Hypnotic Suggestibility

Most of the uninitiated have an image of hypnotists as mysterious men, waving pocket watches about and turning their victims subjects into zombie-like states.

Once they're hypnotic state, subjects are compelled to obey, no matter what. And, of course, they must utter the obligatory “Yes, master”, as they carry out the control hypnotist's evil demands.

Hypnosis is a collaborative process, that is to say you have to be willing to take part. Generally, people won't do anything which goes against their personal values or beliefs. If someone tries to tell you to do something that is really against your own values, you won't do it. You'll naturally come out of the state of hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a strange art that for the most part involves a suggestible state where the person under hypnosis is more likely to listen to suggestions by the person performing hypnosis. And it turns out that some people are considered more suggestible than others. 

Scientists have performed studies that confirmed not only that some people have higher hypnotic suggestibility, but that those people are also likely to get a lot more out of hypnosis than those who are not. It is important to note that the same researchers believe that for those who are considered to have low suggestibility, that hypnosis is probably not a very useful option.

Corpse Reanimator

Giovanni Aldini, Corpse Reanimator. In Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein", first published in 1818, a corpse is reanimated by a mad scientist known as Dr Frankenstein. Frankenstein's monster is brought to life after shock treatment using electricity ran through him. Though this work may be labeled as gothic horror, the truth is this story was also an early form of science fiction. It was inspired by an Italian scientist named Giovanni Aldini, who at the time was traveling Europe and conducting similar experiments in real life.

Aldini was the nephew of Luigi Galvani. His uncle essentially discovered the concept of galvanism, when experimenting with electrical currents on frog legs. Aldini took those experiments further. Aldini conducted his experiments on corpses. 

In front of an audience, he conducted an experiment on a hung murderer, George Forster. He applied conducting rods to the man, whereby the dead man began to punch the air, and his legs began to kick and flinch. Rods applied to the face made it clench and quiver. The left eye popped open. Several people present feared the man had come back to life, and had he actually sprung forth, he would have to be re-executed. One individual was so horrified, that shortly upon leaving the spectacle, he reportedly died. 

Strongest Material In Nature Found In Small Shellfish

The strongest natural material known to man might be found in a small shellfish that clings to rocks around British shores . Researchers discovered that limpets – small aquatic snail-like creatures with conical shells – have teeth with biological structures so strong they could be copied to make cars, boats and planes of the future.

Until now, spider silk was considered the hardest material in nature because of its super-strength and potential applications in everything from bullet-proof vests to computer electronics, but scientists from the University of Portsmouth discovered that the teeth of this tiny shellfish contain a hard mineral known as goethite, which forms in the limpet as it grows.

“Limpets need high strength teeth to rasp over rock surfaces and remove algae for feeding when the tide is in. We discovered that the fibers of goethite are just the right size to make up a resilient composite structure. This discovery means that the fibrous structures found in limpet teeth could be mimicked and used in high-performance engineering applications such as Formula 1 racing cars, the hulls of boats and aircraft structures.