themaninthedark 10 months ago

>The researchers also noted that some papers, such as those used in dot-matrix printers, are exceptionally good at cutting. They proved this to be the case by connecting a small piece of it to a scalpel and using the results as a "papermachete."

Best part of the article.

danielvaughn 10 months ago

I find this hilarious because it's the kind of thing I think about all the time, but never consciously. Every time I handle a piece of paper, of any kind, my brain subconsciously evaluates it for the likelihood that it could cut me, and I change how I handle it based on that evaluation. Especially now that I have an infant daughter who loves ripping up any kind of paper product.

  • RheingoldRiver 10 months ago

    Over the years I've gotten more and more nervous around paper. I think because my most vivid memories of paper are getting papercuts, and the less I use paper in my day-to-day life, the more I associate paper with papercuts and nothing else.

    Not really a problem with books, notebooks, pads of post-its etc, but around any individual sheet of paper I really just don't feel comfortable anymore. Dangerous material.

hinkley 10 months ago

Likelihood x severity is also an important consideration, as anyone who has cut themselves on cardboard knows all too well.

  • flysand7 10 months ago

    I've never had such an experience. How does it feel to be cut with a cardboard?

    • pinkmuffinere 10 months ago

      It’s been a while since my last cardboard cut, but it is much worse than a normal paper cut. With paper cuts, I can usually “press” my skin back together and go on without any pain, unless I get lemon juice or something in the cut. A cardboard cut is not like that, it is quite painful for the rest of the day no matter what I do.

      I’ll hypothesize that the thickness of the cardboard, plus the irregular profile both combine to make the cut much worse

    • Zenzero 10 months ago

      Feels more similar to getting cut by a kitchen knife. I would not recommend it.

jananas 10 months ago

I got a paper rejected by phys. rev. E :/ a paper of which I thought I might contribute to advancing the available methods for analysing Synchronisation. And while I don’t doubt that they also put a lot of effort in their paper and I love that stuff like this exists and they followed through with their experiments, it seems like they have done it for the lolz. The rejection hurts a bit more now.

  • baxtr 10 months ago

    You should resubmit it as print out. Just make sure to take the right thickness so that they get hurt too!

puzzledobserver 10 months ago

What about skin types which are most likely to suffer from paper cuts?

For myself, I find that most paper cuts happen during winter, when my skin is dry. Would regularly using moisturizer reduce their frequency?

  • hoosieree 10 months ago

    Human, by a wide margin.

sieste 10 months ago

I guess there are three Danish academics who will have their teaching load increased next term.

_a_a_a_ 10 months ago

Fresh cardboard can be a prize bitch too. Even worse perhaps.

(source: was picker in a 3M warehouse)

  • dspillett 10 months ago

    Freshly cut cardboard.

    Source: opening and unpacking boxes while stacking shelves in a supermarket in my youth.

    • spachal 10 months ago

      Wrap it with adhesive tape and get back to work! Source: night crew, crew pig, supermarket 1980-1983.

SamWhited 10 months ago

I know they said they test with skin stand-ins, but I still feel bad for all the grad students who had to handle and try to delicately slice with all that paper. You know they got a fair amount of real world data too doing all that!

pstrateman 10 months ago

I haven't gotten a paper cut in years.

So much less paper in the world.

irdc 10 months ago

Finally a use for my stash of dot matrix printer paper.

mannyv 10 months ago

How do we nominate this for thr ig nobel?

JKCalhoun 10 months ago

Ignoble recipients right there. Mark your ballots, please.

  • impish9208 10 months ago

    Ig Nobel. Coincidentally, this year’s ceremony is happening on Thursday!

euroderf 10 months ago

No mention of any effect of clay content.

shaftway 10 months ago

Neat. Now do wood for how often it gives you splinters. Make sure you include Wenge.

/me wanders off, muttering swear words, and in search of a pair of tweezers

drbig 10 months ago

And now we know better. Beware of magazines and newspapers.