PLEASE FORWARD/POST AS APPROPRIATE ================================================================ The mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR") Issue number 2004-09 September 2004 ISSN 1076-500X Key words: improbable research, science humor, Ig Nobel, AIR, the ---------------------------------------------------------------- A free newsletter of tidbits too tiny to fit in the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), the journal of inflated research and personalities ================================================================ ----------------------------- 2004-09-01 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2004-09-01 Table of Contents 2004-09-02 Soon... 2004-09-03 What's New in the Magazine 2004-09-04 In Questionable Tastelessness 2004-09-05 Diarrhoea Controversy 2004-09-06 The George / John Controversy 2004-09-07 Ig Ceremony -- Sept. 30 2004-09-08 Hair, Hair, Hair 2004-09-09 New Ig Books 2004-09-10 Feigned Depressed, Sleepy Poets 2004-09-11 Is Chewing Eating? Maybe. 2004-09-12 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Ancient Question Reconsidered 2004-09-13 Psychotic Grandiosity Limerick Contest 2004-09-14 On the Blog 2004-09-15 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Itchy Nose, Fundulus 2004-09-16 AIRhead Events 2004-09-17 How to Subscribe to AIR (*) 2004-09-18 Our Address (*) 2004-09-19 Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*) 2004-09-20 How to Receive mini-AIR, etc. (*) Items marked (*) are reprinted in every issue. mini-AIR is a free monthly *e-supplement* to AIR, the print magazine ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-02 Soon The Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, Sept. 30. See section 2004-09-07 below. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-03 What's New in the Magazine The Sept/Oct issue (vol. 10, no. 5) will be the special CATS issue. It will be arriving on subscribers' doorsteps soon. Highlights include: <> "Infinite Cats," a special photographic report by infinite cat pioneer Mike Stanfill. <> "Cat Research Review," compiled by Tenzing A. Jones. A quick look at published, improbable research by, for, or about cats. <> "The Science Behind Luwak Coffee," by Massimo F. Marcone. That author explains his recent research about the world's most expensive coffee. [Luwak coffee, the world's most expensive coffee, is made from beans that were ingested and then excreted by a bobcat-like animal. It was honored with a 1995 Ig Nobel Prize.] [NOTE: Professor Marcone will describe this research, and possibly serve some luwak coffee, at this year's Ig Informal Lectures at MIT.] <> ... and many others... The table of contents is online at ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-04 In Questionable Tastelessness Some food products are advertised as having absolutely no taste, we are informed by investigator Bissel Mango. One example is the dietary fiber supplement called "Benefiber." Benefiber comes in a container marked "Flavor Free." The manufacturer's web site boasts that the substance is "taste-free." See Are this and other foodstuffs completely tasteless, as claimed? We hope to find out. The investigation has two steps. We intend to collect a list of supposedly tasteless comestibles, and then test the tastelessness of each. This month, we outline Step One. If you know of a foodstuff that is advertised as being completely devoid of taste, please send us a URL pointing to that claim (or sent us other documentation). Please send the documentation to: TASTELESS PROJECT c/o ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-05 Diarrhoea Controversy Investigator Nancy Gould touched off a messy, ill-smelling controversy last month with her list of various spellings, of the word she called the "big D." Here are two of the many distressed notes we've received about it. INVESTIGATOR PAUL DEAR: "With respect to Nancy Gould's ambitious collection of misspellings of 'diarrhea,' it would surely take one of those small-minded, pedantic, xenophobic Englishman to point out that her version is itself a misspelling of 'diarrhoea.' I am that Englishman." INVESTIGATOR STEPHEN PRATT: "I feel compelled to add 2 'chunks.' First, as the Wikipedia notes, the word is spelt (spelled) 'diarrhea' in American English, (spelt 'diarrhoea' elsewhere). Second, it is a very silly word, as well as describing a universally-abhored condition, and thus deserves to be misspelt." ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-06 The George / John Controversy The painting "Sunday on the Pot With George" has tantalized art historians. Who is the man on the pot? We have teamed with the Museum of Bad Art (in whose collection the painting resides) to tackle the problem. A solution has been found. See: ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-07 Ig Ceremony -- Sept. 30 The Ig approacheth. Here are the basics: THE CEREMONY: WHEN: THURS, SEPT 30, 7:30 PM (BOSTON TIME) WHERE: Sanders Theatre, Harvard University WEBCAST: www.improbable.com THE INFORMAL LECTURES: WHEN: SAT, OCT 2, 1:00 PM WHERE: MIT 34-101 Here are a few extra aspects of the ceremony: <> "The Atkins Diet Opera" <> A live, scientific (and pointless!) comparison test of diets <> The 24/7 Lectures, with Zone Diet inventor Barry Sears Deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle Physicist/phenomenon Harry Lipkin Evolution educator Eugenie Scott Nobel Laureate Rich Roberts <> Luak Coffee <> Keynote Speech by past winner John Trinkaus There are a few tickets still available at the Harvard Box Office. Phone: 617-496-2222. (Want to bring a theme delegation? Then register ASAP with Grand Panjandrum Louise Sacco, at 781-444-6757, ) Details are at ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-08-A Poster Here, Posters There There is a downloadable Ig poster on the web site. If you are in the Boston area and would like to help post nicer, paper posters in appropriate places, please get in touch with ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-08 Hair, Hair, Hair The Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS) proudly lets slip that it has several new members -- including the soon- to-be-infamous German Chemist Troika. Peek at everyone's hair, at ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-09 New Ig Books We are pleased to announce the publication of various new Ig Nobel books: "Ig Nobel Prizes," The paperback U.S. edition: ISBN: 0452285739 The Polish edition, ISBN: 83-240-0446-7. The Italian edition: ISBN 881160022-7. ... And in the U.K., the next book in the series: "Why Chickens Prefer Beautiful Humans," ISBN 0752868462. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-10 Feigned Depressed, Sleepy Poets The judges in the first and last annual Feigned Depressed, Sleepy Voice Limerick Contest have chosen the winners, who in some sense explored the research report: "Feigned Depression and Feigned Sleepiness: A Voice Acoustical Analysis," Nicole Reilly, Michael S. Cannizzaro, Brian T. Harel and Peter J. Snyder, Brain and Cognition, vol. 55, 2004, pp. 383-6. The winners will each receive a free, sonorous issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. Here are the triumphant poets and their limericks: INVESTIGATOR RICHARD GRANGER: Her children's yawned lack of ambition Aroused Nicole Reilly's suspicion. By studying faking She got those kids waking and published in Brain and Cognition. INVESTIGATOR MIRIAM BLOOM: If depression's a thing you would feign, 'Tis writ it will all be in vain. Your claim is refutable, Your voice is quite scrutable-- Or so Reilly et al. ascertain. INVESTIGATOR ANGELA MARTIN: If you're faking that you are depressed Or in desperate need of some rest, Your voice may be slow But Reilly will know That you're really just feigning, at best. And here is the view expressed by this year's IMPROBABLE LIMERICK LAUREATE, MARTIN I. EIGER: When people pretend they're depressed, Or when they pretend they need rest, Their speech rates will change, But never the range Of pitches they use. Who'd've guessed? ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-11 Is Chewing Eating? Maybe. Here are opinions from (self-described) QUALIFIED legal scholars on the question: Is it legal to stand inside the Washington Metro and simply chew -- without having anything in your mouth? [NOTE: For the sordid background on this matter, see last month's mini-AIR] INVESTIGATOR ANNE B. CAMPER, ESQ. (University of Virginia School of Law, 1981; and DC Metro-rail rider for over two decades): "Not only is that legal, but it's legal to chew gum on the DC Metro!" INVESTIGATOR DAVID C. HARLOW, JD, MPH (Posternak, Blankenstein and Lund, LLP): "The U.S. Supreme Court, in its seminal 2000 mastication ruling, Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., in a side trip on its destination to not allowing the FDA to regulate cigarettes, found that chewing is NOT eating, and that therefore the FDA (which gets to regulate things designed to be eaten) could not regulate chewing tobacco." ----------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-12 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Ancient Question Reconsidered Each month we select for your special attention a research report that seems especially worth a close read. Your librarian will enjoy being asked (loudly, so other library patrons can hear it) for a copy. Here is this month's Pick-of-the-Month: "Toenail Dust Particles: A Potential Inhalation Hazard to Podiatrists?" C.L Donaldson, T. Carline, D. M. Brown, P. S. Gilmour, and K. Donaldson, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, vol. 46, suppl. 1, 2002, pp. 365-368. (Thanks to Pacilli Sandro for bringing this to our attention.) ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-13 Psychotic Grandiosity Limerick Contest We invite you to enter the first and last annual PSYCHOTIC GRANDIOSITY LIMERICK COMPETITION, for the best (NEWLY composed!) limerick that elucidates this research report, which was brought to our attention by investigator Thel Rogers: "Psychotic Grandiosity," I.D. Harris, Psychiatry, vol. 40, no. 4, November 1977 pp. 344-51. The author explains that: "Surprisingly little has been added to our understanding of psychotic grandiosity in the past 50 years, and our knowledge of it has not advanced appreciably beyond the early descriptions provided by Bleuler, Kraepelin, Freud, and others." RULES: Please make sure your rhymes actually do, and that your limerick at least pretends to adhere to classic limerick form. PRIZE: The winning poet will receive a free, grandiosely