2020-10-17 New Scientist International Edition

WHY WE,
LIKE, SAY
“LIKE”

Speakers of every language co-opt CANADIAN PRESS/SHUTTERSTOCK Justin Trudeau
certain words to punctuate sentences was called out
in a way that often appears completely heard various sentences describing pairs of for umming
gratuitous. In English, one of these images presented to them. She found that and uhing
words is “like”, as in: “the concert was, participants could more easily follow the
like, 2 hours away”. It turns out that speaker’s description as it veered from one what is being said, a deftly placed filler word
this usage may not be as random image to the other if the sentences included can even work as a memory aid, according
and meaningless as it seems. a filler word. For example, if they had been to researchers at the University of Illinois
looking at a picture of a monkey, they were at Urbana-Champaign. Like many linguists
When Jean Fox Tree at the University quicker to switch their gaze to the turtle in before them, they turned to the whimsy
of California, Santa Cruz, asked the neighbouring image if the speaker said: of Lewis Carroll for source material, asking
students to recount a personal “Look at the, uh, turtle.” participants to listen to summaries of Alice’s
experience to two separate listeners, Adventures in Wonderland. In some trials,
they often placed the extra likes in Tellingly, Graham has also found that the readers inserted a small uh before the
the same place in both retellings. 2-year-olds don’t appear to respond to fillers important plot points, such as: “Meanwhile,
She thinks that like acts as a form of like uh or um in this way, while 3-year-olds uh, the cook keeps hurling plates and other
emphasis, based on the speaker’s and do. This suggests that our understanding of items at the Duchess and the baby.” Far
listener’s knowledge of each other. such signals develops along with other more from being annoying or distracting, such
In the example about the concert, for sophisticated verbal and cognitive skills. In hesitations improved the participants’
instance, it signals that the distance is addition, the response is highly dependent subsequent recall of these episodes by a
a particularly significant detail to the on context. If we are led to believe that whopping 57 per cent compared with slicker
speaker. “So if you know me, and you someone is especially forgetful, their ums readings. That is the kind of boost you
know that I like that band that’s and uhs cease to act as signals that direct might expect with elaborate and effortful
playing, when I say ‘the concert was, our gaze to the most salient information. mnemonic techniques, not simply by
like, 2 hours away’, what I’m saying is, peppering the text with a few uhs.
that’s a short distance to drive to get By preparing us to pay closer attention to
to this band that I really like,” says Of course, a slight hesitation provides
Fox Tree. “But if you know that I hate listeners with increased mental processing
driving, saying ‘the concert was, like, time. To test whether this could explain
2 hours away’ would mean that’s too the memory effect, the researchers ran
far for me to drive to get to that band.” additional trials in which the uhs were
replaced with a cough of the same duration.
This makes like similar to uh and Rather than boosting recall, this reduced the
mmm (see main story). Far from being participants’ memory of the plot by 36 per
linguistic garbage, they all rely on cent, confirming that there was something
interpreting another person’s mind, special about uh that primed participants >
which is a highly sophisticated
cognitive skill. 17 October 2020 | New Scientist | 47

“These seemingly meaningless little
words can even work as memory aids”

