Tokyo Scientists Create Mobile Slime

Sockatume writes "Shingo Maeda and colleagues at Waseda University have created a polymer gel that walks under its own chemical power. The team exploited the oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction to create periodic changes in the size of the polymer, and built a tensed structure that would amplify those small movements into a horrifically potent gait. The current version only walks across a notched surface, but the team are working on a terrible new form that will cross smooth surfaces like a snail. The team say they intend to apply it in the self-assembly of small structures. Suddenly, I can't stop screaming."

Re:Big Deal

[Red Flayer]

Simmer down, it's a joke. See, it plays on the two most common sterotypes of adult males who don't have sex, which are basement-dwelling nerds and married men. The 'get a piece' term was used for it's directness, hints of sexual ignorance and/or cavalierness, and mouthflow to enhance the basic premise of the joke.

Obviously, those stereotypes don't always apply (actually, they usally *aren't* applicable, but since there is a tinge of truth to them, they remain good sources for humor). And while 'get a piece' may be offensive to some, that's part of what makes it a useful phrase in crafting humor.

Now that I've needed to explain this in great detail, while a simple *whoosh* may or may not have been sufficient... let me just say this:

Jokesmithing is serious business. I are serious jokester.