Improbable Research

Investigator Kim Dill writes:

I have recently joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS), and have just seen that  offer for a cruise for club members.  What a neat idea!  However, I think their drains would be clogged w/ hair for weeks afterwards.

The Christmas season is a time to pause and ponder. Here are some ponderous Christmas-related research reports to give you pause, perhaps….

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

Investigator Sharon DeLisle sent us this inquiry:

I am struck by the resemblance between the two newest members of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). Dr. Peter Jorgensen and Dr. Catherine Fiorello appear to be a matched pair. Are they in some way mutual admirers?

Congratulations are due to Jerry Crook. New Scientist magazine’s "Feedback" column, in the December 4, 2004 issue, presents this item:

EARLIER this year, we noted the headline "Crook named CEO" of the year and wondered "So what’s new?" (20 March, 2004). Now we find that the person the headline referred to, Jerry Crook, is in the news again.

The online news agency Nextgenerationservices recently had this to say: "Jerry Crook has stepped down as CEO of up-and-coming OSS firm Cramer Systems Ltd after being charged with conspiracy to defraud investors while he was an executive at software firm Peregrine Systems Inc. Crook is just one of a number of former Peregrine executives charged with conspiracy to commit a multibillion-dollar securities fraud between 1997 and 2002."

As a former executive of Peregrine Systems, Jerry Crook is a co-winner of the 2002 Ig Nobel Prize in the field of Economics. That Prize was awarded to:

The executives, corporate directors, and auditors of Enron, Lernaut & Hauspie [Belgium], Adelphia, Bank of Commerce and Credit International [Pakistan], Cendant, CMS Energy, Duke Energy, Dynegy, Gazprom [Russia], Global Crossing, HIH Insurance [Australia], Informix, Kmart, Maxwell Communications [UK], McKessonHBOC, Merrill Lynch, Merck, Peregrine Systems, Qwest Communications, Reliant Resources, Rent-Way, Rite Aid, Sunbeam, Tyco, Waste Management, WorldCom, Xerox, and Arthur Andersen, for adapting the mathematical concept of imaginary numbers for use in the business world.

[NOTE: Video of the entire 2002 Ig Nobel Ceremony can be viewed the Ig Nobel web site. The Economics Prize was awarded towards the end of the event. The audience, 1200 strong, was especially appreciative of the Economics Prize winners.]

Investigators Bob Frenay and Hanya Brayman, who traveled 250 miles to attend the recent Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, write:

On the way out of Cambridge, Hanya and I stopped for breakfast at a place on Massachusetts Ave. at State St. called “Miracle of Science Bar + Grill.”  A friendly, somewhat funky little place with a menu in the form of a periodic table. I don’t know who runs it but something tells me that he or she may be one of your people.  It was across the street from a place called — significantly, we thought — the All Asia karaoke bar.

Investigator Steve Auerweck, who is a science-fair enthusiast, writes:

I’m reading a novel by T.C. Boyle based on the Kinsey sex research
project, and googled a few terms, leading to this page:

http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/Bartholin’s_gland

It doesn’t exactly lead to all the info we’d need for our science fair
projects.  Too bad.  We could probably really impress the judges.

Congratulations to the newly chosen Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS) Men and Women of the Year! They and their hair have been immortalized in downloadable posters.

"The study of Marlene Dietrich’s relationship with her dolls has taken me into some new research territory." With these words Judith Mayne, the distinguished professor of French studies and Italian studies and women’s studies at Ohio State University, takes all of us into new territory….

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

There’s exciting news for the members of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). Carnival Cruise Lines seems to be inviting the members and their hair to embark on a group cruise. Here is the invitation:

Hi,

I want to introduce myself, I am Todd Satterlee, Business Development Manager for Carnival Cruise Lines. I organize group cruises for Carnival Cruise Lines with many organizations. I would like to help you plan a group cruise for The Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists.

Carnival currently has 20 ships sailing to all parts of the Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska, Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, Panama Canal, and Canada New England. Carnival is The Worlds Most Popular Cruise Line. We are the leader in the contemporary market.

Please let me know if you would be interested and I can show you how your organization can take an affordable cruise, while earning free cabins and amenities. This is a great way for your members to gather and meet other members. We offer free meeting space on board.

Cruising is so Popular Today and it will be a great benefit to your organization and members.

Please contact me at tsatterlee@carnival.com

I look forward to helping you plan a very exciting Carnival Cruise Group!