to listen more carefully. Further tests I’M, UH,
revealed that speakers use these filler TELLING
words selectively to signal potential THE TRUTH
conceptual difficulties, such as a turn in
the plot of a story, rather than problems Umming and uhing was once process, says Fox Tree. “We would need to be
with pronunciation. thought to be a sign of deception – able to plan everything perfectly in advance
the sound of mental cogs turning as and enunciate it clearly, with the proper word
The way that these seemingly meaningless the brain struggles to come up with choice and syntactic structure.” It would be
little words help us memorise and process a convincing story. Truth-tellers, in much more like a rigid computer code than
speech is quite astonishing. But fillers have contrast, would have less trouble a flexible, freewheeling conversation.
an additional role with truly profound recalling a real event, so were
consequences for human language. thought to use fewer filler words. Given these essential roles in solving
basic communicative problems, how might
Unlike a carefully crafted screenplay, It is an appealing idea: a clear filler words have emerged? That’s what
spontaneous speech is often vague and linguistic signature of deception Dingemanse is trying to work out. He has
full of potential for confusion – not least would allow police and found huh in 31 mostly unrelated languages –
because people generally come to a topic courtrooms to determine who to from Cha’palaa (spoken in northern Ecuador)
with different backgrounds and levels of trust. Unfortunately, it turns out to Lao and Russian – suggesting that it may
knowledge. As a result, speakers have to not to be true. Indeed, the latest be a universal word. This convergence
tailor their language to each other on the research suggests the exact reflects the intense pressure to maintain
fly. “We’re constantly working to revise our opposite. Pronounced umming the momentum of conversation, he says.
understanding as we go,” says Patrick Healey and uhing may signal that The average switch between speakers takes
at Queen Mary University of London. He someone is telling the truth, just 200 milliseconds, and a short sound
believes collateral signals like huh provide perhaps because they are making like huh is an incredibly efficient way of
some essential feedback to speakers, allowing less of a conscious effort to unobtrusively signalling our confusion.
them to clarify what they mean before a present a varnished front. “We need some way to quickly indicate the
mistake gets out of hand. problem, so that we basically pass the ball

The power of “huh?” “The simplicity of these sounds reflects
just how essential they are”
Healey has demonstrated this “conversation
repair” function of filler words in an
ingenious experiment. Pairs of participants
in different rooms had to find a route
through a complex online map by conversing
through an online chat tool. Unbeknown
to them, the researchers tweaked their
messages before they reached each other.
For example, if one participant asked “on
the left?” for clarification, the researchers
changed it to a word like “huh?” or “eh?” –
which tersely indicates a more general
confusion. With this simple manipulation,
the participants soon started using more
systematic ways of describing their location,
for example with the invention of a
coordinate system.

Spontaneous speech would be incredibly
difficult without this kind of corrective

48 | New Scientist | 17 October 2020

VISOOT UTHAIRAM/GETTY IMAGES Filler words cooperate. These two traits are limited,
help our at best, in other animals.
back into the corner of the producer and let conversations
them fix it,” says Dingemanse. “And that is flow smoothly For this reason, Dingemanse suggests
exactly what huh is… You barely need to do that the evolutionary history of collateral
anything more than open your mouth and signals first emerged in the history of signals is deeply intertwined with that of
breathe out to make a sound.” language, but it is telling that they are language itself, and may go back hundreds
unique to human speech, despite the fact of thousands of years. He thinks the
Similar pressures to guide the course that they are so easy to articulate. While development of some signals, like uh or huh,
of a conversation, without prolonged other apes vocalise to each other to signal may even have been an important turning
interruption, will have shaped many other the appearance of a predator, none have the point in our evolutionary journey, propelling
kinds of collateral signals, says Dingemanse. equivalent of an mmm of assent or a huh to us beyond simple syntax to the sophisticated
Mmm, for example, signals our intention to ask for clarification. “We have no known and nuanced ways of talking that we now
let the other speaker continue with their observations of animals using this very take for granted. “To be able to produce
point. “And what better way to signify that special type of interactive repair in their complex sentences, we rely on the listener
you want to keep your mouth shut,” he says, communication,” says Dingemanse. That showing evidence of their understanding,”
“than a syllable in which you actually keep is partly because of the complexity of the he says. Without that, each phrase would
your mouth shut?” Far from being a sign cognitive processing behind filler words. have to be so short and simple that there
of impotence, then, the simplicity of these They rely on the speaker and listener would be no room for miscommunication.
sounds reflects just how essential they are gauging each other’s understanding and
for communication across the world. responding appropriately. This is impossible Evolving complexity
to achieve without some kind of theory of
We don’t know exactly when collateral mind – the ability to appreciate another This remains a hypothesis, for now.
person’s thoughts – and a willingness to However, Dingemanse and postdoctoral
researcher Marieke Woensdregt are
working on computer models that
simulate the evolution of different forms of
communication, with and without collateral
signals that can help to repair language.
“We’ve just started doing this, but it really
looks like if you don’t have repair, you end
up with a simpler kind of language,” he says.
“If you do have repair, on the other hand,
then it gives you more flexibility to make
your language more complex.”

