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The mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR")
Issue Number 1995-10
October, 1995
ISSN 1076-500X
Key words: improbable research, science humor, Ig Nobel, AIR, the
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A free newsletter of tidbits too tiny to fit in
The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR),
the journal of inflated research and personalities
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1995-10-01 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1995-10-01 Table of Contents
1995-10-02 Micro-mini Housekeeping Notes
1995-10-03 Alluring Abstracts from AIR 1:6
1995-10-04 The 1995 Ig Nobel Prizewinners
1995-10-05 Other Ig Nobelliana
1995-10-06 Teachers' Guide
1995-10-07 AIRhead Science Limericks
1995-10-08 AIRhead Project 2000
1995-10-09 May We Recommend...
1995-10-10 AIRhead Events
1995-10-11 What is AIR? (*)
1995-10-12 How to Subscribe to AIR(*)
1995-10-13 How to Receive mini-AIR, etc.(*)
1995-10-14 Our Address (*)
1995-10-15 Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*)
Items marked (*) are reprinted in every issue.
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1995-10-02 Micro-mini Housekeeping Notes
1. Yes, we do plan to have a video of this year's Ig Nobel Prize
Cereomny. Details will be announced in the next issue of mini-
AIR.
2. Beginning with this issue, the mini-AIR distribution load will
be handled using a new mailer program on a new computer system.
Fellow AIRheads, let us pray.
------------------------------------------------------------
1995-10-03 AIR 1:5 -- Special Animal Behavior Issue
AIR is a subversively educational print journal. The articles in
AIR are longer, more visual, and more xeroxible than the tiny
tidbits we publish in mini-AIR.
AIR vol. 1, no. 6, the November/December 1995 issue, is a special
issue devoted partially to research on animal behavior. Two of
the most prominent articles are:
A] A report from Swiss researchers (Inaudil, de Lega, Di Tullo,
Forno, Jacquet, Lehmann, Monti and Vurpillot) who have identified
and captured the butterfly whose wingflapping causes rainfalls in
Paris.
B] A report from researchers at the University of Waterloo
(Carron, Brawley and Widmeyer) concerning a program of
independence training for lemmings.
AIR includes these full articles and much more -- including
several pages (with copious quotes!) of items that merit a trip to
the library. We invite you to subscribe and become an official
AIRhead.
-------------------------------------------------------
1995-10-04 The 1995 Ig Nobel Prizewinners
The Fifth First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony was held at Harvard
University on the evening of Friday, Oct. 6, 1995. Ten prizes
were awarded to individuals whose achievements "cannot or should
not be reproduced." Two of the winners (nutrition and chemistry)
were present, and received their Prizes from (genuine) Nobel
Laureates Sheldon Glashow (Physics '79), Dudley Herschbach
(Chemistry '86), William Lipscomb (Chemistry '76), Joseph Murray
(Physiology or Medicine '90) and Richard Roberts (Physiology or
Medicine '93). Three other winners (physics, literature and
dentistry) graciously sent taped acceptance speeches.
The Ceremony was mounted by The Annals of Improbable Research and
co-sponsored by the Harvard Computer Society and by Tangents (the
Harvard-Radcliffe mathematical bulletin).
Here is a complete list of the 1995 Ig Nobel Prizewinners.
NUTRITION John Martinez of J. Martinez & Company in Atlanta, for
Luak Coffee, the world's most expensive coffee, which is made from
coffee beans ingested and excreted by the luak (aka, the palm
civet), a bobcat-like animal native to Indonesia.
PHYSICS D.M.R. Georget, R. Parker, and A.C. Smith, of the
Institute of Food Research, Norwich, England, for their rigorous
analysis of soggy breakfast cereal, published in the report
entitled 'A Study of the Effects of Water Content on the
Compaction Behaviour of Breakfast Cereal Flakes." [Published in
the research journal "Powder Technology," November, 1994, vol. 81,
no. 2, pp. 189-96.]
ECONOMICS Awarded jointly to Nick Leeson and his superiors at
Barings Bank and to Robert Citron of Orange County, California,
for using the calculus of derivatives to demonstrate that every
financial institution has its limits.
