Getting Carded in Philadelphia

Scientists often forget to carry their credentials with them. Investigator Earle Spamer, of Philadelphia, sends this first-hand account, which shows the value of carrying proper credentials: On a recent visit to the airport, I was asked to show identification. Upon producing a photographic driver’s license and my official Improbable Research Investigator card, I was immediately […]

Missiles and Bears

For devotees of missile coloring books, there is none more fun than the Missile Defense Agency Coloring Book. See it here. And many of the many admirers of Troy Hurtubise will enjoy drawing home-built armor onto the Bear Aware Coloring Book. See it here.

Sex Apology

We apologize to Dr. Sakae Inouye for changing his sex. The week-before-last-week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian described Dr. Inouye’s well-articulated theory about how the SARS virus might be spread by people speaking one, rather than another, language. (See that column here.) Dr. Inouye subsequently sent us this note: Thank you for your introducing […]

Man of Letter

An errant letter has transformed an eminent scientist into a loaf of bread. Investigator Alain Le Faou of the Laboratoire Central de Virologie at the Centre hospitalier et Universitaire de Nancy writes: I feel honored to have received my official Improbable Researcher Card, but I would have been far more honored if I were not […]

Improbable Research