a plurality of facemasks

A garment device convertible to one or more facemasks wherein the garment device has a plurality of detachable cup sections. Each of the cup sections has a filter device, an inner portion positionable adjacent to the inner area of the user’s chest, and an outer portion positionable adjacent to the outer area of the user’s chest. The garment device has at least one securing device detachably coupling the inner portions of the cup sections to one another, and the garment device has at least one other securing device attached to the outer portion of at least one of the cut sections. This other securing device is operable to: (a) detachably couple the outer portions of the cup regions to one another; and (b) for each one of the cup sections, attach the outer portion of said cup region to the inner portion of said cup region after said cup region is detached from the other cup region, thereby converting the garment device to a plurality of facemasks.

Abstract for Patent Number 7255627, aka Garment device convertible to one or more facemasks, by Elena N. Bodnar.

Bodnar's invention for a brassiere that converts into a plurality of facemasks is worth mentioning because 1) on account of it, she was awarded an Ig Noble Prize on 1 October and 2) this may well be the only opportunity any of us will ever have to see the esteemed Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, and two of his Nobel peers, wearing what appear to be C-cups in a very public way.

Photo: Ig Noble Winner Elena N. Bodnar with Nobel Laureates (from left to right) Wolfgang Ketterle, Orhan Pamuk and Paul Krugman

camina y pasa tambien

toda luna, todo año

todo dia, todo viento
camina y pasa tambien.
tambien toda sangre llega
al lugar de su quietud.

—chilam-balam

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, translator of the Chilam-Balam texts (among other things), has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Photo from the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

when super smart nerds who have changed our world vote

During the administration of George W. Bush, vital parts of our country's scientific enterprise have been damaged by stagnant or declining federal support. The government's scientific advisory process has been distorted by political considerations. As a result, our once dominant position in the scientific world has been shaken and our prosperity has been placed at risk. We have lost time critical for the development of new ways to provide energy, treat disease, reverse climate change, strengthen our security, and improve our economy.

We have watched Senator Obama's approach to these issues with admiration. We especially applaud his emphasis during the campaign on the power of science and technology to enhance our nation's competitiveness. In particular, we support the measures he plans to take – through new initiatives in education and training, expanded research funding, an unbiased process for obtaining scientific advice, and an appropriate balance of basic and applied research – to meet the nation's and the world's most urgent needs.

Excerpted from a letter of support issued on 25 September and signed by 61 Nobel Prize winning scientists endorsing Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States of America because he is "a visionary leader who can ensure the future of our traditional strengths in science and technology ... who can harness those strengths to address many of our greatest problems: energy, disease, climate change, security, and economic competitiveness."

Here's the whole letter with the complete list of Nobelists »