Improbable Research

Kristin Harbuck of Montana State University and Tracie Ivy of Illinois State University — the former of Bozeman, the latter of Normal –  have joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS).

The airport handwashing survey report was issued in 2003.

(Thanks to Ron Josephson for bringing it to our attention.)

The practice of reading textbooks for pleasure is just as lively now as it has ever been. More people buy textbooks - actually spend their own money to do it - now than ever before. And in deciding what to buy, they are kids in a candy store….

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

Waste disposal is a recurring process. A cheap, chilling method is now available for dog owners. The manufacturer describes it in simple terms:

POOP-FREEZE™ is a specially formulated aerosol freeze spray that, upon contact, forms a frosty film on dog poop (or cat poop) to harden the surface for easy pick-up. POOP-FREEZE is a great companion to a pooper scooper for clean fast dog poop or cat poop disposal.

POOP-FREEZE is non-flammable, contains no CFC’s and is perfect for both outside and indoor use. Totally safe for both humans and pets when used as directed. Great product testimonials have been given to POOP-FREEZE for dog poop and cat poop removal. POOP-FREEZE, a pooper scooper and dog poop waste bags are the perfect solutions to fast and easy dog poop and cat poop removal.

(Thanks to Jane Eppers and Lee and his dogs for bringing this to our attention.)

Investigator Carlos E. Figueroa Castro writes:

I would like to make you aware of Mr. Fernando Vallejo, a Colombian writer. Two of his most recent books are La tautología de Darwin (Darwin’s tautology) and Manualito de imposturología física (Little manual of physical imposturology"). Mr.Vallejo was able to prove, in less than two years, that Charles Darwin, James Clerk Maxwell, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein were wrong, among others. Some of his other achievements:

1. The description of the "Aquino", a unit used to measure the level of imposture (derived from the work of Saint Thomas d’ Aquin). Example: Einstein: 280 "Aquinos", Maxwell: 180.
2. The Einstein’s formula E=mc2 is wrong
3. Apples and pianos share a common characteristic: They lack a gravitational field.

The scientific publications of James Bond are not as widely read as the publications ABOUT James Bond. The man himself is greatly missed: it was said of him that

The nidification of birds  was one of his most compelling interests, after Caribbean zoogeography, which explains his admiration for Skutch.

Investigator Rob Sanders sends bear news. He writes: “Obviously, Mr. Scott MacInnes hasn’t been keeping up with the Igs over the years.  Look at this April 22, 2005 new report from Reuters:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Scott MacInnes set an Alaskan record this week,
although not one contenders would seek to break. State officials say
the 51-year-old biologist is the first person known to have survived
two bear attacks.
MacInnes, a 51-year-old biologist, was mauled during his early morning
jog on Monday when he met up with a brown bear and one or two cubs near
his home in the Kenai Peninsula town of Soldotna.
He had been mauled 38 years earlier on a well-used hiking trail in the
Chugach National Forest, according to a government biologist….

“Does anyone want to connect Mr. MacInnes with Troy Hurtubise [who won a 1998 Ig Nobel Prize for building and personally testing a suit of armor meant to be impervious to grizzly bears, and who has since continued his altruistic engineering adventures]?”

Klaus Frick of the University of Innsbruck and Duncan Hull of the University of Manchester and Michael Caldwell of the University of Alberta have delighted an uncountable number of residents of several continents  — they have joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS).

The doctor who knows everything is William Campbell Douglas, or so one might infer. Among his qualifications: (1) For a full year, he endured economic and physical hardship; and (2) He is the author of five books.

At election time, it occurs to voters that certain candidates are, to put it simply, simple. For most candidates and their staff, this is the desired payoff for years of hard work. A study that appeared in 1997 in the journal Nature explains why….

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

How do individuals react to psychedelics? And how does one probe receptor space with psychedelics? A  conference last year in Phoenix, Arizona attempted to bring together answers to these questions.

(Thanks to Bob Frenay for bringing this to our attention.)

A new project

brings echoes of Chris McManus’s Ig Nobel Prize-winning report "Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and Ancient Sculpture."

Inspired by our quest to identify the author of the wonderfully vapid advertising slogan "Without chemicals, life itself would be impossible," investigator Dave "Maddog" Maddox discovered that the phrase inspired a poet to give birth to a poem that begins:

The rain in Spain is bound to contain

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane…

Our romantic quest was announced in mini-AIR 2005-02. We remain hopeful it will lead to success.

The "Boys Will Be Boys" column in the March/April 2005 issue of the magazine presents another health collection of research by and for adolescent males of all ages. One of the highlights this time is a splendid whopping new survey of colorectal foreign objects that appeared, more or less serendipitously, in a hospital in South Africa.

People who love numbers — truly love them — needn’t hesitate when asked the question: "What is your favourite book?" There is only one possible answer: A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates, published by the Rand Corporation in 1955…

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

[And a further note. The Rand Corporation has put a PDF version of the book onto its web site. Thanks to Dan Valente for bringing this to our attention.]