themaninthedark 4 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 4 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 4 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 4 months ago

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

  • flysand7 4 months ago

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

    • pinkmuffinere 4 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 4 months ago

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

jananas 4 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 4 months ago

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

puzzledobserver 4 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 4 months ago

    Human, by a wide margin.

sieste 4 months ago

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

_a_a_a_ 4 months ago

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

(source: was picker in a 3M warehouse)

  • dspillett 4 months ago

    Freshly cut cardboard.

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

    • spachal 4 months ago

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

SamWhited 4 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 4 months ago

I haven't gotten a paper cut in years.

So much less paper in the world.

irdc 4 months ago

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

mannyv 4 months ago

How do we nominate this for thr ig nobel?

JKCalhoun 4 months ago

Ignoble recipients right there. Mark your ballots, please.

  • impish9208 4 months ago

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

euroderf 4 months ago

No mention of any effect of clay content.

shaftway 4 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 4 months ago

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