If you're a male and you excelled at physics at school, you might want to thank your penis, according to new research published in the Times Educational Supplement.
Researchers Anna Wilson, Kate Wilson and David Low, argue that the reason boys perform better in physics from a young age is because they have to wee standing up, giving them a head-start.
Yup, they reckon because males need to stand up and aim for the toilet bowl, they've already had a chance to get to grips with projectile motion.
You having that? Accidentally learning about physics while having a slash - whatever next?
I assume this only applies to the fellas who can actually hit the target, and not the ones who piss all over the place (and never clean it up).
The researchers were able to back up their theory with prior research, which they claim shows that girls underperform in physics tests - specifically the fact that, on average, only one third of girls were able to correctly answer questions on projectile motions, compared to two-thirds of boys.
The researchers say the fact that boys are more likely to play sports, which could teach them about projectile motion without them evening realising, isn't relevant, because even young girls who played sports were found to score lower than the boys.
So, pissing then, I guess.
I can't help but think the researchers are grasping at straws, here, but what do I know? I'm not a piss/education expert.
The article states: "Transfer of this understanding to typical contextualized questions in mechanics curricula is not likely to be difficult, either: as mentioned above, the favorite scenarios for projectile motion exercises are often aiming a ball or a cannon, and involve drawing a trajectory line that must recall those sparkling arcs of urine."
Penises and canons? It's all hyper-masculine this, isn't it?
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Anyway, the researchers believe that 'playful urination practices' (leave it) such as seeing how high you can wee, may be the key to boys excelling in physics from a younger age.
The researchers then suggest ways in which this can be remedied, so girls and boys are on an even-playing field when it comes to physics, including changing the curriculum in schools, so that other topics, such as energy conservation, are explored first, giving the girls time to catch up.
Science.
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Source: The Times Education Supplement
Featured Image Credit: The Simpsons/FoxTopics: Science