Kellogg's and Bad Science

Advertisements for Kellogg's Mini-Wheats in the U.S. claimed that children eating their cereal for breakfast were shown in a study to be 20% more attentive at school.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has now ruled this advertisement was false.

The 20% cited in the advertisement was recorded only by a handful of students.  In fact, only half of the students in the study showed any improvement at all.  Further, the cereal was compared to students that had not eaten any breakfast at all.  Wouldn't it have been better to compare Mini-Wheats to students eating a different breakfast?

So, Kellogg's chose to misleading report a poorly designed study.  Why would a major corporation play so loosely with its' credibility. 

Hat Tip: Quackwatch

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons (seanutbutter)

The Hunt

In just a few seconds this video shows just how strong the forces of natural selection are upon both predators and prey. The fox with its' keen sense of hearing and stealth--watch as it positions its' head to get directional information from its prey. The prey...well...let's just say that future populations won't be descended from the noisy ones.

Hat tip: Daily Dish

And The Winner of the Shiny Nickel Award Is....

The Shiny Nickel Award goes to Elizabeth Rennie.

Elizabeth, zeroing in on the clowns, identified the advertiser associated with the video posted yesterday.

She immediately recognized the advertiser as Philips TV, promoting the,"........ groundbreaking Cinema 21:9 LCD TV, the world’s first cinema proportioned television screen. I mean, come on, what else could clown-imagery represent?"

Yes, the clown imagery was a giveaway.

So, the coveted Shiny Nickel will soon be flying through the interdepartmental mail to Kamloops to our lucky winner, who has assured me that no computer resources were used in the winning of this award.

Photo Credit: Me.

For Something Completely Different

This is an ad.  Really.  Can you guess what it is for?

I'll post the answer tomorrow.

Hat Tip: Daily dish

Friends of Churn Creek

The Churn Creek Protected Area is the only grassland region in British Columbia in which the grassland ecosystem remains intact from low to high elevations.  After spending last summer working on a project in the south Okanagan (Williamson sapsucker ant diet), I can tell you how rare this is. There the vineyards run from the valley floor right up to the high elevation forest edge, leaving little of the natural ecosystem.  It makes it hard to contemplate partaking in a BC wine.

This past weekend a new society formed, the Friends of Churn Creek, to provide assistance to BC Parks in managing the Churn Creek Protect Area.  The goal is to help maintain this unique ecosystem.

Churn Creek is not your typical park.  The area is fairly remote and extremely arid with few services for parks visitors.  The park is suited to those who are looking for a quiet reflective experience as they look out over a great landscape of rolling hills and deeply carved valleys.  It is also a wonder for biologists fascinated with the ecology of plants and animals living in such an environment.

Photo Credit: Me (April 19, 2009). Left to Right: Ordell Steen, Fred McMechan, Anna Roberts