Gender differences in UC Davis VetMed students (1952–2011)

Sometimes I find myself walking down corridors on campus where you can see the graduation photos for past years of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. I'm struck by how much the gender balance has changed. In 1952, the oldest year for which a photo is shown, there are no women at all. I'm sure this is probably true of many other academic departments from this era, particularly in STEM subjects.

Fast forward 50 years or so, and the situation is very different. The latest graduation photo, from 2011, shows that 102 of the 125 students are women. Quite a reversal. I wonder how many other departments or schools have seen such a dramatic switch.

Here is how the gender balance has changed over time.

Heinz tomato ketchup...not as nature intended?

I just noticed that on the back of our bottle of organic Heinz tomato ketchup is a slogan that reads:

Just as nature intended...

This raises two issues:

1. Do Heinz really think that nature "intended" for tomatoes to be smushed together with vinegar, sugar, and various flavorings?
2. Does this imply that Heinz's regular — i.e. non-organic — ketchup is not as nature intended? Perhaps the best selling ketchup variety in the world was an unintentional accident, and is secretly loathed by Mother Nature as the black sheep of the processed-tomato-products family?

Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry

Ever wonder what happens if you make a Caenorhabditis elegans nematode angry? Well you shouldn’t make a nematode angry, you wouldn’t like them if they are angry. Especially if they have harnessed the power of gamma radiation:

Before & after comparison:

First nematode image taken from uu.nl. Green bean taken from my kitchen.

A quiz about Davis

Reposted from my older blog that is about to disappear.

The following is a quiz about Davis that I made for a party where we said goodbye to some close friends who are leaving Davis after living here for the last six years. I think 12 was the highest score out of 20. If you use the internet, then you are cheating! Answers are included at the bottom of the post.

1) Which of these streets does not exist in Davis: 

A) L St

B) M St

C) N St

D) O St

2) Which of these roads does not exist on campus: 

A) N Quad 

B) S Quad

C) E Quad 

D W Quad 

3) The famous ‘Toad Tunnel’ in Davis was built in 1995 to allow toads to cross from south to north Davis. But how much did it cost to build:

A) $1,400

B) $14,000

C) $140,000

D) $1.4 million

4) Prior to prohibition, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of Davis tried banning the sale of alcohol within a 3 mile radius of campus. This was to prevent the ‘corruption’ of young farming students. They succeeded in getting the state legislature to enact this ban in 1911. When was this ban finally lifted: 

A) 1919

B) 1939

C) 1959

D) 1979

5) In 1994 a woman was found guilty of violating Davis’ infamous noise ordinance. What activity was she doing that caused her neighbor resort to calling the police? 

A) Sneezing

B) Whistling

C) Snoring

D) Clicking her fingers

6) The name ‘Davis’ wasn’t the first name for our town. It became known as Davis in 1907…what was it known as before that? 

A) Davisville

B) Davistown

C) Davisland

C) DavisDavis

7) Before there was UC Davis, there was the University of California University Farm and then the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture, but when did it become UC Davis?

A) 1957

B) 1958

C) 1959

D) 1960

8) In 2007, a customer was accidentally overcharged for the Pita that they had bought at Pita Pit. How much was the customers credit card charged with? 

A) $50

B) $500

C) $5000

D) $50,000

9) On 21st July this year, a woman robbed a bank in Davis. However, she then ran into a problem when she tried making her getaway. What happened? 

A) She left the bank to find that her getaway car had been stolen

B) As she left the bank she was robbed by another robber who had independently planned to rob the very same bank

C) Her getaway vehicle was actually a bike and was arrested by the police who found her frantically trying to unlock her bike. Turns out she had forgotten the combination of the lock.

D) She found that she had locked herself out of her getaway car and the police caught her trying to get into it by breaking the window

10) In 1984 the Davis City Council declared the city to be a what? 

A) Beard free zone

B) nuclear free zone

C) Republican free zone

D) Parrot free zone

11) After the toad tunnel was built what problem affected the toads that tried using it? 

A) They were killed from the heat of lights that had been installed in the tunnel? 

B) The tunnel became a home for a population of wild ferrets which ate the toads? 

C) Someone forgot to move a temporary concrete wall in the tunnel, so the toads couldn’t use it

D) A large number of toads that were using the tunnel to reach north Davis encountered a large number of toads that were trying to reach south Davis, and they all got stuck.

12) The Davis Police Department produce and distribute trading cards featuring what?

