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The mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR")
May 2009, Issue number 2009-05. ISSN 1076-500X.
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A free online supplement to the Annals of Improbable Research
This issue is at
<http://www.improbable.com/airchives/miniair/2009/mini2009-05.htm>
Archive at <http://improbable.com/airchives/miniair/>
Key words: improbable research, science humor, Ig Nobel, AIR, the
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2009-05-01 TABLE OF CONTENTS
2009-05-02 Imminent Events
2009-05-03 In the Magazine: Accounting Research Extravaganza
2009-05-04 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: He Shot a Bullet in the Air...
2009-05-05 He Was Shot by an Arrow in the Air
2009-05-06 They Saw an Arrow in the Mucous Membrane
2009-05-07 Banana Fish vs. Horseface Loach
2009-05-08 Dead Duck Day
2009-05-09 Three Laus on the Flu
2009-05-10 Bored Piles Poet
2009-05-11 Apple-Braining Competition
2009-05-12 OTHER IMPROBABILITIES: Belgian Dopes, Feline Intent
2009-05-13 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Hit the Nail & Be Sarcastic
2009-05-14 Improbable Research Events
2009-05-15 -- How to Subscribe to AIR (*)
2009-05-16 -- Our Address (*)
2009-05-17 -- Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*)
2009-05-18 -- How to Receive mini-AIR, etc. (*)
Items marked (*) are reprinted in every issue.
mini-AIR is
but a wee monthly *supplement*
to the bi-monthly magazine Annals of Improbable Research
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2009-05-02 Imminent Events
June 5, Dead Duck Day, Rotterdam
Details, see section 2009-05-08 below.
Full events schedule at <http://tinyurl.com/k87xs>
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2009-05-03 In the Magazine: Accounting Research Extravaganza
The special Accounting issue (vol. 15, no. 3) of the Annals of
Improbable Research has just gone to the printer, from where it
will emerge, wrapped in giddiness, in just a few short weeks.
Highlights include:
<> The Fingers of Fabulous Financial Traders
<> The Blood of Fabulous Financial Traders
<> The Genes of Fabulous Financial Traders
In the meantime, the special Navel Lint issue (vol. 15, no. 2) is
online at
<http://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume15/v15i2/v15i2.html>. Download a free low-res PDF, or get a spiffy hi-res PDF, or
of you are a subscriber to the comfy paper edition, hunker down
and derive from it some comfort and linty knowledge.
Many other back issues, too, are online at
<http://www.improbable.com/magazine/>
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2009-05-04 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: He Shot a Bullet in the Air...
The beloved poem "I shot an arrow in the air / It fell to earth I
know not where..." is the subject, metaphorically, of this
month's specially recommended monograph:
"Can a Falling Bullet Be Lethal at Terminal Velocity? Cardiac
Injury Caused by a Celebratory Bullet," Angelo N. Incorvaia,
Despina M. Poulos, Robert N. Jones and James M. Tschirhart,
Annals of Thoracic Surgery, vol. 83, no. 1, January 2007, pp.
283-4. (Thanks to Ben Kronos for bringing this to our attention.)
<http://tinyurl.com/r9mmmu> The authors, at Synergy Medical
Education Alliance in East Lansing, Michigan, explain:
"This is a case report of rare cardiac and abdominal organ
injuries sustained by an innocent bystander from a New Year's Eve
celebratory gun shooting. The force and velocity of a projectile
fired into the air as it ascends and returns to earth, along with
its potential for bodily injury will be reviewed."
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2009-05-05 He Was Shot by an Arrow in the Air
A less metaphorical case occurred in Turkey:
"Transcranial Arrow Injury: A Case Report," Gškhan Kurt, Alp
OŚnzgu_n Bšrcek, OŚnzgu_r Kardefi, …zgen Aydincak, Necdet ‚eviker,
Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi, vol. 13, no. 3, July 2007,
pp. 241-3. <http://tinyurl.com/r84syw> The authors, at Gazi
University, Ankara, Turkey, explain:
"In this report, a 37 year-old male patient, who was shot by an
'arrow' accidentally, was evaluated regarding clinical
presentation, treatment and clinical progress.... CONCLUSION:
Management of such cases are still beyond the textbooks and
guidelines and it is depending on the surgeon's skill and
experience in general neurosurgery."