stimulating issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. Send entries (one entry per entrant) to: PSYCHOTIC GRANDIOSITY LIMERICK CONTEST c/o ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-14 On the Blog Here are some recent topics (a new one appears every weekday) in our blog: Phobia Party Moon & Quayle Morphology of Steve Trinkaus on Trolleys Broad Band, Broad Man ... and many others Reach the blog via ----------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-15 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Itchy Nose, Fundulus ICHINOSE: ITCHY NOSE "Histamine H3 Receptors Modulate Antigen-Induced Bronchoconstriction in Guinea Pigs," M. Ichinose and P.J. Barnes, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, vol. 86, no. 4, part 1, October 1990, pp. 491-5. (Thanks to Ian Davis for bringing this to our attention.) The authors are at Brompton Hospital, London, England. IN RE FUNDULUS "Ingression During Early Gastrulation of Fundulus," J.P. Trinkaus, Developmental Biology, vol. 177, no. 1, July 10, 1996, pp. 356-70. GUPPY ON FLUIDS "'Drink Plenty of Fluids': A Systematic Review of Evidence for This Recommendation in Acute Respiratory Infections," Michelle P.B. Guppy, Sharon M. Mickan, Chris B. Del Mar, British Medical Journal, vol. 328, February 28, 2004, pp. 499-500. The authors are at the University of Queensland, Australia. ------------------------------------------------------------ 2004-09-16 AIRhead Events ==> For details and updates see ==> Want to host an event? 617-491-4437. ==> ANNUAL IG NOBEL PRIZE CEREMONY -- THURS, SEP. 30, 2004 HARVARD UNIVERSITY Phone: 617-496-2222 INFO: IG INFORMAL LECTURES 2004 -- SAT, OCT. 2, 2004 MIT WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, DETROIT, MI -- FRI, OCT. 29, 2004 9:00 AM AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS will be the keynote speaker at the Undergraduate Research Conference. IG NOBEL TOUR OF THE U.K. AND IRELAND FOR NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK -- MAR. 11-20, 2005 BOSTON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE -- APR. 1, 2005 CASCADIACON, SEATTLE -- THURS, SEPT 1 - MON, SEPT. 5, 2005 North American Science Fiction Convention. AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS will be the Science Guest of Honor INFO: http://www.cascadiacon.org -------------------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-17 How to Subscribe to AIR (*) Here's how to subscribe to the magnificent bi-monthly print journal The Annals of Improbable Research (the real thing, not just the little bits of overflow material you've been reading in this newsletter). ................................................................ Name: Address: Address: City and State: Zip or postal code: Country Phone: FAX: E-mail: ................................................................ SUBSCRIPTIONS (6 issues per year): USA 1 yr/$29 2 yrs/$53 Canada/Mexico 1 yr/$33 US 2 yrs/$57 US Overseas 1 yr/$45 US 2 yrs/$82 US ................................................................ BACK ISSUES are available, too: First issue: $8 USA, $11 Canada/Mex, $16 overseas Add'l issues purchased at same time: $6 each ................................................................ Send payment (US bank check, or international money order, or Visa, Mastercard or Discover info) to: Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA 617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927 ----------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-18 Our Address (*) Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA 617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927 EDITORIAL: marca@chem2.harvard.edu SUBSCRIPTIONS: air@improbable.com WEB SITE: --------------------------- 2004-09-19 Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*) Please distribute copies of mini-AIR (or excerpts!) wherever appropriate. The only limitations are: A) Please indicate that the material comes from mini-AIR. B) You may NOT distribute mini-AIR for commercial purposes. ------------- mini-AIRheads ------------- EDITOR: Marc Abrahams (marca@chem2.harvard.edu) MINI-PROOFREADER AND PICKER OF NITS (before we introduce the last few at the last moment): Wendy Mattson WWW EDITOR/GLOBAL VILLAGE IDIOT: Amy Gorin (airmaster@improbable.com) COMMUTATIVE EDITOR: Stanley Eigen (eigen@neu.edu) ASSOCIATIVE EDITOR: Mark Dionne PSYCHOLOGY EDITOR: Robin Abrahams CO-CONSPIRATORS: Alice Shirrell Kaswell, Gary Dryfoos, Ernest Ersatz, S. Drew MAITRE DE COMPUTATION: Jerry Lotto AUTHORITY FIGURES: Nobel Laureates Dudley Herschbach, Sheldon Glashow, William Lipscomb, Richard Roberts (c) copyright 2004, Annals of Improbable Research ----------------------------------------------------- 2004-09-20 How to Receive mini-AIR, etc. (*) What you are reading right now is mini-AIR. Mini-AIR is a (free!) tiny monthly *supplement* to the bi-monthly print magazine. To subscribe, send a brief E-mail message to: LISTPROC@AIR.HARVARD.EDU The body of your message should contain ONLY the words SUBSCRIBE MINI-AIR MARIE CURIE (You may substitute your own name for that of Madame Curie.) ---------------------------- To stop subscribing, send the following message: SIGNOFF MINI-AIR ============================================================