Mathematician Stanley Eigen (yes, that is his real name) wrote a beautiful, brief tribute to his late colleague, the legendary Shizuo Kakutani. Called "The Lost Theorems of Kakutani," it appears in the March/April 2005 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research.
Category: Improbable Investigators
People who do research that makes people LAUGH, then THINK.
Great British explorers (chapter 106)
Investigator David McA. McKirdy writes: I would like to bring to your attention John Gillatt of Bolton, Manchester, England. He recently hit the headlines in the UK after getting lost in the Malaysian rain forest for 5 days without a map or compass, or any other basic survival material. To cap it all he said […]
Shoes and disease
"The Centers for Disease Control report on tobacco smoking compares statistics of lung cancer to cigarette consumption amongst various regions and countries around the world, but like the American Lung Association, they say nothing about the stronger correlation with shoes." So writes James P. Semmel of Albuquerque, New Mexico in his lengthy essay about shoes […]
The adventures of Hideto Tomabechi
Hideto Tomabechi — who first made headlines in Japan almost a decade ago after he cured brainwashed members of the AUM Shinrikyo doomsday cult that unleashed deadly sarin gas on the Tokyo subway system — claims to have developed a tune for ring tones that promises to increase the breast measurements of those who listen […]
Hanson’s hand-made heads
David Hanson builds heads the new-fashioned way.
Bush/Rumsfeld vs. the cetaceans
Certain persons’ opinions count more than others in the matter of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld versus the neighbors. The October 20, 2004 court opinion is a matter of record. In summary, the judges’ opinion is stark and simple: "We conclude that the Cetaceans do not have statutory standing to sue." To put this in […]
Hidden sexuality of the yawn
Wolter Seuntjens recently (sucessfully!) defended his Ph.D. thesis. He has now published a specially edited version of it: "The Hidden Sexuality of the Human Yawn" in the special Yawning Issue of the Annals of Improbable Research.
The author’s heavy hand
According a Canadian press report: Margaret Atwood, author of futuristic fantasies The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake, has invented a prototype remote autographing device that has the potential to revolutionize book signings. (Thanks to investigator Genevieve Reynolds for bringing this to our attention.)
Music experiments
Many experiments come to mind when one listens to the singing of experimental singers such as Florence Foster Jenkins.
William Cane, kissing expert
Today, Valentine’s Day, is as good a time as any to consider the merits of William Cane, the self-confessed kissing expert, and his multimedia presentation on ocsculation.