Improbable Research

A Mrs. Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, is reported to be the first human being directly struck by a falling meteorite. Her story, is told in part here.

Mrs. Hodges’s first name has been variously reported to be either “Hulitt” or “Ann.” Thanks to investigator Benjy Berglas for bringing this to our attention. Investigator Berglas also sent us a copy of the newsletter Wooster Sauce, describing the short story that P.G. Wodehouse wrote in honor of Mrs. Hodges and especially of the legal battle that was triggered by her meteoric collision.

The perfect Valentine’s Day gift for a scientist? A juicy problem to solve. We recommend:

“Love’s Problem,” Janet M. Becker and Michael Bevis, Geophysical Journal International, vol. 156, no. 2, February 2004, p. 171. The authors, who are at the University of Hawaii, explain that:

“Explicit expressions for the displacements generated in a non-gravitating, homogeneous, semi-infinite half-space by uniform surface pressure applied over a rectangular region are presented. These complement expressions for the associated stress field given by Love in 1929.”

The article is online (for subscribers of Geophysical Journal International, anyway) here. And if you can’t access the online version of that earthiest of journals? Head to the nearest research library, and grab the paper version.

(Thanks to Investigator Tom Gill for bringing this to our attention.)

If you’re in or near Seattle tomorrow night, Feb 13, come to the free Improbable Research show. Here are details:

AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, SEATTLE – FRI, FEBRUARY 13, 2004
SHERATON HOTEL, METROPOLITAN BALLROOM

The annual Improbable Research show, at the annual meeting
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

FREE — OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Performers include:

AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS — “A Look at the New Ig Nobel Prize Winners”

KAREN HOPKIN - “The Studmuffins of Science Project”

GREG CROWTHER - “Jelly Electrophoresis: The truth about jelly molecules”

YORAM BAUMAN - “Mankiw’s Ten Principles of Economics, Translated”

EUGENIE SCOTT and the STEVES - “The Latest on Project Steve”

KRISTEN ROSENFELD and IAN SWEENEY, she the legendary chanteuse, he the legendary chanteur, both from the Second Story Repertory Theater, will perform songs from Ig Nobel mini-operas

…and MORE.

Bring family and friends. A map showing the location of the hotel is here.

Scientists often forget to carry their credentials with them. Investigator Earle Spamer, of Philadelphia, sends this first-hand account, which shows the value of carrying proper credentials:

On a recent visit to the airport, I was asked to show identification. Upon producing a photographic driver’s license and my official Improbable Research Investigator card, I was immediately set upon by anxious hooligans in the execution of their official duties. I protest. I am an official, card-carrying Investigator. Also, I believe that my beard gives me a respectable (and admirable) profile. To add insult to injury, they would not validate my parking stub.

What is the yellow cake, and what makes it yellow rather than merely cake?
“The Yellow Cake” is the title of an article by Andrzej Roslanowski
and Saharon Shelah, published in the Proceedings of the American
Mathematical Society…

So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian. Read it here.