MEDICINE Marcia E. Buebel, David S. Shannahoff-Khalsa, and
Michael R. Boyle, for their invigorating study entitled "The
Effects of Unilateral Forced Nostril Breathing on Cognition."
[Published in "International Journal of Neuroscience," vol. 57,
1991, pp. 239-249.]
LITERATURE David B. Busch and James R. Starling, of Madison
Wisconsin, for their deeply penetrating research report, "Rectal
foreign bodies: Case Reports and a Comprehensive Review of the
World's Literature." The citations include reports of, among other
items: seven light bulbs; a knife sharpener; two flashlights; a
wire spring; a snuff box; an oil can with potato stopper; eleven
different forms of fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs; a
jeweler's saw; a frozen pig's tail; a tin cup; a beer glass; and
one patient's remarkable ensemble collection consisting of
spectacles, a suitcase key, a tobacco pouch and a magazine.
[Published in the medical journal "Surgery," September 1986, pp.
512-519.]
PEACE The Taiwan National Parliament, for demonstrating that
politicians gain more by punching, kicking and gouging each other
than by waging war against other nations.
PSYCHOLOGY Shigeru Watanabe, Junko Sakamoto, and Masumi Wakita,
of Keio University, for their success in training pigeons to
discriminate between the paintings of Picasso and those of Monet.
[Their report, entitled "Pigeons' Discrimination of Paintings by
Monet and Picasso," was published in "Journal of the Experimental
Analysis of Behavior," vol. 63, 1995, pp. 165-174.]
PUBLIC HEALTH Martha Kold Bakkevig of Sintef Unimed in Trondheim,
Norway, and Ruth Nielson of the Technical University of Denmark,
for their exhaustive study, "Impact of Wet Underwear on
Thermoregulatory Responses and Thermal Comfort in the Cold."
[Published in "Ergonomics," vol 37, no. 8, Aug. 1994 , pp. 1375-
89.]
DENTISTRY Robert H. Beaumont, of Shore View, Minnesota, for his
incisive study "Patient Preference for Waxed or Unwaxed Dental
Floss." [Published in the research journal "Journal of
Periodontology," vol. 61, no. 2, Feb. 1990, pp. 123-5.
CHEMISTRY Bijan Pakzad of Beverly Hills, for creating DNA Cologne
and DNA Perfume, neither of which contain deoxyribonucleic acid,
and both of which come in a triple helix bottle.
A very skimpy, yet somewhat coherent, description of the Cereomny
can be obtained by sending email to INFO@IMPROB.COM
A full account, with photographs, will appear n the Jan/Feb issue
of AIR.
-------------------------------------------------
1995-10-05 Other Ig Nobelliana
1. This year's Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony was, as we had hoped,
televised live the Internet MBONE facility. We were pleased to
hear from people in a number of countries who witnessed the events
as they folded and unfolded. The unfortunate part was that the
ethernet cable into the hall was installed only two days before
the ceremony, too late fo rus to get out a special issue of mini-
AIR in time to notify most of you. Next year, all the technical
aspects should be in place in plenty of time.
2. The theme of this year's ceremony was "DNA, the stuff of life
and legend." DNA was celebrated throughout the evening in a
variety of ways by everyone from 12-year old Kate Eppers to DNA
pioneer James Watson to Sally Yeh, president of Bijan Fragrances,
the creators of DNA Fragrances for Men and Women.
3. If you were at the ceremony, or if you saw it over the
Internet, you witnessed the work of an extraordinary group of
people, many from Harvard and MIT, many from elsewhere, who
labored mightily and mighty lovingly to make this ceremony happen.
