Submitting "Nuking the Fridge" To Scientific Peer Review 284
An anonymous reader writes "George Lucas claims there was 'a 50/50 chance' Indiana Jones could survive the atomic blast in Legend of the Crystal Skull by hiding inside a refrigerator. Dr. David Shechner subjects this claim to rigorous peer review, and his findings are not good news for people looking to hide from nukes in appliances."
"Rigorous peer review" (Score:5, Funny)
Glad I'm not one of Dr. David Shechner's peers, then. Although from the sound of things he must not have many left!
Re: (Score:3)
Glad I'm not one of Dr. David Shechner's peers, then. Although from the sound of things he must not have many left!
At least not any smart ones!
Re:"Rigorous peer review" (Score:5, Informative)
You forgot to include the actual paper [princeton.edu], although your comment also appears to state that you haven't actually read it. It's chock-full of bad puns.
Re:"Rigorous peer review" (Score:5, Funny)
The paper ignores other sci-fi contructs like wormholes and hyperspace, which are considered Bantha poodoo.
By whom? Many of the top minds in astrophysics consider those areas of research to be entirely valid.
"We have top minds working on it now."
"Who?"
"Top. Minds."
Re: (Score:3)
<pedant>The quote was with "top men", not "top minds"</pedant>
Re: (Score:3)
His peers have interns/grad students.... err had anyway.
A child died, playing hide and seek (Score:2, Funny)
... he got suffocated inside a fridge
And this is not a fake news
It happened, about 4 decades ago
I think George Lucas ought to be careful of movie scenario he puts on his movies.
Children watching the movie might just do what the hero does - hide inside a fridge, - and suffocate, just like that poor child who died 4 decades ago
Re:A child died, playing hide and seek (Score:4, Informative)
that's not unique. There were enough cases of that exact thing happening that they made a federal law requiring that any non-functioning fridge with a latching door must have the door REMOVED. Deep freezes included.
Not only are they mostly airtight, they're also fairly soundproof. Makes them an effective deathtrap.
Re: (Score:3)
I am the spirit of dark and lonely water (Score:3)
I remember those. Something along the lines of "...but to a small child it's a submarine, a castle, or a gipsy caravan".
Unless it was nothing like that, in which case I clearly don't remember.
Re:A child died, playing hide and seek (Score:4, Funny)
Not only are they mostly airtight, they're also fairly soundproof. Makes them an effective deathtrap.
I've added that to my list of ways to dispose of my enemies.. Your Secret Overlord thanks you. You will receive a box of chocolates at your work station soon. They most certainly do not contain Thallium and most certainly nothing radioactive... and completely 100% do not contain a combination of the two.
Yours in Russia,
P.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:A child died, playing hide and seek (Score:4, Informative)
Most home refrigerators do not have latches anymore.
Re:A child died, playing hide and seek (Score:4, Funny)
Re:A child died, playing hide and seek (Score:4, Insightful)
Right. And that was directly the result of a child watching an Indiana Jones movie. The idea of hiding in a fridge while playing hide and seek would never cross a child's mind had they not watched the movie.
Re: (Score:3)
The first drafts for Back to the Future had a fridge for a time machine, but it was changed to a car because they were worried about kids climbing into fridges.
Re:A child died, playing hide and seek (Score:4, Interesting)
It happened, about 4 decades ago
And do you know what has changed in the past four decades?
Residential refrigerators don't latch. Haven't for 20-30 years, at least. They use a passive magnetic seal that even a kid could push open. Even standalone (residential) freezer units don't self-latch - They require a removable key-like knob to engage the lock, manually, from the outside (and even then, always have a safety release inside).
Children watching the movie might just do what the hero does - hide inside a fridge, - and suffocate, just like that poor child who died 4 decades ago
So really, you just want to advocate for Time Machine safety, rather than ranting against how many cases of the plague we could avoid by simply getting rid of the rats?
What this really means (Score:5, Funny)
Is that he denied the Mythbusters a chance to go nuclear.
Re:What this really means (Score:5, Funny)
I'm sure they can find some small pacific atoll that nobody wants anymore. Maybe do it in conjunction with Shark Week. Maybe you can jump sharks AND hide in fridges all at once.
Re: (Score:2)
They could scale it down a bit. Say 10% scale. So only 8,800 pounds of TNT, and a 1/10 scale fridge with a 1/10 scale buster in it.. So, a mushroom cloud only 2.9 miles high, with a blast radius of .75 miles. That may be a bit much for their testing range. Lately, I'm pretty sure they'd have to beg for permission to light a firecracker.
