Xerox NextFests Its Erasable Paper

Xerox is showing off its erasable paper at the WIRED NextFest, which is going on right now — the Xerox exhibits page is at http://www.wirednextfest.com/inform/2008/exhibits/erasable_paper.php.

This isn’t E Ink –it’s tree paper. Here’s how Xerox describes it — “Xerox’s erasable paper is coated with chemicals that react to light of a specific wavelength. When the paper is exposed to that wavelength, it creates visible text on the page. Within 24 hours, the paper erases itself and can be used again…”

So you can recycle paper without all that annoying aggregating, sorting, pulping, and re-manufacturing. You can get a little more information about the erasable paper at http://www.xerox.com/innovation/exp_paper.shtml. They need a time-lapse video or something….

U. Of Michigan Library Gets a Book ATM

The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that The University of Michigan is going to install “The Espresso Book Machine.” This machine will allow users to print-on-demand just about any digitized, out-of-copyright book from Michigan’s collection (printing will take 5-7 minutes and the book will cost about ten bucks.) Users will also be able to print out-of-copyright books from other locations. The maker of the machine, On Demand Books, wants to make a network machines installed in libraries and bookstores around the world.

According to the article, however, this is the first machine installed in a university library, so there’s a way to go…

Bad Jokes Really Really Make People Mad

I knew that bad jokes were a conversation killer, but I had no idea that they could be a conversationalist killer. A new study reported by the AP shows that making bad jokes in conversations can make people the focus of astounding amounts of hostility. A linguist sent her students out to tell a particular bad joke, and when the students got the joke into conversation:

“An astonishing 44 percent of the reactions were classified as ‘impolite,’ intended to deeply embarrass the joke teller. The toughest responses came from people who knew the joke teller well, she found.”

Yikes. Just imagine if they’d made a bad pun.

This research reminds me a of a chapter in The Marvelous Land of Oz. In the chapter, Old Mombi Engages in Witchcraft, The Woggle-Bug, Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow, Saw-Horse, Jack the Pumpkinhead, and Tip are traveling together. The Woggle-Bug, who is Highly Educated, starts making puns. After a brief conversation on the suitability of such things, the Woggle-Bug makes a very bad pun and is warned by the Tin Woodsman:

“‘We are not very particular,’ added the Tin Woodman; ‘and we are exceedingly kind hearted. But if your superior culture gets leaky again — ‘ He did not complete the sentence, but he twirled his gleaming axe so carelessly that the Woggle-Bug looked frightened, and shrank away to a safe distance.”

Make a bad pun, get threatened with an axe!