Meanwhile, Dingemanse’s research should
offer some welcome reassurance to anyone
who like, uh, Justin Trudeau has been called
out for umming and uhing. Far from being
a sign of stupidity, these deceptively simple
words may represent the pinnacle of human
cognitive and linguistic sophistication. ❚

David Robson is the author of The
Intelligence Trap: Revolutionise your
thinking and make wiser decisions (Hodder
& Stoughton). His website is davidrobson.me

17 October 2020 | New Scientist | 49

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50 | New Scientist | 17 October 2020

The back pages

Puzzles Almost the last word Tom Gauld for  Feedback Twisteddoodles
A cryptic crossword, Why are cabbages New Scientist Coronavirus for New Scientist
a bridge too far made up of a tight A cartoonist’s take erotica and black Optimists, pessimists
and the quiz p52 bundle of leaves? p54 on paradoxes p55 hole bargains p56 and lab safety p56

Stargazing at home

The Red Planet rules

Earth and Mars are closer together this month than they have
been since 2003. Enjoy these night skies, says Abigail Beall

Abigail Beall is a science writer FOR a few weeks this October, DIANA ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES
in Leeds, UK. She is the author Mars overtakes Jupiter to become
of The Art of Urban Astronomy the third brightest object in the Throughout October, the planet but are also great for beginner’s
@abbybeall night sky. The only brighter things will appear around the time of astronomy because they are small
at this time will be the moon and sunset and stay visible all night, and light enough that whatever
What you need Venus, which appears in the early in both the southern and northern you are looking at won’t wobble.
hours of the morning. This means hemispheres. It will rise in the
Enthusiasm for Mars that during the evenings, the Red east, tracing the path the sun takes For more detailed stargazing,
Good eyesight Planet will dominate the skies. across the sky during the day. such as looking at asteroids or
A light pair of binoculars, Jupiter’s moons, you will probably
say 7x50 The elliptical orbits of Earth and Jupiter and Saturn will also need a larger pair. But unless you
Mars now bring the planets closer shine brightly, but you will find mount them on a tripod, it will be
Stargazing at home appears than they have been since 2003. these by looking south after sunset. almost impossible to hold them
every four weeks On 6 October, when Mars was If you are uncertain, using a steady enough to see the objects.
closest to Earth, there were about stargazing app can confirm
Next week 62 million kilometres between it whether you have identified Mars. If you have a pair of binoculars
and us – 163 million kilometres of any magnification, using them
Citizen science closer than the average distance. Once you find the planet, to look at Mars will enhance its
grab a pair of binoculars. They colour. Since the planets travel
A week later, on 13 October, are usually described by two independently compared with the
Mars reached opposition: Earth numbers: the magnification stars, if you study Mars for long
sat directly between Mars and and the size of the lens. A 7x50, enough, you may be able to spot it
the sun, meaning Mars was fully for instance, is a small pair of moving relative to a nearby star.  ❚
illuminated. Although that was binoculars that will make any
a week after its closest approach, object look seven times bigger. These articles are
this is when the Red Planet seemed Binoculars of this magnification posted each week at
brightest because of an effect can be used for birdwatching, newscientist.com/maker
called opposition surge, which
makes objects brighten when they
are illuminated from directly
behind the observer.

On 16 October, a new moon
meant there was no moonlight, so
Mars was the brightest object that
night. But all of October is a great
time to look at the planet because
it will be shining more brightly
than during the rest of the year.

