This anticipation and associated humour seem proportional to the loudness and duration of the fart. Farting’s potential for humour peaks when there are more than two people in the room. A mischievous culprit can plead innocence and cause argument among the blameless. David Muir Edinburgh, UK n I was involved in a research project on the nature of humour a couple of years ago that found the answer. Conventional wisdom says that laughter is triggered by the unexpected. But experiments in recent years showed this to be false: audiences laugh louder at surprise-free stories. To make someone laugh, you don’t surprise them, you attack them. If you are a comedian, you attack their conventions, their values, their assumptions, their expectations. If you are a parent, you physically “attack” your infants, nibbling them and throwing them in the air. This explains why you cannot tickle yourself: the sense of an external attacker is missing. To fart in polite society is to attack multiple conventions, which is why some people find it funny. To maximise the laughter, choose a large audience and time it carefully. For example, wait for a school function during which the
principal reads a poem that says: “And the Goddess Mother Nature released her mighty wind over the forest…” Nury Vittachi Hong Kong, China n Comical farting certainly has a history. Henry II of England, who ruled in the 12th century, once gave one of his minstrels a 12-hectare estate in Suffolk for performing the king’s favourite party trick – a hop and a whistle, followed by a fart. The condition was that the minstrel, known as Roland le Fartere (what else?), had to do the trick every Christmas – and his descendants also had to carry on the tradition. Fast-forward to France in the late 19th century, where Joseph Pujol, the French flatulist, or professional farter, used to amuse audiences by farting at will. He didn’t actually pass intestinal wind, but could draw air in through the amazing control of his sphincter and then fart it out. David Hulme Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK
This week’s question TOWN OR COUNTRY?
Which lifestyle is better for my health: breathing plenty of fresh air in a dull, rural village, or never being short of mental stimulation by opting for life in a suburban metropolis with its polluted air? Nathan Wheelhouse By email, no address supplied
THE LAST WORD It’s a fin thing Apart from the convenience of researchers, film producers and beach wardens, why do sharks spend so much time displaying just their fins?
n Very few species of shark make a habit of poking a dorsal fin out of the water. The main exception is the basking shark, which has a large dorsal fin and often swims close to the surface to feed on plankton. Other sharks show their fins rarely, and when they do, just like the basking shark, it is incidental to activity that brings them to the surface. To describe exposing the fin as a “display” is misleading, because the shark is not doing it deliberately, any more than you “display” your foot to worms if you step into mud. The fin is simply appearing when the shark approaches the surface. The dorsal fins of many sharks that swim constantly act as keels, helping to keep them upright and to provide control in high-speed turns. Most bottom-dwelling sharks don’t need that kind of control, so many of them don’t have conspicuous dorsal fins. Jon Richfield Somerset West, South Africa
hence less dense, so this may also tempt sharks to the surface. Andrew Doherty Tongala, Victoria, Australia n Over the past 50 years, I have done more than 2000 ocean swims, totalling approximately 8000 kilometres. I occasionally see sharks, but I have never seen a shark with its fin out of the water. It is worth noting one consequence of sharks spending a lot of time near the surface: they produce melanin and can develop a suntan. As for why people think sharks show their fins above the water a lot, there are two reasons. First, movies love to portray them this way because it is easy to make a fake shark fin, poke it out of the water and film it. It is much harder to make a realistic fake shark. Second, most people are at the surface when they see sharks, so inevitably only see them at this point. This is a form of availability bias, where we tend to think that what we see represents the general case when actually it probably isn’t. Stephen Johnson Eugene, Oregon, US
It’s a gas Why are farts funny?
n Fin display is not a deliberate action, but a consequence of a shark putting its mouth and eyes where the food is – in this case near the surface. One other consideration is that surface water has a slightly higher oxygen level and is also slightly warmer,
n There are several reasons why flatulence puts a smile on some people’s faces. The first is the relief felt by the farter as they get rid of troublesome bowel gas. The next is the sound of the fart as it
We pay £25 for every answer published in New Scientist. To answer a question or ask a new one please email [email protected]. Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address. You can also send questions and
answers to The Last Word, New Scientist, 25 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ES. New Scientist Ltd retains total editorial control over the published content and reserves all rights to reuse question and answer material that has been submitted by readers in any medium or in any format and at any time in the future. All unanswered questions and previous questions and answers are at newscientist.com/lastword/
announces its departure. This raises an air of expectation: will the fart be unscented or malodorous, and to what degree? This anticipation and associated humour seem proportional to the loudness and duration of the fart. Farting’s potential for humour peaks when there are more than two people in the room. A mischievous culprit can plead innocence and cause argument among the blameless. David Muir Edinburgh, UK n I was involved in a research project on the nature of humour a couple of years ago that found the answer. Conventional wisdom says that laughter is triggered by the unexpected. But experiments in recent years showed this to be false: audiences laugh louder at surprise-free stories. To make someone laugh, you don’t surprise them, you attack them. If you are a comedian, you attack their conventions, their values, their assumptions, their expectations. If you are a parent, you physically “attack” your infants, nibbling them and throwing them in the air. This explains why you cannot tickle yourself: the sense of an external attacker is missing. To fart in polite society is to attack multiple conventions, which is why some people find it funny. To maximise the laughter, choose a large audience and time it carefully. For example, wait for a school function during which the
principal reads a poem that says: “And the Goddess Mother Nature released her mighty wind over the forest…” Nury Vittachi Hong Kong, China n Comical farting certainly has a history. Henry II of England, who ruled in the 12th century, once gave one of his minstrels a 12-hectare estate in Suffolk for performing the king’s favourite party trick – a hop and a whistle, followed by a fart. The condition was that the minstrel, known as Roland le Fartere (what else?), had to do the trick every Christmas – and his descendants also had to carry on the tradition. Fast-forward to France in the late 19th century, where Joseph Pujol, the French flatulist, or professional farter, used to amuse audiences by farting at will. He didn’t actually pass intestinal wind, but could draw air in through the amazing control of his sphincter and then fart it out. David Hulme Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK
This week’s question TOWN OR COUNTRY?
Which lifestyle is better for my health: breathing plenty of fresh air in a dull, rural village, or never being short of mental stimulation by opting for life in a suburban metropolis with its polluted air? Nathan Wheelhouse By email, no address supplied