Re:What this really means (Score:5, Funny)
Tonight on Mythbusters... Can you survive while swimming with a shark in a fridge full of water, during a nuclear blast?
Depends...does the shark have laser beams attached to its head?
Trauma (Score:5, Interesting)
Forget the radiation and heat. The trauma from the g-forces of that flight and landing would have killed anyone easily.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Indiana Jones is immortal
Harrison Ford is just OLD
Dammit, I was hoping to see a few dozen more movies by him.
Re:Trauma (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3)
I think Indiana Jones was only immortal while he was in that temple.
Indeed, as the Grail Knight specifically says that the immortality the cup grants lasts only within the temple. And further if you examine the... OMG, I'm such a dork, too.
Re: (Score:3)
I actually meant immortal on our side of the 4th wall. If they ever kill him in a story there will be a lingering doubt that he will stay dead. If the IP holders were to in some way convince people they kill him off in a story the IP holders won't be able to wallow in the Indiana Jones Money Tub anymore. ;)
George Lucas. (Score:4, Funny)
The only thing George is an expert on is MOICHANDISING!
But, if you're about to suffer the effects of a close range nuclear detonation, you could do worse... At least this way you'll feel proactive about avoid death as you die horribly.
Re:George Lucas. (Score:5, Funny)
Don't run from a nuclelar detonation, you'll die tired.
Re: (Score:2)
It won't matter much. By the time you know it happened, you were just vaporized. :)
Re: (Score:2)
Its just a movie people (Score:2)
n/t
Then let's test these next (Score:5, Funny)
Or, how about just shut up and watch the movie.
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:4, Informative)
Or, how about just shut up and watch the movie.
Mythbusters already busted [mythbustersresults.com] that middle one. I'd like to see them test the ripping out a man's heart one, though I'm not sure PETA will appreciate them testing on live animals.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
They could do it in China... I'm sure they could come up with someone waiting to be executed whom they need to make a serious public spectacle out of (bonus points to the condemned if, when his heart is being pulled out of his chest, yells the Mandarin equivalent of "Freeeedommmmmm!!!gaaakkkgakkk")
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd like to see them test the ripping out a man's heart one,
Not something you do successfully in your average weird cultist temple, but this is done in heart transplants all the time...
Re: (Score:2)
Mythbusters already busted [mythbustersresults.com] that middle one. I'd like to see them test the ripping out a man's heart one, though I'm not sure PETA will appreciate them testing on live animals.
Hey, for the sake of scientific accuracy, the myth is ripping a MANS heart out without killing him, not some animals heart. I am not sure that PETA has any standing with that one...
Re: (Score:2)
Mythbusters already busted [mythbustersresults.com] that middle one. I'd like to see them test the ripping out a man's heart one, though I'm not sure PETA will appreciate them testing on live animals.
Hey, for the sake of scientific accuracy, the myth is ripping a MANS heart out without killing him, not some animals heart. I am not sure that PETA has any standing with that one...
Perhaps, for the sale of saving the life of an animal, a PETA member will volunteer for this experiment.
Re: (Score:3)
Call it a cucumber :D
Re: (Score:3)
Well, a man is a living animal...
Re: (Score:2)
A case of accuracy though - All men are living animals. Not all living aminals are men.
C'mon, the folks here should be used to these sort of mistakes causing havok with solutions/research.
Re: (Score:2)
Or, how about just shut up and watch the movie.
Mythbusters already busted [mythbustersresults.com] that middle one. I'd like to see them test the ripping out a man's heart one, though I'm not sure PETA will appreciate them testing on live animals.
PETA would, however, be totally fine with that experiment being performed on a human.
Re: (Score:2)
kalima!!! kalima!!! kalima!!!
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Informative)
"JAT stewardess Vesna Vulovi survived a fall of 33,000 feet (10,000 m)[7] on January 26, 1972 when she was aboard JAT Flight 367. The plane was brought down by explosives over Srbská Kamenice in the former Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_fall [wikipedia.org]
Yes, not a rubber life raft, but it's not impossible to survive dropping out of the sky, just really freaking unlikely. Of course, that woman actually landed in part of the plane, broke her skull and was in a coma for 27 days. Probably not in a mood for serious ass kicking at that point, but she's no Indiana Jones either.