You won’t need any equipment
to look at Mars: it is bright enough
to see with the naked eye, even in
places with a lot of light pollution.
Just look towards the east after
sunset or the west before sunrise
and identify the brightest “star”
that you can see, with a red
glow. This will be Mars.

17 October 2020 | New Scientist | 51

The back pages Puzzles

Cryptic crossword #42 Set by Wingding Scribble Quick quiz #73
zone
1 Debris from Halley’s comet is
responsible for which meteor shower
that arrives each October?

2 The supercontinent Pangea was
surrounded by which superocean?

3 Name the chemical element with
the highest boiling point

4 The Nobel prize ceremony is held on
10 December each year because this is
the anniversary of what?

5 What is the correct term for a
baby llama?

Answers and Answers on page 55
the next quick
crossword next week Puzzle

ACROSS DOWN set by David Bedford

7 Over time, Shelley hoped to animate creature 1 Rising trouble with solid Na₂CO₃ (4) #81 A bridge too far
created by scientists (5,3,5) 2 Lion oddly involved in crash in race (6)
3 Man with cold heart making “Finally, we always test our
8/11 (Down) Marinate roll with acid mixture; candidates with a puzzle about
this will make it go brown (8,8) psychoactive chemical (7) four students crossing a bridge
4 Animal carer carrying leopard's skin with a torch,” said the interviewer
9 18’s relative taking head off criminal (4) at Microsoogle.
10 Trick to get over slope: climbing equipment (7) in grassland (5)
12 Quit extracting gas and amber, perhaps (5) 5 Positive or negative cost (6) “Oh goody, I’ve heard this one
14 Physicist overtaking Tesla in competition (5) 6 High-fat regimen provides kinetic energy before!” thought Sam, smugly.
16 Accumulate across Greek island (7)
19 Shock caused by snack going the to pass on time (4,4) “The rickety bridge is only
11 See 8 Across strong enough to take two people
wrong way (4) 13 Dinner containing carbon sink (7) at a time, and the torch is needed
20 Pascal returns with little desire (8) 15 One subsumed by reproduction in for each crossing, walking at the
22 Shift in tone changes feel of PPE, with pace of the slower student. The
high branches (6) most timid student, Tim, needs
doctor deprived of oxygen (7,6) 17 Give consent to rodent providing last 10 minutes to cross the bridge.
Tom can cross faster than Tim,
of taxidermy (6) and the other two are quicker still.
18 Part of brave new bird (5) All of them take a different whole
21 Parasite is a positive sign (4) number of minutes to cross.”

Our crosswords are now solvable online “Yeah, yeah,” smiled Sam.
“All four students get across
newscientist.com/crosswords the bridge in 17 minutes. What
is the longest time that it could
52 | New Scientist | 17 October 2020 take for Tom to cross the bridge
on his own?”
“Wait – that’s not the normal
puzzle!” blurted Sam.

Can you help?

Answer next week

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The back pages Almost the last word

