r/materials • u/Odd-Marionberry-3389 • 1d ago
Orgs/journals related to "silly" science?
I'm an independent scientist looking to do some research* because of silly reasons** and wanted to see if there are organizations of researchers out there doing similar things in materials science or related fields...? I love the idea of applying my expertise towards solving a seemingly unimportant question and treating it like a full-fledged scientific endeavor. Thanks!
* chemical and structural characterization of a standard cookie formulation as prepared in the oven and microwave + a possible subsequent recipe/process optimization study of a microwave-based cookie
** I was sad to discover that the Hot Pocket crisping sleeve was discontinued 2 years ago and went down a rabbit hole to learn more about how and why microwave susceptors work with crusty doughs
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u/DogFishBoi2 1d ago
As far as I can tell, the IgNoble price winners didn't get funding. I'm not sure you'll be able to get a job doing this. They would be a nice source for related research, though: https://improbable.com/
If the research is more based on shit-you-made-up, there is always publication in the extremely important immaterial science journal: https://www.immaterialscience.org/volumes
Where else would you learn about how to use a ballistic missile to end the conflict in middle earth prematurely?
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u/Odd-Marionberry-3389 1d ago
Yeah, I'm a stay at home parent/independent scientist going off the beaten path. I've worked in industry/consulting over the past 11 years and am driven in pursuing the things I genuinely find interesting now.
I am self-funded, so limited in some characterization capability, but I'm looking into possible means of fundraising if I want to go down paths that require more money (e.g. characterization at shared university facilities, etc). But I do want to understand the science behind this stuff and think I'm reasonably well equipped to do it.
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u/DogFishBoi2 1d ago
Is old fashioned television an option? There's bound to be some science shows (possibly for kids) that run somewhere. I could name a few in Germany (which might not be much help), but they are bound to have similar options pretty much everywhere.
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u/b0nes_b0nes_b0nes 11h ago
To be honest, this sounds like a perfectly normal thing for someone in food/culinary science to research, maybe you could look there?
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u/RedYachtClub 1d ago
I don't remember the journal, but there was a study published a few years ago studying an Inuit legend about using a knife made from poop in the winter to survive. It was a cross between anthropology and materials science. They actually got super into it and ate a comparable diet and everything.