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Informative)
The second in the world-record list of "people falling from the sky" is more bizzare. I read it in the "book of general ignorance". The name was Alkemade and he served on a British bomber during WW2 (the name is Dutch though). He fell 6km if I remember correctly by himself (not sitting on the plain chair or something), landed hitting trees and finally snow, had a cigarette and walked away...
Re: (Score:3)
He had a sprained ankle and got arrested, so no walking away. Still, falling 18000 feet and having no more than a sprained ankle so impressed the Germans that they gave him a certificate attesting to the fact and he was something of a celebrity in the POW camp.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Alkemade [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:3)
A few more here:
http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/unlucky.html [greenharbor.com]
e.g.
Tang Lee Ping Kuala Lumpur: In February of 2001 Tang Lee Ping of Malaysia fell 1,500 meters after her main and back-up parachutes failed to open. She woke up three hours later in a nearby hospital. Her injuries were minor (only bruises). She attributed her survival to God and a soft landing area.
Bruises only! I think 1500 metres is enough distance to get to "normal" terminal velocity.
And: http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/leeds.html [greenharbor.com]
I walked away without so much as a scratch. Following this incident I must have made over a hundred free falls and static line jumps without incident.
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Funny)
I'd like to see them test the ripping out a man's heart one, though I'm not sure PETA will appreciate them testing on live animals.
Simple, use politicians and lawyers. I think to be certain we need to try it on at least 10 thousand.
Your subjects are flawed... one needs a heart in the first place to have it ripped out.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3)
The obligatory. [xkcd.com]
Re: (Score:3)
That, and it's "Zombie-Feynman" in the comic. Let's zombify you, and see if you don't lose some rigor. (mortis that is)
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:4, Insightful)
^This.
I'm willing to suspend disbelief and pretend that magic is real... but there's no way that "physics as normal" allows the fridge stunt to work.
Re: (Score:3)
Even at 25 mph, a head on collision is not something that you just jump up and say "I'm fine", especially when you're not wearing your seat belt.
As a corroborating anecdote, I was once knocked unconscious riding in the back seat of car when it hit a telephone pole traveling ~30 mph, while wearing a seat belt.
I have never been involved in a head-on collision at any speed, nor would I like to be.
Re: (Score:3)
If you're willing to suspend disbelief on the basic premise of the movie (professor who kicks ass and finds magical artifacts, survives all sorts of danger and gets the girl... most of the time) the rest of it is just fun.
Suspension of disbelief is a tricky thing, and I find that I (and I am certainly not unique in this regard) seem to be very picky and will happily accept some things while rejecting others.
Anything to do with characters is bad: if a carachter acts in an inexplicable way all of a sudden, th
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Funny)
... whereas the fourth movie completely obliterated it.
Wait... there was a fourth movie?!
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:5, Funny)
It was enjoyable at best, but I was still happy to see another movie in the series. Kind of like the joke in Big Bang Theory on an episode about seeing all 6 Star Wars movies in a movie marathon.
"So, 1-3, then 4-6, or 4-6, 1-3, classic style?"
"Isn't it obvious? 4-6 first. I prefer to be disappointed in the order in which George intended us to be."
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Others, like being knocked out for half a day and actually waking up (and without brain damage no less), simply shows the writer knows nothing about
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You do recall that the guy died moments later, don't you? There's nobody in the film running around, minus their heart. Besides, this was some supernatural cult thing. You could easily rationalize it as some form of slight of hand or mass hypnosis to impress the audience of followers. No comment about the rocks that burn on command...
There's an outside possibility you'd survive. If you were sure you're going to die,
Re: (Score:2)
Or, how about just shut up and watch the movie.
It was possible with the first three because they were entertaining. The fourth one wasn't, so the nitpickery is much more entertaining.
You forgot... (Score:3)
Clinging to the outside of a submarine while it travels halfway around the world...
The fridge stunt was completely in keeping with the tongue-in-cheek tone of the Indy films - the film sucked because it was the much-delayed fourth film in a trilogy. When has that ever worked?
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
It's actually "ahoy-hoy".
I'm pretty sure it's Ahoy there matey!
Re:Then let's test these next (Score:4, Funny)
Just go with "Yarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."
Re: (Score:2)
This sounds like something made for TV.. (Score:5, Funny)
Let's see, we have a fridge, now we just need a nuclear testing facility!
jamie want big boom (Score:4, Funny)
Don't do this at home.
Re: (Score:3)
Ever!
Indie survived... (Score:4, Funny)
... but the franchise didn't.
Does that make him "Schrodinger's Archaeologist?"