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2009-05-06 They Saw an Arrow in the Mucous Membrane
A puzzling-to-the-layperson, not necessarily related, case
occurred in Russia:
"The 'Air Arrow' Symptom in the Diagnosis of Injuries of the
Mucous Membrane of the Cervical Segment of the Esophagus"
[article in Russian], Ia.A. Fastovskii and B.N. Nevskii,
Sovetskaia Meditsina, vol. 26, March 1963, pp. 69-71.
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2009-05-07 Banana Fish vs. Horseface Loach
The banana fish controversy, which erupted (ever so slightly)
following an event last month on the Ig Nobel Tour of Denmark,
simmers noisily.
Investigator Ivar Kjelling writes:
"Why are there so few published studies about the banana fish,
Acantopsis choirorhynchos, also known as the 'horseface loach'? I
say it's because so many of my fellow ichthyologists detest the
name 'horseface loach'.
Investigator Berenice Mokte writes:
"Many of my colleagues find it jarring that the two best-known
names for Acantopsis choirorhynchos are so opposite in allure.
'Banana fish' sounds cute and charming. 'Horseface loach' sounds
anything but. I wonder which other species (fish or anything
else) suffer from this disturbing duality — having two common
names that are so at odds with each other in charmingness?"
Investigator Clayton Weil writes:
"J.D. Salinger would never have written a short story called 'A
Perfect Day for Horseface Loach.'"
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2009-05-08 Dead Duck Day
Our European Bureau Chief, Kees Moeliker, invites you to come
celebrate Dead Duck Day. He writes:
* * *
Every June 5, at 17.55h sharp, a small number of staff members of
the Natural History Museum Rotterdam silently celebrated what
they call "Dead Duck Day", to commemorate the sudden and dramatic
death on June 5th, 1995 of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) that
entered the scientific literature as the first victim of
homosexual necrophilia in this species. In 2003, the incident was
also commemorated with the awarding of the Ig Nobel Biology
Prize.
This year (like last year) the 14th annual Dead Duck Day is open
to the public. The Natural History Museum Rotterdam and the
European Bureau of Improbable Research invite duck enthusiasts
and other people to come to the lawn next to the glass pavilion
of the museum — the site where the duck met its fate — and join
the short open-air ceremony. Participants are asked to discuss
measures preventing window-related deaths of ducks and other
birds. Afterwards there is the traditional six-course duck dinner
at Tai Wu (Mauritsweg 24-25, Rotterdam).
* * *
For a fond look back at last year (2008)'s Dead Duck Day, see:
<http://improbable.com/2008/06/06/yesterday-was-dead-duck-day/>
If you cannot make it to the museum for Dead Duck Day, we hope
you will celebrate, with colleagues and friends, in an
appropriate way.
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2009-05-09 Three Laus on the Flu
Investigator Pierre-Yves Boelle alerts us to a new triple-Lau
publication:
"Prevalence and Correlates of Influenza Vaccination Among Non-
Institutionalized Elderly People: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional
Survey," Lam Lau, Ying Lau, and Ying Hon Lau, International
Journal of Nursing Studies, vol. 46, no. 6, June 2009, pp. 768-
77. <http://tinyurl.com/qbz5ua>
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2009-05-10 Bored Piles Poet
The judges have chosen a winner in the Bored Piles Limerick
Competition, which asked for a limerick to honor the study "Test
Study on the Characteristics of Mudcakes and in Situ Soils Around
Bored Piles," _Zhong-Miao Zhang, Jun Yu, Guang-Xing Zhang, and
Xin-Min Zhou, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 46, no. 3,
March 2009, pp. 241-255. <http://tinyurl.com/c76nmf>
The winner is INVESTIGATOR STEVEN HARDY, who wrote:
Piles may be bored. But not me.
I've read the report, so I see
That Zhang, Zhang, and Zhou
Did expertly show
Why grouting your mudcakes is key.