Extremely special thanks to producer igstaordinaire Sip
Siperstein, literary mathematician Stanley Eigen, stage manager
Roger Kautz, organigzer igstraordinaire Christopher Thorpe and the
Harvard Computer Society, Christopher Pimlott and Tangents,
choreigrapher Nicola Hawkins (and the Nicola Hawkins Dance
Company), lichtmeister and propologist Eric Workman,
scientist/supermodel Symmetra (Deb Kreuze), jazz harpist and stage
presence Deborah Henson-Conant, videontologist Steph Gainer,
audiogrammatographers Dave Goodman and Jeff Bryant, Joe Wrinn and
the Harvard News Office staff, Brian Yankee and the Sanders
Theater staff, the Holyoke Center ticket office, the Harvard
Parking Office, John Mather and the Harvard Science Center
magicians, Alan Symonds, Tatiana Divens, Brett Neubig, Frank Wu,
Focus Magazine, the incomparable and elusive R.T. Morris, Chris
Small, Jerry Lotto, Trevor Blackwell and Prof. Margo Selzer &
company, our friend Tom, our radio friends Thomas and Raymond, the
Nobel and Ig Nobel Laureates and their families, and many other
people whom -- most unfortunately! -- we do not have room to list
here. And let us not forget Lucky the flying dog.
------------------------------------------------
1995-10-06 Teachers' Guide
[By popular request, here (again) is the teachers' guide that we
publish in every issue of AIR. Please pass it on to any teacher
friend who would find it useful.]
Three out of five teachers agree: curiosity is a dangerous thing,
especially in students. If you are one of the other two teachers,
AIR and mini-AIR can be powerful tools. Choose your favorite
hAIR-raising article and give copies to your students. The
approach is simple. The scientist thinks that he (or she, or
whatever), of all people, has discovered something about how the
universe behaves. So:
* Is this scientist right -- and what does "right" mean, anyway?
* Can you think of even one different explanation that works
as well or better?
* Did the test really, really, truly, unquestionably, completely
test what the author thought he was testing?
* Is the scientist ruthlessly honest with himself about how well
his idea explains everything, or could he be suffering from
wishful thinking?
Kids are naturally good scientists. Help them stay that way.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1995-10-07 AIRhead Science Limericks
Our compendium of new (at least we hope that they are new) science
limericks continues to grow, swell and change color. We urge you
to keep your submissions on-color, not off-. The limericks and
commentaries (especially those of J. Pasachoff) that we published
in prior months have spurred an intense and facinatingly
inconsequential debate on the proper rules of syntax, rhyme and
content for Limericks. This set of commentaries, which one
participant called "a Jesuitically Talmudic triumph of hyperbole
and split hairs," will perhaps one day become part of our home
page. For this month, despite the kind offer of one reader from
Singapore who offered to "brain" us if we published any more
limericks, we confine our published offerings to the following.
--------------
[Written in haste, in immediate reaction to unjustified
criticism.]
There is always some guy with a rule
Who will claim that another's a fool
When his lim'rick won't scan
To a prearranged plan,
But forbear, it may _still_ be a jewel.
--David Hormuth
[But with that in mind, I hereby submit another, based on a TRUE
event that occurred in 1965, when I was a lab assistant at North
Dakota State University:]
The zoology coed did squirm
At the lab quiz that ended the term.
When asked "What are tadpoles?",
(In the specimen bowls),
She wrote down "They are elephant sperm."
--David Hormuth
A research professor (Renee),
Cloned people from ape DNA.
The project went well,
Anyone can tell,
'Cause they're members of congress today.
--Frank Weisel
Montgomery County Public Schools
Rockville, MD
In Boulder, where often it snows,
NIST/JILA staff got high from lows.
A great celebration:
at last! condensation
according to Einstein and Bose!
--Walter Leight
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1995-10-08 AIRhead Project 2000
As announced in mini-AIR 1994-02-03 (June, 1994), we are compiling
a list of studies, projects, and products that involve the number
two thousand. The following items were randomly selected:
ITEM #3074 (submitted by investigator Geir Overskeid)
"T 2000," a new type of subway train in Oslo, Norway.
ITEM #3099E (submitted by investigator Calton Bolick)
"WHEELS 2000," a used car business in Concord, CA that
advertises itself as ("specializing in one-owner cars!").
ITEM #4110 (submittd by investigator A. Singh)
"AD 2000," an automobile rustproofing product by Esso.
ITEM #8888K-09 (submitted by investigator Dustin Laurence)
"Midway 2000" a scenario for the wargame Harpoon: Captain's
Edition by Larry Bond and published by Game Designer's
Workshop.
