Category: Extra-Improbable columns

Lock three men in a room, make them smoke cannabis, and then try to provoke them into being hostile. Thirty years ago a team of American doctors actually conducted this daring experiment…. So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian

"I have a present for you. Here, you see?" Pek Van Andel, swathed in an overcoat, trailing a wheeled, rumpled suitcase, and buzzing with Lieutenant Columbo impishness, held out two rod-like things. … So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian

A whole new side of Jesus is cropping up in the field of decision science. A new generation of scholars is taking Jesus to their collective theoretic, strategic bosom. Two recent studies stand out…. So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian

Some people collect birds’ eggs, some collect stamps, some the scalps of their enemies. I collect scientists’ best rituals for preparing tea or coffee. Under the rubric Project Cuppa, this endeavour is only two months old. Yet already it is revealing wonders…. So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian

A scientific experiment may look like torture and sound like torture, yet still be free of legal ramifications. At the University of Hong Kong, Edwin ML Yiu and Rainy MM Chan did an experiment that smacks of torture for the participants, the experimenters, and anyone within earshot. Their published report has a title that evokes […]

People say "There is only one Einstein", but of course that is not so. In this, the official Einstein Year, when everyone celebrates Albert Einstein, let us not forget some of the other Einsteins… So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian

Some 30 years ago, beachgoers in three countries found that strangers were coming up to them, asking strange questions. The strangers turned out to be fairly harmless. They were academics, driven by a fierce desire to understand how much space people appropriate for themselves when they plop down on a beach…. So begins this week’s […]

What is the proper way to make a cup of tea? The question has many answers, but only one of them is the official British standard… So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian

I asked people to place an order, through their normal supply channels, for a small quantity of red tape, and record the results. Here are some responses… So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian

In the quest for excellence, some schools craft their own, specially excellent slogan or motto. Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana, has the motto: "Powerful Resources, Personal Learning, Everything You Need." This seven-word elegiac poem was born in an intensive research and development programme…. So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian