PLEASE FORWARD/POST AS APPROPRIATE ================================================================ The mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR") Issue number 2005-10 October 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 ================================================================ ----------------------------- 2005-10-01 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2005-10-02 What's New in the Magazine 2005-10-03 The 2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners 2005-10-04 Literature Winners Draw Too Much Attention? 2005-10-04-[SUPPLEMENTAL] LATE BREAKING NEWS - LIT PRIZE WINNERS 2005-10-05 Sweeping Success 2005-10-06 Fledermausmensch Update Update 2005-10-07 Incest Gene Limerick Contest 2005-10-08 New Heads of Hair 2005-10-09 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Surfing and Politics 2005-10-10 On Our Blog 2005-10-11 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Hare, Squirrel, Schnoz, Blok-Tip 2005-10-12 Improbable Research Events 2005-10-13 How to Subscribe to AIR (*) 2005-10-14 Our Address (*) 2005-10-15 Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*) 2005-10-16 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 ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-02 What's New in the Magazine The Sept/Oct issue (vol. 11, no. 5) of the Annals of Improbable Research is the special HARRY POTTER & THE EXPLODING TOADS issue. Non-Potter/non-anuran highlights include: <> "How to Write a Love Letter," by Joshua Lederman. Professor Lederman has tried, for many years, to teach college students how to write. He got to thinking about what it would be like if his students wrote love letters in the same style as they write their essays. <> "The Provocations of Biking," compiled by D.L.N Travasco. A review of recent research reveals some alluringly provocative dangers of riding. <> "Pop-Up Medical Thermometer Woes," by Stephen Drew. An update on a simple, revolutionary medical device that was expected to be in widespread use, but which is not. and much more... The entire table of contents -- and the particular articles mentioned above -- are online at ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-03 The 2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners The new Ig winners were introduced at the 15th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. Here are the new winners: AGRICULTURAL HISTORY: James Watson of Massey University, New Zealand, for his scholarly study, "The Significance of Mr. Richard Buckley's Exploding Trousers." WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: James Watson PHYSICS: John Mainstone and the late Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland, Australia, for patiently conducting an experiment that began in the year 1927 -- in which a glob of congealed black tar has been slowly, slowly dripping through a funnel, at a rate of approximately one drop every nine years. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: John Mainstone MEDICINE: Gregg A. Miller of Oak Grove, Missouri, for inventing Neuticles -- artificial replacement testicles for dogs, which are available in three sizes, and three degrees of firmness. ACCEPTING: The winner was unable to travel, and delivered his acceptance speech via video. LITERATURE: The Internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, for creating and then using e-mail to distribute a bold series of short stories, thus introducing millions of readers to a cast of rich characters -- General Sani Abacha, Mrs. Mariam Sanni Abacha, Barrister Jon A Mbeki Esq., and others -- each of whom requires just a small amount of expense money so as to obtain access to the great wealth to which they are entitled and which they would like to share with the kind person who assists them. PEACE: Claire Rind and Peter Simmons of Newcastle University, in the U.K., for electrically monitoring the activity of a brain cell in a locust while that locust was watching selected highlights from the movie "Star Wars." WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Claire Rind ECONOMICS: Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to the workday. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Gauri Nanda CHEMISTRY: Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota and Brian Gettelfinger of the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, for conducting a careful experiment to settle the longstanding scientific question: can people swim faster in syrup or in water? WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Brian Gettelfinger and Edward Cussler BIOLOGY: Benjamin Smith of the University of Adelaide, Australia and the University of Toronto, Canada and the Firmenich perfume company, Geneva, Switzerland, and ChemComm Enterprises, Archamps, France; Craig Williams of James Cook University and the University of South Australia; Michael Tyler of the University of Adelaide; Brian Williams of the University of Adelaide; and Yoji Hayasaka of the Australian Wine Research Institute; for painstakingly smelling and cataloging the peculiar odors produced by 131 different species of frogs when the frogs were feeling stressed. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Ben Smith and Craig Williams NUTRITION: Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats of Tokyo, Japan, for photographing and retrospectively analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting). WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats FLUID DYNAMICS: Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow of International University Bremen, Germany and the University of Oulu, Finland; and Jozsef Gal of Lor‡nd Eštvšs University, Hungary, for using basic principles of physics to calculate the pressure that builds up inside a penguin, as detailed in their report "Pressures Produced When Penguins Pooh -- Calculations on Avian Defaecation." ACCEPTING: The winners were unable to attend the ceremony because they could not obtain United States visas to visit the United States. Dr. Meyer-Rochow sent an acceptance speech via video. * * * Further info is at The November/December issue of the Annals of Improbable Research will be our annual special Ig Nobel issue, with copious photographic and other detail. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-04 Literature Winners Draw Too Much Attention? "It sounds like the Ig Nobel Prize for Literature has had some immediate results," an anonymous email correspondent told us. He or she was referring to a report in the October 14 issue of The Guardian, which begins: NIGERIA SET TO CRIMINALIZE SPAMMING Nigeria is considering making spamming a criminal offence for which senders of unsolicited emails could be imprisoned for at least three years. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-04-[SUPPLEMENTAL] LATE BREAKING NEWS - LIT PRIZE WINNERS LATE BREAKING NEWS: Just as this issue of mini-AIR was going to press, we heard -- at last! -- from the new Ig Nobel Literature Prize winners, with whom we had previously been unable to make contact. For details see ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-05 Sweeping Success We are very, very happy for Roy Glauber, who for ten years has been sweeping paper airplanes from the stage during Ig Noble Prize Ceremonies. Roy has just been awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics. For details see Also see the special tribute to Roy, which was part of this year's Ig Nobel ceremony, complete video of which is online at [ADDITIONAL NOTE OF INTEREST: The video also includes Nicholas Carstoiu's premiere performance of his piano composition "Infinite Chopsticks.'] ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-06 Fledermausmensch Update Update This is an update on last month's update on The Committee to Figure Out Who is Fledermausmensch (see the pervious month's mini- AIR for background info) continues to deliberate. Results are expected to be pending for a short while. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-07 Incest Gene Limerick Contest A new study by researchers at UAE University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, suggests that incest may be caused by a special incest gene. Their report is the subject of this month's limerick competition. To enter, compose an original limerick that illuminates the nature of that study: "Incestuous Gene in Consanguinophilia and Incest: Toward a Consilience Theory of Incest Taboo," Srdjan Denic and M. Gary Nicholls, Medical Hypotheses, September 2005 [Epublication ahead of print]. Details are at 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 an incest-free issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. Send entries (one entry per entrant) to: INCEST GENE LIMERICK CONTEST c/o ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-08 New Heads of Hair The Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS) has a lovely new bunch of new members. Gaze upon photos of them at ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-09 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Surfing and Politics Each month we select for your special attention a research report that seems especially worth a close read. This month's pick: "Local Motions: Surfing and the Politics of Wave Sliding," Eric Ishiwata, Cultural Values, vol. 6, no. 3, July 01, 2002, pp. 257-72. The author, who is at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, reports that: Tapping into the politics and rhythms of surfing, this paper embodies a "set" of waves that seeks to erode the sedimentation of Hawaii's modern political orders. By foregrounding a more fluvial and dynamic sense of the political, this paper treats surfing not only as a heterotopic site of agency, but also as an opening for an "other" kind of politics. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-10 On Our Blog Here are some recent topics (a new one appears every weekday) in our blog: <> The man who performed 10,000 root canals <> Dangerous Trends in Oboe Playing <> The Glaucoma Hymn <> Neighborhood quality spanking <> Cell phones in the classroom <> What is it about ferrets? <> TV interview with Moeliker and the duck ... and many others Read the blog via ----------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-11 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Hare, Squirrel, Schnoz, Blok-Tip HARE ON SQUIRREL "Ground Squirrel Uses Ultrasonic Alarms," David R. Wilson and James F. Hare, Nature, vol. 430, no. 6999, July 29, 2004), p. 523. (Thanks to Adam Quek for bringing this to our attention.) A NOSE FOR ASTRONOMY "Tycho Brahe and His Sixteenth Century Nasal Prosthesis," D.C. Lee, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 50, no. 4, October 1972, pp. 332-7. BLOK-TIP: FINDING FAKE UPLIFT "Screening Suspected Counterfeit Viagra and Imitations of Viagra With Near-Infrared Spectroscopy," M.J. Vredenbregt, L. Blok-Tip, R. Hoogerbrugge, D.M. Barends and D. de Kaste, Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 17 October 2005. (Thanks to Tom Gill for bringing this to our attention.) ------------------------------------------------------------ 2005-10-12 Improbable Research Events ==> For details and updates see ==> ==> Want to host an event? See: ==> ADARUQ, QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC -- NOV 18, 2005 Banquet et conference humoristique Ig Nobel Hotel Chateau Laurier http://www.adaruq.org/programme2005.htm INFO: Patricia Fournier, (819) 821-8000 ext. 1274 Patricia.Fournier@USherbrooke.ca SCIENCE FRIDAY, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO -- FRI, NOV 25, 2005 Annual Ig Nobel broadcast. Consult local stations for time. Also available over the internet. INFO: http://www.sciencefriday.com ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY, ST. CLOUD, MN -- TUES, JAN 17, 2006 Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning INFO: Frances Condon AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, ST. LOUIS -- FEB, 2006 IMPROBABLE RESEARCH TOUR OF THE UK -- MAR, 2006 PINC CONFERENCE, THE NETHERLANDS -- MAY 16, 2006 ALPBACH TECHNOLOGY FORUM, ALPBACH, AUSTRIA -- AUG, 2006 IG NOBEL TOUR OF AUSTRALIA -- AUG, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-13 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/$33 2 yrs/$60 Canada/Mexico 1 yr/$39 US 2 yrs/$65 US Overseas 1 yr/$49 US 2 yrs/$90 US ......................................................... BACK ISSUES are available, too: First issue: $9 USA, $11 Canada/Mex, $17 overseas Add'l issues purchased at same time: $7 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 ----------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-14 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: ----------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-15 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 ----------------------------------------------------- 2005-10-16 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. 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 ============================================================