ITEM #9991-FTF (submitted by investigator Wolf Roder)
"Africa 2000, a conference held at Hofstra University in October
1995, conference at Hofstra Univ. 12-14 October 1995
ITEM #4909 (submitted by investigator Madeleine Page)
"Organization 2000: A Psychoanalytic Perspective," a conference
organized by The International Society for the
Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations.
ITEM #120391 (submitted by investigator Pete Kaiser)
"Elastic 2000," a bungee-jumping facility open evenings in
"Antibes Land", near the city of Antibes on the Cote d'Azur
in France.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1995-10-09 May We Recommend...
Research reports that merit a trip to the library.
(These items are additional to the many which appear in AIR
itself.)
"Psychological Evaluation of Non-Linear Distortion," by H. Yahiro,
et al, presented at 37th Audio Engineering Society Convention,
1980, preprint #665. (Thanks to investigator Greg Kinney for
bringing this to our attention.)
"A study of the influence of ageing on the mechanical properties
of Cheddar cheese," by M. N. Charalambides, J. G. Williams, and S.
Chakrabarti, "Journal of Materials Science," vol. 30, 1995, pp.
3959-3967. (Thanks to investigator Tom Jervis for bringing this
to our attention. This research appears to have been conducted
completely independently from that of Banjamin Waggoner, whose
study, "Evolutionary Relationships Among Cheeses," was published
in "The Annals of Improbable Research," vol. 1, no. 3, May/Jun
1995. Readers are hereby alerted to the fact that we might
publish an analysis of the Charalambides, Williams, Chakrabarti
research in a future issue of AIR.)
"Manhole Covers," by Mimi Melnick with photographs by Robert A
Melnick, MIT Press, 1994. (Thanks to investigator Steve Anderson,
and to a prior investigator whose name has washed away, for
bringing this to our attention.)
------------------------------------------------------------
1995-10-10 AIRhead Events
[The most current version of this list can always be obtained
by sending e-mail to INFO@IMPROB.COM]
"THE ACID TEST" program, BBC Radio 5, UK Sun, Oct 15, 7:35 pm
Report on the 1995 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, Pittsburgh Tues, Oct 17
7:00 Doherty Hall 2315. Seminar/slide show on "Advances in
Improbable Research." Info: Catherine_Copetas@GANDALF.CS.CMU.EDU
FROSTBURG STATE (Maryland) Thurs,October 19
3:30 in Tawes Hall, room 232. Seminar on improbable science
writing.
7:30 in Lane Center multi-use room. Seminar/slide show on
"Advances in Improbable Research." Info: George Plitnik, 301-687-
4298
GLOBOSAT NEWS TELEVISION, Brazil Sat, Oct 21, 7 pm
Special report on the 1995 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony.
FOLIO CONFERENCE, Hilton Hotel, New York City Thurs, Oct 26
2:00 AIRhead lecture/slide show for magazine editors and
publishers on the topic "Camshafts, Beer, and Cindy Crawford: How
to Make a Dull Topic Irresistable." Info: John Nelson, American
Society of Business Press Editors, 708-889-4141
IG NOBEL ON SCIENCE FRIDAY Thurs afternoon, Nov 24
National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation / Science Friday"
program will broadcast a recording of the 1995 Ig Nobel Prize
Ceremony. Consult your local NPR station for exact time.
MIT ALUMNI CLUB, Albany New York Thurs evening, Dec 14
INFO: Wendy Gilman: 518-443-5168 or 518-270-1882
GILMANW@CA.SUNYCENTRAL.EDU
AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, Baltimore Sun, Feb 11, 1996
Several of AIR's most distinguished authors will present their
research on "The Taxonomy of Barney," "Analysis of DNA Cologne,"
"Risk Assessment of Abduction by Aliens," "Studmuffins of
Science," and other topics at a special evening session.
FOLIO CONFERENCE, Los Angeles April 23-6, 1996
Presentation of research findings built upon those described in
the
October Folio conference presentation.
[Anyone if the LA area who would like to sponsor other AIRhead
events durin the same week are requested to email
marca@wilson.harvard.edu.]
If you would like to host an improbable research seminar / slide
show please get in touch with us.
