Hair counters count hairs. Scalp-hair counters can and maybe should celebrate that this year, 2026, is the fortieth anniversary year of the publication of one of the most treasured studies of how to improve one’s ability to count scalp hairs. That study is: “Quantification of Scalp Hair — A Computer-Aided Methodology,” Robert D. Gibbons, Virginia […]
This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has four segments. Here are bits of each of them: Multi-scare the birds — …Their report advises that: “At present, there is no bird control technique that provides maximum protection for crops, so it is recommended to use a combination of scaring methods at the same […]
To the best of our knowledge, no academic has followed Ig Nobel Prize winner John Trinkaus’s lead in carefully, relentlessly documenting things that annoy them, tallying exactly how frequently those things occur. It’s enjoyable to look back, now and then, at the work of John Trinkaus. Trinkaus died in 2017, at which time we gave […]
Earle Spamer wrote us a scathing letter, about some of the 24/7 Lectures. In case you are not familiar with the 24/7 Lectures, which happen every year as part of the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, here’s what they are: Each year at the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, we invite some of the world’s top thinkers […]