Category Ask the Psychologist

Because space is big. The galaxy might be teeming with life, but the gulfs between stars make visiting our neighbors an impossible mission – at least for now. Remember, it would take thousands of years to travel to the closest star outside our solar system using modern spaceship technology.

As previously mentioned, space is big, so there are tons of regions to listen for alien signals. If we’re not listening precisely in the direction from which a signal is originating, we’d never hear it.

Radio technology may be commonplace here on Earth, but on far-flung worlds, alien societies may have graduated to more advanced communication technologies, like neutrino signals. We can’t decipher those just yet.

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Sports historians debate over the origin of football’s name. One explanation is that, in the mid-1800s, American football evolved from the game of rugby, a rough-and-tumble sport that, in turn, evolved from a much bloodier medieval game called campball. In both rugby and campball, players use their feet as well as their hands to move the ball around, although tossing the ball forward is a no-no. Rules changed all the time in the early days of American football. Even forward tosses were illegal until 1906, when they were introduced to make the sport safer. Players’ use of feet in the game’s early days likely played a role in its name.

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Humans don’t, but some insects sure do. While some bugs drink blood, certain species of moths, bees, and butterflies drink tears. To them, tears are tasty and nutritious, filled with minerals and salts that they need to survive. Most of these “lacryphagous” insects sip the tears of mammals – even humans! Researchers around the world have also seen bees and butterflies slurping liquid from the eyes of alligators and crocodiles, who don’t seem to mind sharing their tears.

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Friends (or foes) who express phony sadness to gain sympathy are said “crocodile tears.” The expression is an old one, based on the myth that alligators and crocodiles cry when they devour their victims. Crocodiles do indeed cry when they eat, but scientists are stumped by the cause. Some researchers suspect that the hissing noises crocodiles make while eating unclogs their sinuses and turns on the waterworks. Saltwater crocodiles, meanwhile, cry to purge excess salt.

So then, while the crocodile eats, any drops of water that result from it “crying” would be ones of insincerity; its tears would not be from genuine sadness. So a comparison is drawn—when someone is displaying feelings of sorrow that are thought to be insincere, or if they are fake crying about something, then their tears are like that of a crocodile. Hence, they are said to be shedding ‘crocodile tears.’

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When someone (for instance, an older relative) seems stubborn about learning something new (say, how to turn on a computer), he or she might shrug and use this tired expression. And when that person does, clue him or her in to this fact: With the proper training, even stubborn breeds of mutts can learn to heel, sit, and roll over well into their golden years. 

Golden people to change their habits or acquire new skills is impossible. puppies are teachable, but older dogs are less apt to be able to be trained, or so popular wisdom had it. by the same token, an octogenarian who has read the morning newspaper for decades is unlikely to be willing, much less eager, to switch to the online edition.
 

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It’s strategy stolen from ostriches, which supposedly nudge their noggins into the ground to avoid danger. When people would rather not face a threatening situation or awful reality, they’re said to have their heads in the sand. The expression has just one problem (well, two problems if you consider it unhealthy to hide from reality): It’s based on a myth. Ostriches don’t really stick their heads in the sand. They do drop down and press their necks against the ground to hide from threats, but they keep their heads out so they can see what’s going on.

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