Regards,

Todd Satterlee
Business Development Manager
Carnival Cruise Lines
Western, Central, & Northern Massachusetts
Albany Capital Region
tsatterlee@carnival.com
800-327-7276 cclsales@carnival.com

We receive many unusual press releases. Here is one that came in recently:

PRESS RELEASE

Date: October 22, 2004

The Wade Research Foundation (W.R.F.), a non-profit corporation headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, USA, has just released a report about the successful testing of new concept whereby a person’s name (or other word that can be constructed using letters of the English alphabet) is used as the basis for designing a bioactive peptide. [Peptides are small proteins, polymers of 21 different types of amino acids, in which the amino acids building blocks are linked together chemically, like beads on a string. A well known example of a peptide is the hormone, insulin.] The name-peptide is then chemically synthesized, and subjected to a variety of tests to determine if it has any biological or other activity. This concept represents an alternative to conventional methods for discovering new bioactive molecules, and is based upon an internationally accepted scientific convention in which the chemical names of the 21 naturally occurring amino acids are abbreviated by using a different letter of the English alphabet for each type of amino acid. The convention is recognized by scientists throughout the world, and can be found in any textbook of biochemistry or molecular biology.

As a test of the name-to-bioactive peptide concept, a peptide was designed to have an amino acid sequence (i.e., the arrangement of amino acids in the polymer, or the arrangement of beads on the string) that corresponded to the letters of the name of the current US Secretary of State, Colin Powell. The resulting peptide, COLINPOWELL, was chemically synthesized and subjected to a battery of tests at New Jersey Medical School (USA), New York University (USA), the National Cancer Institute (USA), and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (the institution whose faculty select the yearly winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine). It gave positive results in 50% of tests including: anticancer activity (inhibition of the proliferation of human breast cancer cells); immune boosting activity (stimulation of chemotaxis of human monocytes and neutrophils); no deleterious effects on plasma coagulation. Studies of the structure of the peptide showed that it resembled portions of naturally occurring proteins. These results indicate that peptide, COLINPOWELL, might have useful biomedical properties, and the W.R.F. is currently attempting to collaborate with other researchers to expand the range of testing on the peptide.

In addition to potential biomedical benefits, the name-to-peptide project has the potential to be useful as a teaching tool for both scientific and nonscientific audiences, and as a bridge between these audiences. The success of the first name-to-peptide project has encouraged the W.R.F. to solicit customers/investors in order to expand the name-to-peptide program. More detailed information, and a copy of the report, may be obtained from the W.R.F. contact listed below.

David Wade, PhD
Wade Research Foundation
70 Rodney Avenue
Somerset, New Jersey 08873
Web: www.wade-research.com

We of course wish them “good luck!”

The December issue of mini-AIR just went out.

In re our report on Owney, the Postal dog, investigator Chris Leadbeater writes:

Here’s a British equivalent for Owney, not quite but this dog used to hang around the station, took trips on trains and collected money for charity."

The British dog-in-a-box, in the fabled-yet-actual town of Slough, is called Station Jim. To some observers, he/it is a figure of some very small romance and mystery.

Here are the winners, and some runners-up, in the Clear-and-Pithy contest that was announced in mini-AIR 2004-11.

The contest was to translate this scholarly thought into a clear, accurate SEVEN-WORD summary that ANYONE can understand:

"Specifically, I have been concerned with the processes by which individuals construct and enact motivational ‘agendas for action’ that draw upon and integrate features of their personal identities and their social settings, and that guide and direct their pursuit of relevant life outcomes in diverse domains of functioning."

That original thought comes from the web site of U. Minnesota professor Mark Snyder.

The winning translation:

"Why do people do what they do?"
– INVESTIGATOR ERICA STEWART
– INVESTIGATOR WILLIAM (BILL) PIKE
– INVESTIGATOR NANCY GOULD
– INVESTIGATOR HUBERT TURNER
– INVESTIGATOR CAROL STONE
– INVESTIGATOR RICHARD LIPP
– INVESTIGATOR LEIGH TOOTH
– INVESTIGATOR CHUCK ROYALTY
– INVESTIGATOR ELISE MATTHESEN
– INVESTIGATOR MEGAN CAPER
– INVESTIGATOR WILLIAM LEOGRANDE
– INVESTIGATOR NATHAN ETESSAMI
– INVESTIGATOR TIM SHOWALTER
– INVESTIGATOR JESSE SKINNER
– INVESTIGATOR PATRICK LENON
– INVESTIGATOR JULIA LUNETTA
– INVESTIGATOR JOHNNA KLUKAS
– INVESTIGATOR CHRIS LOUTH
– INVESTIGATOR MIKE NOLAN
– INVESTIGATOR LILLY JONES
– INVESTIGATOR WIM CRUSIO
– INVESTIGATOR MARK SJOTHUN
– INVESTIGATOR KATHY MAGRI WOO
– INVESTIGATOR ELENA SHERMAN
– …and many others.

