M.M. Green is not annoyed not by flies, but he writes about his annoyance at people who speak imprecisely about flies. “It Really Is Not a Fruit Fly,” M.M. Green, Genetics, vol. 162, 2002, pp. 1–3. (Thanks to Judy Lai for bringing this to our attention.) Green, at University of California, Davis, explains [AIR 15:5]: […]
Tag: Improbable Research Review
Mouse Allergens and the Presence of a Cat
Nature’s game of cat and mouse continues, with a newly discovered twist: “Housing and Allergens: A Pooled Analysis of Nine U.S. Studies,” Jonathan Wilson, Sherry L. Dixon, Patrick Breyss David Jacobs, Gary Adamkiewicz, Ginger L. Chew, Dorr Dearborn, James Krieger, Megan Sandel, and Adam Spanie, Environmental Research, vol. 110, no. 2, February 2010, pp. 189–98. […]
Old Books Up Your Nose
Many people notice the smell of old books. Some people study it, and even write monographs: “Material Degradomics: On the Smell of Old Books,” Matija Strlic, Jacob Thomas, Tanja Trafela, Linda Csfalvayov, Irena Kralj Cigi, Jana Kolar, and May Cassar, Analytical Chemistry, vol. 81, no. 20, October 15, 2009, pp 8617–22, DOI 10.1021/ac9016049. [AIR 16:2] […]
The Case of the Missing Worms
Research work may be glamorous, but… this study is evidence that sometimes it’s not easy: “Hepaticoliasis: a Frequent and Sometimes Fatal Verminous Infestation of the Livers of Rats and Other Rodents,” F.D. Weidman, Journal of Parasitology, vol. 12, no. 1, 1925. pp. 19–25. [AIR 15:4] (Thanks to investigator Wendy Cooper for bringing this to our […]
Gender-sussing of kitty
A study studies people who have, and some who have not, studied cats: “Identification of Gender In Domestic-Cat Faces With and Without Training: Perceptual Learning of a Natural Categorization Task,” Paul C. Quinn, Vanessa Palmer, and Alan M. Slater, Perception, vol. 28, no. 6, 1999, pp. 749–63. [AIR 15:4] (Thanks to investigator Morton Fisk for […]
Why Some People Prefer Pickle Juice
“Why Some People Prefer Pickle Juice: The Research of Dr. Richard P. Lifton,” Peter M. Gayed, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, vol. 80, no. 4, December 2007, pp. 159–63. The author, at Yale University School of Medicine, begins: Dr. Richard Lifton has seen patients who crave nothing more than pickle juice. (That’s an excerpt […]
Hands in the Pockets
“Hands in the Pockets,” Notes and Queries, vol. 6, no. 142, 1852, p. 54 (That’s an excerpt from the article “Questions About Pockets,” Published in AIR 13:4.)
Penetrating Insight
“Rate of Penetration of a Porcupine Spine,” Albert R. Shadle and Donald Po-Chedley, Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 30, no. 2, May 1949, pp. 172–3 (http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1375267). The authors report that: During the examination of one of the porcupines in the vivarium of the University of Buffalo, the animal became excited, and, as a result of its […]
The Tangle That is Happy Birthday
Despite everyone’s carefree joy in singing Happy Birthday to You, this simple song puts you in legal jeopardy every time it exits your mouth. A considerable amount of money flows to the corporation that owns the copyright. But … maybe that company doesn’t own the copyright, and maybe you are in no legal peril. Professor […]
Talking About Talking
“Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?”, Matthias R. Mehl, Simine Vazire, Nairán Ramírez-Esparza, Richard B. Slatcher and James W. Pennebaker, Science, vol. 317, no. 5834, 2007, p. 82 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1139940). The authors, who are variously at the University of Arizona, at Washington University and at the University of Texas, report that: Women are generally assumed […]