Patchy cabbage Where does the brain’s
information go after
Why do cabbages exist? What is a person dies?
the point of having a tight bundle
of leaves that don’t attract desirable to humans would
pollinators and shield each other not be advantageous in the
from the sun? Does its structure wild. This is true of most of our
affect its ability to photosynthesise? domesticated plants and animals,
which are vulnerable to predators
Jan Horton JOHAN SWANEPOEL/ALAMY and adverse conditions. The
West Launceston, modern cabbage needs continual
Tasmania, Australia This week’s new questions protection from encroaching
Cabbages exist because humans weeds, ravenous birds and
domesticated them long ago Information loss It is a rule of physics that information can’t cabbage white butterflies.
due to them being easy to grow disappear. So what happens to the information in my brain
in many climates and keeping when I die? Max Davies, Irvine, California, US The tight heart of capitata
well, especially when fermented. cabbages exists because it is
To me, and to many others, they A healthy spread If you eat three meals a day, does it make supported by the original loose
also taste delicious, but not all a difference if they are taken within, say, an 8-hour window cluster of green leaves that are
my family agree. or a 14- hour one? Manyando Milupi, Doncaster, UK trimmed away in harvesting.
This can be seen in all its glory
Humans have bred the cabbage in exhibition cabbages, which
so that the juvenile stage is can exceed a metre wide and
prolonged, because the light be as heavy as a small person.
inner leaves are sweeter and
more digestible than the tough, Wild cabbage is a slow-growing
protective, dark green outer leaves. biennial or perennial with
Once picked, they can be stored leathery leaves, sometimes tinged
for a long time in a cool place, with violet, and masses of yellow
which is all to the good of humans flowers. It doesn’t compete well
and livestock. However, for the with faster growing plants, but it
good of the plant, just leave it tolerates salt and finds a niche on
chalk and limestone cliffs. The
“The cliffs are covered photosynthesise, leaves that are Selective breeding of cabbages cliffs at Whitby and Staithes in the
in wild cabbages inside the head and not exposed may go back for as long as 4000 UK are bright with their flowers
descended from to sunlight can’t photosynthesise. years and classical writers such and you can smell them far out
garden escapes, But cabbages are able to grow to as Theophrastus and Pliny at sea. Genetic analysis shows
and you can smell a large size, so the leaves that are the Elder described cultivated these aren’t the original species.
them far out at sea” exposed to the sun must be able varieties, probably loose bundles Instead, they are apparently
to make enough carbohydrate to of leaves resembling collard descended from garden escapes.
in the ground and keep watering meet the needs of the whole plant. greens or what the British know
it. In due course, it will develop a as “spring greens”. Hearted Incidentally, lettuce has
flowering stalk, then masses of Chris Warman cabbages were first developed followed a similar course of
flowers followed by lots of seeds. Hinderwell, North Yorkshire, UK in the Middle Ages. development to cabbage,
Cabbages exist to be eaten, as do although only in the growth of
Some relatives of the cabbage cauliflower, broccoli, kale and The original attraction of its leaves, which may form heads
are grown for their seed, including Brussels sprouts. They are all cabbage is that its thick leaves or be curly and brightly coloured.
canola, which is bred for its high cultivars of Brassica oleracea, a stored carbohydrates and It was adored by the ancient
seed oil content. plant that grows wild on the sea vitamins through the winter. Egyptians and dedicated to Min,
cliffs of southern Europe. Wild cabbage is tough and bitter, the god of fertility and harvest.
Jonathan Wallace but natural variations enabled
Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Cabbages with a “heart” – the breeders to select for a softer, David Muir
The tight rolled-up “head” of capitata type, as described by sweeter leaf. Breeders could Edinburgh, UK
cabbage leaves doesn’t confer an the questioner – are just one of also develop curly leaves (kale) The cabbage as we know it isn’t
advantage to the plant, any more seven main groups of cabbages, and colours ranging from near a natural thing. Over thousands
than vines “benefit” from having which in their turn contain black (cavalo nero) to near white. of years, inventive farmers have
seedless grapes. It has been bred innumerable varieties. altered various structures of
to have characteristics desirable Features that make cabbages the wild cabbage.
to the grower and consumer.
Want to send us a question or answer? Selective breeding for specific
As to whether the structure of parts of the plant’s structure has
the cabbage affects its ability to Email us at [email protected] given us particular vegetables:
Questions should be about everyday science phenomena development of the terminal bud
Full terms and conditions at newscientist.com/lw-terms gave us cabbages; the lateral buds,

