It smells like dirty socks, wet dog, oil, chemicals, gymnasiums, burning, vomit, and more. It induces blurred vision, disorientation, shaking and tremors, vertigo, seizures, loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, depression, sleep disorders, salivation, nausea and diarrhoea among other symptoms. Is "toxic airline syndrome" the new Gulf War Syndrome?
posted to MetaFilter by AmbroseChapel at 6:54 PM on January 7, 2008 (35 comments)

Graduates of the "school of hard knocks" flunk real life. A study from the University of Leicester says that, contrary to popular expectation, unpleasant and traumatic life experiences don't make people suspicious and shrewd -- quite the opposite. Many people who've had a tough life actually turn out more gullible and easily swayed:

"This is because the person may have learned to distrust their actions, judgments and decisions due to the fact that the majority of the time their actions have been perceived to invite negative consequences"

The counter-intuitiveness of this finding fascinates me. Wait. Maybe I shouldn't be taking it at face value...
posted to MetaFilter by AmbroseChapel at 4:28 PM on May 27, 2006 (50 comments)

Go to the "Wok-Star" sauce homepage, click "Watch the TV Spot" and you see what at first glance is one of those whacky Asian TV Ads, with whooshing graphics, over-acting, and the yelling of slogans.

The thing is, it's a fake. The ad was made in Australia, for an English-speaking market, as a parody of whacky asian ads. The performers are Vietnamese-Australians* speaking Vietnamese in an exaggerated way.

Some people think it's insulting, some people think it's hilarious, I'm just puzzled. Are the makers assuming we'll think it's a real ad, imported from china, untranslated? Or do they think we're all so culturally literate that we're in on the gag?.

* the main guy is award-winning actor, writer and Extreme Violinist, Hung Le.
posted to MetaFilter by AmbroseChapel at 7:12 PM on June 11, 2005 (52 comments)