Thursday 29 July 2010

No shit, Sherlock!

From The Metro:

Larger people are more likely to suffer an attack by midges, according to experts who say it's down to their provision of 'a more substantial visual target' for the biting beasties...

Professor Jenny Mordue from the University of Aberdeen's zoology department, leader of the study, explained that the setting around the shores of Loch Ness is 'classic midge territory'.

'The preference for the insects to target taller people could be associated with midge behaviour and flight patterns, as midges are found at great numbers with increasing height, particularly between one to four metres,' she continued. 'Larger people would provide a more substantial visual target for host-seeking midges as well as greater amounts of heat, moisture and attractant semiochemicals, such as carbon dioxide, which encourage midges to bite.'

5 comments:

Midget said...

I believe that "mordue" is the French feminine past participle for "dead". Maybe referring to her brain?? I wonder how much taxpayers paid for that gem of research.

DBC Reed said...

Smoking deters midges: years of research have yielded this insight.There is a news release on the Net "Man throws midge off the scent" May 2007 which among other things says that midges have been heading en masse to bars and restaurants since the smoking ban.

Macheath said...

Midget - it's actually the feminine past participle from 'mordre'(to bite)and thus translates appropriately enough as 'bitten'.

Bayard said...

"Midget - it's actually the feminine past participle from 'mordre'(to bite)and thus translates appropriately enough as 'bitten'."

That, plus the mention of Loch Ness, leads me to suspect this is a hoax. I'd like to bet there's no Zoology Dept in Aberdeen University, or, if there is, it's responsible for the hoax.

Mark Wadsworth said...

DBC, that's yet another downside to the smoking ban.

M, McH, B, ta for input. This is starting to look like a hoax.