Probably not the mathematician

Investigator Susan S. Young writes: “I’m sure you saw the news report in the January 27, 2009 Austrian Times about Alexander Kirilov.

“I am almost certain that it is NOT the Alexander Kirillov who is my mathematical hero—he who wrote the beautiful, beautiful study “Coxeter Elements and Root Bases” (arXiv:0811.2324), which is my favorite mathematical paper. The name spelling is not quite the same.

“The news story must be about some other Alexander Kirilov (maybe the famous athlete?), but I hope it is merely apocryphal and I very much expect it is not a mathematician.

In case you have not seen the report, here’s how it begins.”

Raccoon bites off perverts penis
A raccoon has bitten off a pervert’s penis as he was trying to rape the animal. Alexander Kirilov, 44, was on a drunken weekend with pals when he leapt on the terrified animal…