54 | New Scientist | 17 October 2020

Tom Gauld Answers

for New Scientist Quick quiz #73

Answer

1 The Orionids, which peak
late in the month

2 Panthalassa

3 Tungsten, which boils
at 5555°C

4 Alfred Nobel’s death

5 A cria

Brussels sprouts; the flowers, “When a photon of The reason why light goes Quick Crossword
cauliflower and broccoli; the light collides with the straight through glass but #68 Answers
leaves, kale and collard greens; atoms in a pane of bounces off metal lies within
and the stem, kohlrabi. glass, it doesn’t have the individual structure of ACROSS 1 Fuchsia, 4 Machine,
enough energy to these materials. 8 Onager, 9 Rawlplug, 11 Ergo,
Some cultivars of Brassica interact with them” 12 Recurrence, 14 Cardiac veins,
oleracea may be of medical Glass is an amorphous solid, 17 Undetectable, 20 Blueprints,
benefit. Brussels sprouts they are attracted by the smell which means it has cooled 21 X-Men, 23 Urbanite,
and broccoli contain sinigrin, of the plant and will travel a too quickly to form a regular 24 Nessie, 25 Estuary,
a chemical shown to have long distance to find them. crystalline structure. As a 26 Grommet
anti-cancer, antibacterial, consequence, when a photon
antifungal, antioxidant and I made the mistake of growing of light collides with the atoms DOWN 1 Florence, 2 Clangers,
anti-inflammatory properties. a summer-harvesting broccoli in a pane of glass, it doesn’t 3 Stem, 4 Measurements,
The bits of the plant that aren’t once and spent ages picking out have enough energy to interact 5 Chlorinate, 6 Idling, 7 Eaglet,
so green also contain valuable these pesky caterpillars. I now with them and hence become 10 Geochemistry, 13 Giant
nutrients, even if they lack the only grow winter greens; by this absorbed or reflected. panda, 15 Abomasum,
green chlorophyll required for time the butterflies have long gone. 16 Reinvent, 18 Obtuse,
photosynthesis. Eat your greens! Instead, the photon passes 19 Numbat, 22 Zero
straight through. This makes
Jackie Jones Seeing the light the glass transparent. #80 Vive la
Brighton, East Sussex, UK difference
These plants provide a breeding Why does light reflect in a mirror In contrast, the aluminium
ground for cabbage white but go straight through glass? atoms are arranged in a regular Solution
butterflies, which lay their bright crystal lattice structure and
yellow eggs in neat patches all over Thomas Fox have free “delocalised” electrons Swapping seats 3 and 5 (to
the underside of the leaves during Fortrose, Highland, UK whizzing round the material. give the order 1 2 5 4 3 6 7)
summer months until October. Mirrors such as those found This is why metals can conduct increases the discount on the
in a bathroom tend to be made electricity. bill to 24 euros. This is the
The caterpillars that hatch from a sheet of transparent maximum possible discount,
from these eggs eat large holes in glass or plastic and a layer of These electrons are free to and although there are several
the leaves. Only close-mesh net smooth, polished aluminium interact with photons of light other ways of arranging the
will protect the members of the (or in older mirrors, silver). and reflect the photons that have chairs to get the same discount,
cabbage family from the butterfly; similar frequencies to their own. this is the only one that involves
This is what makes metals shiny swapping just two chairs.
and, when smoothed, reflective. ❚
17 October 2020 | New Scientist | 55