Here's the offering from LIMERICK LAUREATE MARTIN EIGER:
The authors hereof figure out,
And the reader is left with no doubt:
When driving a pile
The wise gal or guy'll
Produce stronger mudcake with grout.
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2009-05-11 Apple-Braining Competition
Apple-braining is the subject of this month's limerick
competition. To enter, compose an original limerick that
illuminates the nature of this report, which was unearthed by
investigator Charles Lessup:
"Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How
Apple Makes You 'Think Different,'" Gr‡inne M. Fitzsimons, Tanya
l. Chartrand, Gavan j. Fitzsimons, Journal of Consumer Behavior,
vol. 35, no. 1, June 2008, pp. 21-35. <http://tinyurl.com/pvw38y>
The authors, who are variously at the University of Waterloo and
at Duke University, report:
"This manuscript first examines whether brand exposure elicits
automatic behavioral effects as does exposure to social primes.
Results support the translation of these effects: Participants
primed with Apple logos behave more creatively than IBM-primed
and controls; Disney-primed participants behave more honestly
than E!-primed and controls."
RULES: Please make sure that: (1) your rhymes actually do; and
(2) your poem is in classic, trills-off-the-tongue limerick form.
PRIZE: The winning poet will receive (if we manage to send it to
the correct address) a free, possibly branded, high-res PDF issue
of the Annals of Improbable Research. Send entries (one entry per
entrant) to:
APPLE-BRAINING LIMERICK COMPETITION
c/o <marca AT chem2.harvard.edu>
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2009-05-12 OTHER IMPROBABILITIES: Belgian Dopes, Feline Intent
Blog Items:
<http://improbable.com/>
<> Belgian doping excellence, now and then
<> Ig winners comment on "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus"
<> Legal poser: feline intent
<> Mosquito device will greet Tokyo youths
<> The Case of the Oleaginous Inlet
And many more...
Newspaper Columns:
<http://tinyurl.com/6o348d>
<> The Paper Clip and the Law
<> Essence of typical diet (and then some), bottled
<> The textbook Cocker
<> The untied-shoelace experiment
<> The quill is a mighty (painful) sword
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2009-05-13 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Hit the Nail & Be Sarcastic
CUTESILY ICKY: HITTING THE NAIL ON THE HEAD
"Attempted Suicide or Hitting the Nail on the Head. Case Report,"
A.S Spears, Journal of the Florida Medical Association., vol. 81,
no. 12, December 1994, pp. 822-3. (Thanks to Sarna Ollress for
bringing this to our attention.) The authors at H. Lee Moffitt
Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, report:
"A case is reported of attempted suicide by hammering nails
through the skull into the brain. This unique attempt at self-
destruction was unsuccessful and the treatment, initially by an
untrained first-aider and then by a neurosurgeon, was
surprisingly simple."
AUTHORITY'S BACKROOM SARCASM
"Ambiguous Ends: The Use of Sarcasm by Adults in School Staff
Meetings" B.D. Harger and T. Hallet, paper presented at the
annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August
2006,Montreal Convention Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
<http://tinyurl.com/r8crfb>
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2009-05-14 Improbable Research Events
For details and additional events, see
<http://improbable.com/improbable-research-shows/complete-schedule>
Dead Duck Day, Rotterdam - Jun 5, 2009
Ig Nobel Ceremony Tickets go on sale — Aug 1, 2009
Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, Harvard Univ — Oct 1, 2009
Ig Informal Lectures, MIT — Oct 3, 2009
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2009-05-15 -- How to Subscribe to AIR (*)
The Annals of Improbable Research is a 6-issues-per-year
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2009-05-16 -- Our Address (*)
Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA
617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927
EDITORIAL: marca AT chem2.harvard.edu
SUBSCRIPTIONS: subscriptions AT improbable.com
WEB SITE: <http://www.improbable.com>
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2009-05-17 -- 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
MINI-PROOFREADER AND PICKER OF NITS (before we introduce the last
few at the last moment): Wendy Mattson
COMMUTATIVE EDITOR: Stanley Eigen
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 2009, Annals of Improbable Research
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2009-05-18 -- 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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