Not an article, but when I taught Genetics, in order to lighten up the tests and to avoid various issues, I uses mythical creatures as problems. I recall one, alled the bonacum (I think I spelled it right) in which the animal would release toxic gas as a defense. I set up a screwy genetics problem with epistasis, co-dominance, and lethal alleles in which under certain circumstances the bonacum would inherit a lethal allele in which it could not release its gas, so the gas would build up internally until the animal exploded raining fetid pesulance on its surroundings.
Yes, I frequently do this kind of thing on tests. Hard to pull the "I read in book X that this particular animal does Y" if you use an example that simply does not exist and the a scenario that is complete BS. :) Not sure if it would be helpful to you or not, but there it is. Malcolm On Tue, Mar 24, 2015 at 9:54 AM, Gary Grossman <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm looking for funny articles published and a few come to mind that I > can't remember citations for so I thought I'd ask here. I don't really > want to page through J. Irreproducable Results or Worm Runner's Digest but > there are a few I'm hoping someone can help me with (vice vis pdfs) > > In either the late 70's or 80's there was a note in Nature that comprised > the poem and reviewers comments on Shelley's *"Ozymandias*" > > Then at about the same time someone published a paper in Limn. & Ocean. > estimating the biomass of the Loch Ness monster. > > And also at some point someone published a satirical paper on "if no one > heard it, did the tree in the forest really fall?" > > Of course any other humorous gems would be appreciated. > Please remember the list doesn't allow attachments, so please respond to my > university email. > > TIA, g2 > > > > > -- > Gary D. Grossman, PhD > > Professor of Animal Ecology > Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources > University of Georgia > Athens, GA, USA 30602 > > http://grossman.myweb.uga.edu/ <http://www.arches.uga.edu/%7Egrossman> > > Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation > Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology > Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish > -- Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP Environmental Studies Program Green Mountain College Poultney, Vermont “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.” -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 into law. "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