Re: (Score:3)
Uhhmmm... Apparently Lucas is working on the screenplay to #5.
Indiana's death has been somewhat exaggerated...
myke
Refrigerator is just a disguise (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
This is by far the most plausible explanation I've seen presented.
Wrong subject (Score:5, Insightful)
I, for one, wish they had peer reviewed THE SCREENPLAY.
What a shit movie that was.
Re: (Score:2)
Personally, I'd put Temple of Doom as a worse movie. It was cringe worthy from start to finish. Whereas the last one I'd put at third word, since it was cringeworthy near the end. The refrigerator scene was implausable but still humorous and a fun way to start off the movie.
Re: (Score:2)
What made the first movie so great was that there was a Quest with a satisfying ending. It also started with a mini-quest to set the scene. The other movies replaced some of the elements while keeping some others. The last one didn't really ha
Place your bets (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Completely incorrect - but when did that ever get in the way of making a buck?
I submit that there is a distance from ground zero at which chances of in-fridge survival are in fact 50/50. Computing the distance is left as an exercise for the fanboy.
And you know what else has been nuked? (Score:2)
The webserver!
Fall! Fall before the power of the Slash and the Dot!
HMBOOWAHAHAHAHA!
Google Cache (Score:4, Informative)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zG-BilzlF4UJ:www.overthinkingit.com/2012/02/22/fridge-nuking-scientific-peer-review/%3Fpage%3Dall+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us [googleusercontent.com]
For those that want a read-through while the server has it's heart ripped out.
Survival not so good for TFA website: (Score:3, Interesting)
Back to basics (Score:4, Funny)
Successful test (Score:2)
spoiler alert?!? (Score:2)
Thanks for the spoiler, Slashdot.
Am I the only one who hasn't watched this supposed piece of crap movie?
Re:spoiler alert?!? (Score:5, Insightful)
Spoiler alert? Really? The movie is 4 years old.
While we're at it:
They were the same guy.
He was a ghost the whole time.
The girl was a man
Vader is Luke's father, and Leia is his sister.
Rosebud is a sled.
Re: (Score:3)
i thought rosebud was a brand of frozen peas.
Re: (Score:3)
No Problem (Score:5, Funny)
Fallout: New Vegas Peer Reviewed This Storyline (Score:3)
Uh, why do we care about this again? (Score:2)
So a director of fiction makes an absolutely absurd claim that can damn near be debunked with common sense, and someone with a doctorate degree (which I now question) feels the need to not only study this, but submit it for peer review?
Is the good doctor high on his own supply, or is this because it's George Lucas and therefore sensationalist attention-grabbing?
Uh, not to mention we're submitting a scenario for peer review that has likely NEVER happened and likely never will. I suppose the icing on the cak
Tried to post at the site... but... (Score:2)
It appears to be slashdotted :)
While I certainly agree with the HIGH probability of Dr. Jones dying in his flying refrigerator, it is worth noting that in the Hiroshima bombing, there is a documented case of a bank worker surviving the blast from less than 330m from the hypocenter. Now granted, she was inside, at the back of a concrete bank building, but she DID survive, and was not fatally injured. Assuming the bomb was at the low edge of the kilotonnage listed (i.e. similar to the Hiroshima bomb), and a
homage to the original back to the future script (Score:5, Interesting)
in the original back to the future script, marty mcfly was sent "back to the future" in a refrigerator in one of the model houses at a nuclear test site. doc brown modded the fridge somehow so that the radiation would trigger the time circuits.
the original script was very surreal, and a blatant social commentary on the failure/decay of the space age. for example, iirc, the time machine was powered by diet cola and marty is stranded because aspartame isn't invented until 1965.
Dunno (Score:3)
Dunno, but I heard of one poor sod that was caught within the Hiroshima bombings and, after being exposed, evacuated to Nagasaki just in time for...
And that was a genuine, documented case from what I remember.
Maybe people should watch "When The Wind Blows" more often and less Terminator. Nuke != instantaneous death. Really. It's a whole lot worse than that. In comparison to what happens to you after, it's probably better to go out in an instant flash of hot, burning death.
Re: (Score:2)
How high would the overpressure be under the nuclear blast?
These links provide some food for thought.
So does the article - in fact it provides the actual numbers.
Re: (Score:3)
One guy writing a "funny" article in which he is the third guy on a website to criticize some ideas and writes it sort-of in the style of a scientific peer review is not actually sending an idea around for scientific peer review. Headline and summary failure.
You're new here, aren't you.