>From time to time AIRhead news reports and commentary appear on
ABC Television's "World News Now" and International Public Radio's
"LIVING ON EARTH."
---------------------------------------------------------------
1995-10-11 WHAT IS AIR? (*)
The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) is a splendidly subversive
science humor magazine produced by the founders and entire former
editorial staff (1955-1994) of "The Journal of Irreproducible
Results" and by other research scientists and other AIRheads from
around the world. AIR's co-founders are Marc Abrahams, who edited
the Journal from 1990-1994, and Alexander Kohn, who co-founded the
Journal in 1955 and was its editor until 1989. The editorial board
consists of more than 40 distinguished scientists from around the
world, including eight Nobel Laureates and a convicted felon.
Each October, AIR produces the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, honoring
people whose achievements "cannot or should not be reproduced."
[IMPORTANT -- AIR is IN NO WAY associated with the name "The
Journal of Irreproducible Results" or with the entity which now
owns that name.]
--------------------------------------
1995-10-12 How to Subscribe to AIR(*)
Amaze your colleagues. Delight your friends. Impress yourself.
Subscribe to The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)!
Put more AIR in the lab, the classroom, the office, the waiting
room, the library, the living room, the restroom, ...the detention
center. And it makes a lovely gift of the most unexpected kind.
6 issues per year. Highly enriched, yet contains no cholesterol.
==============================================
Rates (in US dollars)
USA 1 year - $19.95 2 years - $34.95
Canada/Mexico 1 year - $27 2 years - $45
Overseas 1 year - $40 2 years - $70
Send payment (US bank check, or international money order, or
Visa, Mastercard or Discover cards) to:
The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA
617-491-4437 FAX: 617-661-0927
air@improb.com
---------------------------
1995-10-13 How to Receive mini-AIR, etc.(*)
mini-AIR is an monthly electronic newsletter of overflow tidbits
from The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR). It is available
over the Internet, free of charge. To subscribe, send a brief E-
mail message to:
LISTPROC@AIR.HARVARD.EDU
The body of your message should contain ONLY the words
SUBSCRIBE MINI-AIR MARIE CURIE
(You may substitute your own name for that of Madame Curie.)
---------------------------------------
To stop subscribing, send the following message: SIGNOFF MINI-AIR
To obtain a list of back issues, send this message: INDEX MINI-AIR
To retrieve a particular back issue, send a message specifying
which issue you want. For example, to retrieve the issue dated
950706, send this message: GET MINI-AIR MINI-AIR.950706
::::: AIR extracts on USENET
The USENET newsgroup clari.feature.imprb_research presents a
syndicated weekly column of reports extracted from The Annals of
Improbable Research. [NOTE: This is available only if your
Internet site subscribes to the Clarinet newsgroups.]
---------------------------
1995-10-14 Our Address
The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
PO Box 380853
Cambridge, MA 02238 USA 617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927
EDITORIAL: marca@wilson.harvard.edu
GENERAL INFO (supplied automatically): info@improb.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS: air@improb.com
URL: http://www.improb.com/
We read everything we receive, but are unable to answer all of it.
IF you need a reply, please include your Internet address and/or a
SASE in all printed correspondence.
---------------------------
1995-10-15 Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*)
Please distribute copies of mini-AIR (or excerpts) wherever
appropriate. The only limitations are:
A) Please indicate that the material comes from mini-AIR.
B) You may NOT distribute mini-AIR for commercial purposes.
------------------------------------------------------------
(c) copyright 1995, The Annals of Improbable Research
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mini-AIRheads
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EDITOR: Marc Abrahams (marca@wilson.harvard.edu)
WWW EDITOR/GLOBAL VILLAGE IDIOT: Amy Gorin (ringo@mit.edu)
COMMUTATIVE EDITOR: Stanley Eigen (eigen@neu.edu)
ASSOCIATIVE EDITORS: Mark Dionne, Jane Patrick
CO-CONSPIRATORS: Nicki Sorel, Gary Dryfoos
MAITRE DE COMPUTATION: Jerry Lotto
AUTHORITY FIGURES: Nobel Laureates Dudley Herschbach, Sheldon
Glashow & William Lipscomb
============================================================
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