Indian filmmaker Satish Kaushik, who in 2003 helped Lal Bihari, founder of the Association of Dead People, accept the Ig Nobel Peace Prize — and who years later produced a feature film about the life and death and life of Lal Bihari — has himself died. This report in Business Standard brings the sad news: […]
Tag: India
The dead are rising up against their national leaders
Led by Ig Nobel Prize winner Lal Bihari, the dead are rising up against their national leaders. Here’s a look back at notable happenings in 2019. The Times of India reported, on January 19, 2019: In Varanasi, ‘living dead’ to contest against PM Modi If Prime Minister Narendra Modi decides to contest the upcoming Lok […]
Neither a spender nor a buyer be: The Zero-Rupee Note
Is paper money that has no value of no value? The zero-rupee note, issued in India by non-governmental volunteers, is a way to study that question. The organization behind the zero-rupee note sees it as a way to fight corruption. The Wikipedia description boils that down: “The notes are ‘paid’ in protest by angry citizens […]
Analysis of gunpowder in Frankfurt
Last week, in the midst of the Ig Nobel EuroTour, we encounter this item—item #1— on a menu in a restaurant in Frankfurt, Germany: Our colleague Merry (“Corky”) White, a food anthropologist based at Boston University, tracked down an explanation of the most colorful named ingredient—gunpowder. The explanation, written by Priyadarshini Nanda, appeared in the […]
Tips for persons applying for a job with Indian Railways
The RDSO — the Indian Railways’ Research Development and Standards Organization — offers tips for persons who will be taking their job application tests. These tips, offered by RDSO’s Psycho Technical Directorate, include two that may be obvious to some applicants: If you wear glasses or a hearing aid, be sure to take them with […]
Podcast #11: The Knight of the Living Dead
The Association of Dead People figures heavily in this week’s Improbable Research podcast. LISTEN on Play.it or iTunes (or DOWNLOAD it, and listen later). SUBSCRIBE on Play.it or iTunes, to get a new episode every week, free. This week, Marc Abrahams tells about: The Knight of the Living Dead. (The Association of Dead People / Lal Bihari / court document / a parade of the dead / CORRECTION: in the podcast, we mis-identify the category of […]
“The truth behind India’s new GDP numbers”
Pramit Bhattacharya writes, in the Hindustan Times: The truth behind India’s new GDP numbers It is an open secret that India’s new gross domestic product (GDP) series has flummoxed most observers of the Indian economy. The new numbers seem completely out of sync with other economic indicators… As an analysis of 189 nations over 33 […]
“Indians Also Lead in Improbable Research”
V Sudarshan writes in the October 5, 2014 issue of The New Indian Express: Indians Also Lead in Improbable Research Some of you might be wondering if Indians have been completely ignored by the Ig Nobel committee and if Indians consequently are as under-represented in the Ig Nobel prize as they are in the Nobel […]
Officially dead candidates edge closer to being elected
The Times of India reports, on May 16, 2014: Dead men poll-vault to life in east UP AZAMGARH: The ‘living dead’ of eastern Uttar Pradesh have been using polls as a means to show to the world that they are alive. They are all candidates of Mritak Sangh (dead people group) which is fighting for […]
Lal Bihari ‘Mritak’ meets fellow Ig-winners
February 9th 2014 was a memorable day in Ig Nobel history. During the Ig Nobel Conclave at the Quark 2014 Techo Management Fest at the BITS Pilani Goa Campus (Goa, India), Lal Bihari, winner of the 2003 Ig Nobel Peace Prize met four fellow Ig Nobel Prize winners. Lal Bihari ‘Mritak’ won his prize for […]