A) Pictures of local police officers

B) Pictures of cars that have been stolen in Davis

C) Pictures of criminals arrested in Davis

D) Pictures of their pet cats and dogs

13) Picture round. What is the name of this sculpture which can be found on the UC Davis campus

A) Stupid pipe thingy

B) Map of Davis

C) Bum, bum. You’ve been here before

D) Cat, cat, cat, cat, cat, cat, dog!

14) Every March 1st, Davis Farmer’s market observes what important day?

A) National Pig Day

B) National Vegetarian Day

C) National Lactose Intolerance Day

D) National Mountaineering Day

15) What is the Social Sciences and Humanities Building on the UC Davis campus better known as?

A) The Moonbase

B) Battlestar Galactica

C) The Death Star

D) The Starship Enterprise

16) David Pyles, is a post-doc in the UC Davis Biometeorology program but how is he better known?

A) Scooby Doo - he dresses in full Scooby Doo costume on the first day of every month

B) Tarzan Guy - he regularly dresses as Tarzan while walking about Davis

C) The Beard - he claims to have the longest beard in Davis (it is below his waist)

D) Fluffy toes - he wears pink fluffy slippers *all* the time

17) In 1870, what was the approximate population of Davis?

A) 4

B) 40

C) 400

D) 4,000

18) In July 2003 what was found in a dumpster at Slatter’s Court Mobile Home Park on Olive Drive?

A) 25 lbs of stolen cheese

B) 58 lbs of stolen bacon

C) 93 lbs of stolen yogurt

D) 157 lbs of stolen human body parts

19) Which country keeps it’s diplomatic mission to the California State Government based in Davis?

A) Mexico

B) Paraguay

C) New Zealand

D) North Korea

20) In 2006, someone erected an April Fool’s Day sign in Davis that proclaimed that *what* was coming to Davis soon?

A) A Super Walmart store

B) A maximum security prison

C) A nuclear waste processing facility

D) An amusement park that would have a Richard Nixon theme

Scroll down to see the answers.

The Answers

All answers were taken from http://daviswiki.org so I make no claims as to their actual veracity (c) Andy Jones

1) Which of these streets does not exist in Davis: 

A) L St

B) M St

C) N St

D) O St

2) Which of these roads does not exist on campus: 

A) N Quad 

B) S Quad - This side of the quad is flanked by Peter J. Shields Avenue

C) E Quad 

D W Quad 

3) The famous ‘Toad Tunnel’ in Davis was built in 1995 to allow toads to cross from south to north Davis. But how much did it cost to build:

A) $1,400

B) $14,000

C) $140,000

D) $1.4 million

4) Prior to prohibition, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of Davis tried banning the sale of alcohol within a 3 mile radius of campus. This was to prevent the ‘corruption’ of young farming students. They succeeded in getting the state legislature to enact this ban in 1911. When was this ban finally lifted: 

A) 1919

B) 1939

C) 1959 

D) 1979 - I guess this is when Picnic Day celebrations started getting a little out of hand

5) In 1994 a woman was found guilty of violating Davis’ infamous noise ordinance. What activity was she doing that caused her neighbor resort to calling the police? 

A) Sneezing

B) Whistling

C) Snoring

D) Clicking her fingers

6) The name ‘Davis’ wasn’t the first name for our town. It became known as Davis in 1907…what was it known as before that? 

A) Davisville - wonder if Vacaville residents ever considered renaming their city to ‘Vaca’

B) Davistown

C) Davisland

C) DavisDavis

7) Before there was UC Davis, there was the University of California University Farm and then the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture, but when did it become UC Davis?

A) 1957

B) 1958

C) 1959 - Remember those 50th anniversary celebrations last year?

D) 1960

8) In 2007, a customer was accidentally overcharged for the Pita that they had bought at Pita Pit. How much was the customers credit card charged with? 

A) $50

B) $500

C) $5000

D) $50,000

9) On 21st July this year, a woman robbed a bank in Davis. However, she then ran into a problem when she tried making her getaway. What happened? 

A) She left the bank to find that her getaway car had been stolen

B) As she left the bank she was robbed by another robber who had independently planned to rob the very same bank

C) Her getaway vehicle was actually a bike and was arrested by the police who found her frantically trying to unlock her bike. Turns out she had forgotten the combination of the lock.

D) She found that she had locked herself out of her getaway car and the police caught her trying to get into it by breaking the window

10) In 1984 the Davis City Council declared the city to be a what? 

A) Beard free zone

B) nuclear free zone - and there is still no nuclear-waste reprocessing facility in this town to this day

C) Republican free zone

D) Parrot free zone

11) After the toad tunnel was built what problem affected the toads that tried using it? 

A) They were killed from the heat of lights that had been installed in the tunnel? - the lights had to be added to tempt the toads into the tunnel

B) The tunnel became a home for a population of wild ferrets which ate the toads? 

C) Someone forgot to move a temporary concrete wall in the tunnel, so the toads couldn’t use it

D) A large number of toads that were using the tunnel to reach north Davis encountered a large number of toads that were trying to reach south Davis, and they all got stuck.

12) The Davis Police Department produce and distribute trading cards featuring what?

A) Pictures of local police officers

B) Pictures of cars that have been stolen in Davis

C) Pictures of criminals arrested in Davis

D) Pictures of their pet cats and dogs

13) Picture round. What is the name of this sculpture which can be found on the UC Davis campus

A) Stupid pipe thingy

B) Map of Davis

C) Bum, bum. You’ve been here before

D) Cat, cat, cat, cat, cat, cat, dog!

14) Every March 1st, Davis Farmer’s market observes what important day?

A) National Pig Day

B) National Vegetarian Day

C) National Lactose Intolerance Day

D) National Mountaineering Day

15) What is the Social Sciences and Humanities Building on the UC Davis campus better known as?

A) The Moonbase

B) Battlestar Galactica

C) The Death Star - that’s no moon!

D) The Starship Enterprise

16) David Pyles, is a post-doc in the UC Davis Biometeorology program but how is he better known?

A) Scooby Doo - he dresses in full Scooby Doo costume on the first day of every month

B) Tarzan Guy - he regularly dresses as Tarzan while walking about Davis

C) The Beard - he claims to have the longest beard in Davis (it is below his waist)

D) Fluffy toes - he wears pink fluffy slippers *all* the time

17) In 1870, what was the approximate population of Davis?

A) 4

B) 40

C) 400

D) 4,000

18) In July 2003 what was found in a dumpster at Slatter’s Court Mobile Home Park on Olive Drive?

A) 25 lbs of stolen cheese

B) 58 lbs of stolen bacon

C) 93 lbs of stolen yogurt

D) 157 lbs of stolen human body parts - Very gruesome. Stolen from the autopsy department at UCDMC as I believe

19) Which country keeps it’s diplomatic mission to the California State Government of California based in Davis?

A) Mexico

B) Paraguay

C) New Zealand - technically it’s in El Macero

D) North Korea

20) In 2006, someone erected an April Fool’s Day sign in Davis that proclaimed that *what* was coming to Davis soon?

A) A Super Walmart store

B) A maximum security prison

C) A nuclear waste processing facility

D) An amusement park that would have a Richard Nixon theme

The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs — or do they?

According to this video testimony from musical performers The Be Good Tanyas, ‘the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs’. If we take their claim at face value, one might presuppose that ‘size of bird’ and ‘prettiness of song’ might be connected in some form of linear relationship where smaller birds sing prettier songs:

However, as they fail to clarify the nature of the relationship between ‘size of bird’ and ‘prettiness of song’ one could postulate that the following examples also satisfy their description:

Thus we feel that — in the absence of supporting data — their observation that smaller sized avians produce more pleasing vocalizations, should not be regarded as a relationship which necessarily suggests that larger-sized birds sing notably less pretty songs.

Regardless of whether there is a relationship between these two metrics, we might still expect to find supporting evidence for the notion that diminutive avians produce trillings, warblings, and other chirruping-like sounds that are of a fetching nature.

One might therefore assume that the songs of Hummingbirds should be among the prettiest of all bird songs. However, according to the Hummingbird-themed site World of Hummingbirds:

“the sounds of hummingbirds are not exactly considered music…it would be more appropriate to call them chirps then it would be to call it music.”

This testimony, along with the audio evidence provided on their site, suggests that the claims of The Be Good Tanyas should not be taken at face value. Further undermining their claims is this list of the top ten song birds from ‘Bird On! News’. While some of the entries on this list also feature in whatbird.com’s list of small-sized birds (those birds 5–9 inches in length), the top 10 list also includes the mute swan which can grow up to 1.5 meters in length, a size described by Wikipedia as ‘impressive’.

Without published data in a peer-reviewed journal we find the evidence to support any claim that ‘the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs’ to be lacking and we humbly request that The Be Good Tanyas ‘show us the data’.