Improbable Research

How can you attract media attention to yourself?

The question must nag at a few of the many, many, many, many, many people who have presumably labored long and hard at their chosen work despite the fact that the world as a whole has perhaps very, very, very, very, very unfairly declined or neglected to celebrate their work or, more sad to say, to celebrate them.

Spray-on mud is a concept that has gotten some, but not an enormous amount of recognition. An article in the June 14, 2005 issue of The Guardian explains. But maybe the best things about spray-on mud are that (a) it is returnable [except that it is not] and (b) the manufacturer has a privacy policy.

(Thanks to Sven-Olov Bylund for bringing this to our attention.)

The Micropolitan Museum has a big collection of tiny images in nature.

What do destitute people have in mind when they haggle for a designer perfume? Luuk van Kempen attacks the question head-on. He describes his experiment in a report, "Are the Poor Willing to Pay a Premium for Designer Labels? A Field Experiment in Bolivia"….

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

The August issue of mini-AIR
just went out. It includes this announcement:

Who is Fledermausmensch?

Who is Fledermausmensch?

The word "batman" translates into German as "Fledermausmensch."
Please help us identify the one, true Fledermausmensch.

Here are the few things we know about Fledermausmensch.
He or she:

(1) is real, not fictional
(2) is a supreme expert on bats
(3) is either is German or Austrian or has some other strong
connection to German bats, language, science, and/or culture

If you have info that can help us identify and honor
Fledermausmensch, please send it to us, with your email subject header reading:

WHO IS FLEDERMAUSMENSCH?