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From farts on a plane to fake fingers, weird and wonderful science was out in force in 2013. Compiled by the Australian Science Media Centre, with help from the RiAus and the CSIRO, this annual list of the weirdest science stories of the year contains both stories that will make you squirm and those that will have you scratching your head.
Here's the Top 10 Weirdest Stories from the Australian Science Media Centre:

1. 
   Researchers found we can smell ten smells 鈥� and one of them is popcorn! 听We all know tastes can be classified into five distinct flavours, but research released in September suggested there are 10 basic categories of odour 鈥� and that one of them is popcorn. The other odours are fragrant, woody/resinous, fruity (non-citrus), chemical, minty/peppermint, sweet, lemon and two kinds of sickening odours: pungent and decayed.


2. 
   听Sorry boys, scientists found size matters after all: In April, Australian researchers showed that, when it comes to attractiveness at least, penis size does matter. Using a series of life-sized, computer-generated images of male figures, they discovered that women rated the 鈥榗yber鈥� men as more attractive as penis size increased. But there is some comfort for less well-endowed blokes out there, assuming you鈥檙e also tall - increased height had an almost equivalent positive effect. The results suggest the female tendency to choose a man with a bigger manhood could have driven the evolution of larger penises in humans. 听Video available: http://youtu.be/Be6dTdx1qxs
   


3. 
   To the mothmobile! Insects hitched a ride on robots: Forget dogs driving cars, in February moths got their own mode of transport - robots. Japanese researchers developed a two-wheeled robot that鈥檚 driven by a male silk-moth. The moths steer the machine towards enticing female sex pheromones, allowing researchers to monitor their neural activity. Video available: http://youtu.be/n2k1T2X7_Aw
   


4. 
   Detachable penises and an inevitable headache - sea slug sex astounded us all: It might have seemed ridiculous in the mildly popular 90s song, but in February scientists were surprised to discover a sea slug with a truly detachable penis. The sea slug, Chromodoris reticulata is able to dispose of its penis after sex and grow a new one within 24 hours - a feat it can repeat at least three times. And in similarly weird sea slug sex news, in November, Australian scientists found that a Great Barrier Reef species stabs its sexual partners through the head during mating. The researchers suggest this 鈥榟ead injection鈥� shoots prostate gland secretions into the recipient鈥檚 central nervous system, directly affecting their physiology. Video available: http://youtu.be/Obc7AgU9XN0
   


5. 
   Scientists figured out how to read our dreams: We鈥檝e all been bored rigid by other people recounting their dreams, but in April Japanese researchers read people鈥檚 dreams directly for the first time. The scientists first built up a database of dream images by scanning peoples brains using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while they slept, then waking them and asking them to describe the images in their dreams. By matching the images to the brain maps, they were then able to predict which images people had dreamt about just by looking at the brain scans, getting it right about two thirds of the time. Video available: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2013/04/03/science.1234330.DC1/1234330s2.mov
   


6. 
   Szechuan peppers were found to pack a punch. If you think eating a Szechuan pepper feels a bit like a slap in the mouth, you鈥檙e right. In September, UK scientists showed that the signal sent to the brain in response to eating a spicy Szechuan peppercorn is the equivalent of 50 light taps on the skin every second, mimicking the sense of touch.


7. 
   Farts on a plane were found to be 鈥榖etter out than in鈥�: Talking of pungent and decayed, in February a team of Danish and British gastroenterologists discussed that while holding back a fart on an aeroplane may cause significant discomfort and physical symptoms, releasing flatus presents social complications, leaving potential aerial farters in a quandary. Suggesting that there鈥檚 truth in the tradition of 鈥榖etter out than in鈥�, the researchers also provide advice on how to get away with it. They recommend walking up and down the aisle if you want to let rip as 鈥渢he social problems of flatulence are reduced, since the odour is distributed over a larger area鈥�. And the final take home message? 鈥淭he future frequent flyer may develop the ability to 鈥渟neak a fart鈥� by wearing charcoal-lined underwear thus experiencing a comfortable flight in harmony with fellow passengers.鈥� We can only hope.


8. 
   Studying applause revealed it鈥檚 infectious: Scientists found that when it comes to applause, it鈥檚 not the quality of performance, but peer pressure that affects clapping. In June, researchers revealed that clapping spreads through a crowd like an infection, and that it鈥檚 the social pressure from people around us who start or stop clapping that has the biggest influence on how long we applaud. It seems no-one likes to be the first or the last caught clapping.

1. 
   Illusory fake fingers fooled our brains:听 In September, Australian researchers revealed a whole new class of illusion by tricking the brain into believing a fake finger was the real thing using only sensory inputs from muscles. The illusion shows that the body does not require sight or touch to sense which parts of your body belong to you, or to determine their positions in the world.
   


2. 
   Research revealed that dogs can tell left from right: You might think a wagging tail is a wagging tail, but you could be underestimating man鈥檚 best friends. Italian research released in November suggested dogs recognise and respond differently when their fellow canines wag to the right than when they wag to the left. The findings show that dogs, like humans, have asymmetrically organised brains, with the left and right sides playing different roles. Video available: http://youtu.be/YtnewsdmdbM