PLEASE FORWARD/POST AS APPROPRIATE ================================================================ The mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR") Issue number 2005-02 February 2005 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 ================================================================ ----------------------------- 2005-02-01 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2005-02-01 Table of Contents 2005-02-02 Imminent Events 2005-02-03 What's New in the Magazine 2005-02-04 Project Cuppa, First Serving 2005-02-05 British Cuppa Demos? 2005-02-06 The Mystery of Life 2005-02-07 Growing Hair 2005-02-08 Poet Exhaustion 2005-02-09 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Men + Women + Math 2005-02-10 On Our Blog 2005-02-11 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Michael Jackson, Snakes 2005-02-12 Improbable Research Events 2005-02-13 How to Subscribe to AIR (*) 2005-02-14 Our Address (*) 2005-02-15 Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*) 2005-02-16 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 ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-02 Imminent Events FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18 Improbable @ AAAS Meeting, Washington, DC MARCH 11-20 Ig Nobel Tour of the UK (see section 2005-12 below for details) ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-03 What's New in the Magazine The Jan/Feb issue (vol. 11, no. 1) of the Annals of Improbable Research is the special YAWNING Issue. It will be emerge from the printer late this month. Highlights include: <> "On Yawning; or, The Hidden Sexuality of the Human Yawn," by Wolter Seuntjens <> "Do Copied Citations Create Renowned Papers?" by M.V. Simkin and V.P. Roychowdhury <> "Experiments in Yawning," compiled by R.G. Briskett <> "Textbook Disclaimer Stickers," by Colin Purrington The table of contents (along with several of the articles) is at: ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-04 Project Cuppa, First Serving Here are a few of the best early submissions for Project Cuppa. Project Cuppa is our attempt to collect the best scientists' best rituals for preparing tea or coffee. My morning tea ritual: Get out of bed at very last possible moment. Put kettle on. Have shower. Make tea (mug + teabag + 1 teaspoon sugar + little milk). Get dressed. Drink tea. Run out of door. Arrive at work out of breath. Make more tea. Dr. John Mitchell Laboratory Supervisor, IRC in Biomedical Materials Queen Mary, University of London It is not the brewing of the tea that is important. It is the receptacle that is critical. A cup WITH a saucer! The saucer is required for the following reasons; 1) when (yet again) I forget not to take it into the lab, there is no evidence (tea stain) on the bench, 2) it permits me to pass as a member of the History faculty (they provide better food at seminars), 3) it keeps the prodigious stacks of papers, western blots etc. on my desk from having conspicuous rings on them, 4) it is yet another thing for me to lose (which keeps the students amused). David Elliott Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy University of Arizona Professor Nick Phillips, the renowned holographer at De Montfort University in the U.K., once told me his secret: Unlike all other scientists, he washes out his cup after drinking his coffee instead of before. Stephen J. Hart How can you contribute to Project Cuppa? Describe your tea or coffee preparation ritual (brew it down to a description of fewer than 80 words, please!), and email it to either: PROJECT CUPPA (tea) c/o or PROJECT CUPPA (coffee) c/o ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-05 British Cuppa Demos? Would you like (and be able to) demonstrate your Project Cuppa entry on stage at one of the Ig-Nobel-Tour-of-the-UK events in March? If so, please state concisely why this could and should happen: Project Cuppa (Demonstrably Good Role Model) c/o PS. There is of course an official British standard. See This need not restrict you. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-06 The Mystery of Life Please join us on a historical quest. Some years ago the Monsanto company advertised that "without chemicals, life itself would be impossible." Who is the author of this wonderfully vapid phrase? We would like to know. If you know, please send the info to: "Intelligent Designer of Life" c/o ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-07 Growing Hair There's a whole batch of new members in the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). Admire them, if you will, at ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-08 Poet Exhaustion There is no winner -- repeat, no winner -- for last month's ELECTROCHEMICAL ZUCCHINI LIMERICK COMPETITION. Nobody produced a limerick that, in the judges' view, successfully caught both the spirit and letter of the classic report: "Zucchini Crude Extract-Palladium Modified Carbon-Paste Electrode for the Determination of Hydroquinone in Photographic Developers," I. Da Cruz