The back pages Feedback

Purely for research Twisteddoodles for New Scientist of Camden”, he begins, showing an
expert understanding of the art of
“Dr Alexa Ashingtonford stared at Got a story for Feedback? the narrative hook. Dispatched to
the test tube between her fingers, answer a distress call, he found that
her perfectly pink manicured nails Send it to [email protected] or liquid concrete being used to line
clashing with the pale, bubbling New Scientist, 25 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ES a tube tunnel had bubbled its way
liquid inside. She recognised the Consideration of items sent in the post will be delayed up through an overlying Victorian
power she had in her grip, the virus sewer, eventually manifesting
which had claimed so many lives someone types Black-Hole, of such a task, we can only think, itself as a hardening shard in a
and which made her heart beat Black Hole, or any other phrase goes a long way to explaining local resident’s toilet.
furiously, like a wild tiger thrashing with these keywords into their British industry’s dire productivity
in its cage.” browser your site could be the figures. Jon says the only thing With space in the sewer for only
first they see!” more boring than the boring was one person, and noise concerns
Feedback will trouble you not people telling him it was boring. preventing the use of power tools,
to ask exactly what keyword search Presumably the last, too, it was left to Michael, hammer and
led us to Kissing the Coronavirus, as they are sucked into the Meanwhile, Michael Berkson chisel in hand, to chip away at the
a recently published ebook (tagline: information vortex Feedback from the original Cambridge lays problem over several weeks. This
“She was supposed to cure the intends to construct there. If you claim to the award of world’s worst was to little avail in the end, it
Coronavirus. Instead… she fell in think that is a paradox, just admire science job (as well as the three seems – “I seem to remember
love with it”). But downloading it for our nice shiny firewall on the way degrees of separation prize) “on a couple of houses had to be
the purposes of general education, in, suckers. One for da true Nerdz. behalf of a person my Mother met demolished,” he says.
we find ourselves grimly fascinated at a conference many years ago”.
by the tale of the protagonist’s More bad jobs He reports that she described her With interest
vaccine development work in work as “combing mice for lice”,
the lab of Dr Gurtlychund, “one of Our thoughts are somehow still adding by way of elucidation that Feedback is glad for the reminder
Ohio’s top biochemical-neuroviral- on passion for jobs. So, undeterred “she was a research assistant for of the life and works of that
epidemiologists” – of which one by last week’s stomach-churning Miriam Rothschild”. grande dame of entomology, and
can only say, someone had to be. offerings, we return to our bulging much else, Miriam Rothschild.
bag of undesirable occupations Pride of place this week, however,
The plot unfurls as the virus (“so sent in by you, our loyal and notably goes to Michael Stanford, not of Being a scion of the Rothschild
strong, so… deadly”) spreads across long-suffering readers. Jon Sparks Stanford. “After spending an idyllic dynasty was undoubtedly an
the globe: “Asia. Europe. Some from Lancashire, UK, recalls a summer as a woodsman in the advantageous start for someone
other places. But most importantly summer spent drilling holes in Lake District, I opted for a change described in one obituary on
and worryingly, America.” If Dr pepper pots by hand. The existence of scene by getting a job as a her death in 2005 as a “zoologist,
Ashingtonford can be said to have sewerman in the London Borough naturalist, academic and
a fault, beyond an eye-watering eccentric”. Her father Charles
disregard for biosafety, it is that Rothschild had found time to
she takes the passion that marks describe some 500 species of flea
out many a research scientist to an in his days off from the banking
extreme, while supplementing it job, while her uncle Lionel Walter
with a passion for the job perhaps Rothschild established perhaps
less readily associated with the the world’s most eccentric private
chill groves of academe. zoo at Tring just outside London,
and is one of few people who
The avenues this takes her can claim to have a subspecies
down involve some technical of giraffe named after them.
vocabulary with which Feedback
isn’t intimately familiar, and that Despite having little formal
may be beyond what is suitable for education of her own, Miriam
a family magazine. We nevertheless Rothschild became “the Queen
wish the book every viral success. Bee of research into parasites
and their hosts” – and, besides
Captive audience that, a wartime Bletchley Park
codebreaker, a working farmer
Providing a welcome opportunity and a tireless campaigner over
to cleanse our mental palate, decades for then unfashionable
someone called Kiethleen from causes from animal rights and
web address sellers Domain Nerdz mental health research to the
spirals unbidden into our inbox. legalisation of homosexuality.
“We have a domain that is “I must say, I find everything
currently on sale that you might interesting,” she once said.
be interested in (Black-Hole.co)”, Now that really is the last word.  ❚
they write excitedly. “Anytime

56 | New Scientist | 17 October 2020