Some runners-up:

[Being a Psychologist myself, I very well understand that Professor Snyder has to express himself like that. It´s not easy to get on or in a Chair and stay there when you talk like the guy next door. Maybe that´s why he didn´t just say:]
"My concern is: what makes people tick?"
– INVESTIGATOR ULLA MOHR-RUEB

"I wonder what other people think about."
– INVESTIGATOR JESSICA MORTON

"How come people do stuff anyhow, huh?"
– INVESTIGATOR LOUIS G LIPPMAN

"I’m curious about why people do stuff."
– INVESTIGATOR IAN SANDERSDON

"I investigate why people do things."
– INVESTIGATOR JUDITH STEIN

"Just what makes Dick and Jane tick?"
– INVESTIGATOR SHEILA ETTINGER

"I study ways people plan their lives."
– INVESTIGATOR KEN GORELICK:

"I study the way people make plans."
– INVESTIGATOR VICTOR AAGAARD

"I’m interested in how people set goals."
– INVESTIGATOR JEAN HIGHAM

"How do people determine and pursue goals?"
– INVESTIGATOR MARJORIE WINKLER

"I study why people do what they do."
– INVESTIGATOR JORGE STOLFI

"I study people’s reasons for doing things."
– INVESTIGATOR CRAIG BURLEY
"I wonder why people do their thing."
– INVESTIGATOR PAUL KUCKEIN
"What makes a person tick? Who knows?"
– INVESTIGATOR STEVEN A. SEIFERT
"My philosophy: different strokes for different folks."
– INVESTIGATOR IAN DAVIS

"My specific concern is people in general."
– INVESTIGATOR MATT BRIGGS

"How do people decide what to do?"

– INVESTIGATOR PAUL STAMLER
– INVESTIGATOR CAROL BUCHMILLER
– INVESTIGATOR MARK MARIS
– INVESTIGATOR ALAN LESGOLD
– INVESTIGATOR CAROL MCCOLLOUGH
– INVESTIGATOR DAVID MARPLES
– …and many others.

"What do I want to do today?"
– INVESTIGATOR DOV WEINSTOCK

"I study peoples’ what-to-do lists."
– INVESTIGATOR William Jackson

"I investigated how people motivate themselves."
– INVESTIGATOR FERDINAND PEPER

"I studied various people’s diverse lifestyle choices."
– INVESTIGATOR GRAHAM R. CHAMBERS

"How people get things done their way."
– INVESTIGATOR MADHU MENON

"I study people’s to-do lists."
– INVESTIGATOR DIANE J. GRAVES

"How do people write to-do lists?"
– INVESTIGATOR NICOLA MISANI

"I want to understand how people behave."
– INVESTIGATOR MATIAS HERNANDEZ

"I study why people do things."
– INVESTIGATOR MARTIN BLUMSACK
"I care about why people do things."
– INVESTIGATOR DREW KIME

"My thesis: People broadly act like themselves."
– INVESTIGATOR DANIEL BOND

"How to get that woman into bed."
– INVESTIGATOR ANDREAS ZEMANN

SPECIAL MENTION: **** PITHY AND UNCLEAR ****

"Development and application of personalized motivational techniques."
– INVESTIGATOR K. LEBER

Self-caught fish. This term, long misunderstood (as is the “nonsmoking room”), finds and increased level of acceptance and use.

So writes investigator Paul Price, who cites two examples that were presented to the Society for Risk Analysis. One is a research report titled “Rum and Fish: Using Recreational Models To Assess Exposure from Consuming Self-Caught Fish.”

See details here and here.

The official report about the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony includes some nice — and memorable — photos. It is published in the November-December issue of the magazine. The issue will be emerging from the printer any day now. You can get an advance look, because we’ve put part of the Ig report up on our web site, as well as in print.