Vieira and O. Fatibello-Filho, Analytica Chimica Acta, vol. 398, nos. 2-3, November 2, 1999, pp 145-51. Congratulations to Iolanda da Cruz Vieira and Orlando Fatibello- Filho for having written a research report that virtually defies limerickization. The task, however, is not impossible. Improbable Limerick Laureate, MARTIN I. EIGER came through in the clutch. Here is his (possibly) heroic limerick: Take a paste based on carbon, as shown, Into which some palladium's thrown. Into this, if you please, Take zucchini and squeeze. Now let's measure some hydroquinone! Fearful of they know not what, the judges have requested that the limerick contest be mothballed for a month or two. Their wish is our command. ----------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-09 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Men + Women + Math Each month we select for your special attention a research report that seems especially worth a close read. This month's pick: "Influences of Lavender Fragrance and Cut Flower Arrangements on Cognitive Performance," M. Liu, R.H. Mattson and E. Kim, International Journal of Aromatherapy, vol. 14, no. 4, 2004, pp. 169-74. The authors, who are at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, report that: [The] effects of lavender fragrance and cut flower arrangements on cognitive performance of university students were examined by measuring their performance of completing a mental arithmetic task. For female participants, olfactory effects of the lavender fragrance tended to enhance calculating speed and calculating accuracy, and visual effects of the cut flower arrangements significantly improved calculating speed. For male participants, visual effects of the cut flower arrangements tended to improve calculating accuracy. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-10 On Our Blog Here are some recent topics (a new one appears every weekday) in our blog: Egrets: I've Had a Few Association of Dead People video Microsoft scarfs down the European science community? Boxing Chickens, Rats, Cats & Flies Hallock's Flea-fest ... and many others Read the blog via ----------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-11 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Michael Jackson, Snakes MICHAEL JACKSON DERMATOLOGY "Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Dermatological Applications," Michael Jackson, et al., Vibrational Spectroscopy, vol. 28, no. 1, 28 February 2002, pp. 53-8. INSERT/DELETE FUNCTIONS "Demonstration of Oesophageal Reflux Using Live Snakes," A.C. Johnson and S. Johnson, Clinical Radiology, vol. 20, no. 1, January 1969, pp. 107-9. ------------------------------------------------------------ 2005-02-12 Improbable Research Events ==> For details and updates see ==> Want to host an event? 617-491-4437. ==> AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, WASHINGTON, DC -- FRI, FEB 18, 2005 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Wardman Room Annual Improbable Research show as part of the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Featuring: AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS Ig Nobel Prize winner JILLIAN CLARKE (The 5-Second Rule for Dropped Food) Ig Nobel Prize winner JIM GUNDLACH (Effect of Country Music on Suicide) Ig Nobel Prize winner JOHN TRINKAUS (Things that annoy me) Howard University's AFRO BLUE performing "The Atkins Diet Opera" COLIN PURRINGTON (Textbook disclaimer stickers) SALLY SHELTON (Angels as Insects) ERIC SCHULMAN (A Briefer History of Time) ROBERT FRIEDEL (Pizza and Progress) ==> OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. BRING FAMILY AND FRIENDS. IG NOBEL TOUR OF THE UK for NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK -- MARCH, 2005 OXFORD -- FRI, MARCH 11 DARESBURY LAB, WARRINGTON -- MON, MARCH 14 NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY -- TUE, MARCH 15 DANA CENTRE, LONDON -- WED, MARCH 16 (Further details to be announced soon) MUSEUM OF SCIENCE, BOSTON, MA -- APR 1, 2005 I-CON 24, STONY BROOK, NY -- APR 8-10, 2005 NATIONAL WRITERS' WORKSHOP, HARTFORD, CT -- APR 16/17, 2005 IG NOBEL TOUR OF AUSTRALIA for NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK -- AUGUST, 2005 CASCADIACON, SEATTLE -- THURS, SEPT 1 - MON, SEPT. 5, 2005 FIFTEENTH 1ST ANNUAL IG NOBEL PRIZE CEREMONY -- OCT 6, 2005 Sanders Theatre, Harvard University. Tickets will go on sale in August. IG INFORMAL LECTURES -- OCT 8, 2005 MIT. Room and time to be announced. -------------------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-13 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 ----------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-14 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: --------------------------- 2005-02-15 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 2005, Annals of Improbable Research ----------------------------------------------------- 2005-02-16 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. 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