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From: Marc Abrahams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 17:50:57 -0500 (EST)
To: Multiple recipients of list MINI-AIR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: mini-AIR January 2001 -- Youngest Turk, The Temptations, etc
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================================================================
mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR")
Issue Number 2001-01
January, 2001
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
================================================================
-----------------------------
2001-01-01 TABLE OF CONTENTS
2001-01-01 Table of Contents
2001-01-02 mini Housekeeping
2001-01-03 What's New in the Magazine
2001-01-04 Renaissance Researcher of the Month
2001-01-05 Good Coffee Survey Results (1)
2001-01-06 International Gas Results
2001-01-07 The Young Turk: Mystery Solved
2001-01-08 Crystal Correctness Survey
2001-01-09 Textbook Survey
2001-01-10 What Now? (Spam Gnawing)
2001-01-11 Nothing But Nothing
2001-01-12 The Y2K Anti-Nostalgist
2001-01-13 Cavalcade of HotAIR: Wife, Toilet Victim, etc.
2001-01-14 The Temptations
2001-01-15 70 Lab Coats and a Strapless Evening Dress
2001-01-16 Project AIRhead 2000: Flow Aid
2001-01-17 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Fowl, Cheating, and Music
2001-01-18 AIRhead Events
2001-01-19 How to Subscribe to AIR (*)
2001-01-20 Our Address (*)
2001-01-21 Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*)
2001-01-22 How to Receive mini-AIR, etc. (*)
Items marked (*) are reprinted in every issue.
mini-AIR is
a free monthly *e-supplement* to AIR, the print magazine
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-02 mini Housekeeping
There will be AIR shows in:
Rochester, NY on Jan 24
Stanford / San Francisco / Berkeley on Feb 14, 16, 19, 20
For details, see section 2001-01-18 below.
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-03 What's New in the Magazine
AIR 7:1 (Jan/Feb 2001) is the special IG NOBEL PRIZE issue, chock
full of fulsome coverage of the recent Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony.
Special versions of many of the articles will be cropping up on
the AIR web site during the next few weeks.
A sampling of what's in the magazine:
<> The acceptance speeches given by the new Ig winners
<> Action photos of the Great Intelligence Debate and most
of its participants: inventor Ray Kurzweil, inventor Dean
Kamen, Australian Consul General Michael Baume,
Neuroengineer Jerome Lettvin, ten members of MENSA,
three Nobel Laureates, pianist Leonid Hambro, Ecuadoran
ex-President Jamil Mahuad, and Paul Berman and
Osman M. Baker, the smartest undergraduates at,
respectively, Harvard and MIT (each chosen as such
in a random lottery).
<> A special tribute to the technical innovation
known as Miss Sweetie Poo
<> "Who Will Win the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election?," an
analysis by Eric Schulman.
<> Special tributes to Victor Borge by Leonid Hambro (who
collaborated with Borge for ten years) and Richard Lederer
<> and much more....
See the cover and full table of contents, and several of the
articles posted any day now at
<http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6.html>
(What you are reading at this moment is mini-AIR,
a monthly e-mail small supplement to the print magazine.)
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-04 Renaissance Researcher of the Month
This month's Renaissance Researcher of the Month is Goronwy Tudor
Jones of the University of Birmingham School of Continuing
Studies. Jones' research interests, as listed on the school home
page, are:
1. An Introduction to Restricted Welsh Poetic Forms
2. Analysis of Bubble-Chamber Picture -- Estimate of
Mass of Positron
Details of both are at
<http://www.bham.ac.uk/PACE/Staffpages.html>
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-05 Good Coffee Survey Results (1)
Our Scientific correctness survey #402, which asked
"Scientifically speaking, what makes a good cup of coffee?," is
starting to pay dividends. Here are a few of the more savory
responses:
I have found that inserting coffee grounds into hot water and
filtering the suspension into a china receptacle to be a good
starting point.
--Martyn Bull
The perfect cup of Science Coffee begins with a solution of
C8H10N4O2 in plenty of H2O. I like mine with bovine exudate, but
without added glucose. It should have a specific gravity and
viscosity somewhat greater than that of pure water and
substantially less than that of warm peanut butter. It should be
served at an approximate temperature of 360 K. Everything else is
guesswork.
--Susan Way
Relatively speaking, a good cup of coffee is any cup of coffee
made outside the USA. And could you use your undoubtedly vast
influence to get Starbucks out of Australia? Thanks.
--Ian Sanderson
More next time.
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-06 International Gas Results
Last month's auxiliary survey asked two questions concerning
French President Chirac's observation that "Each American produces
three times as much greenhouse gases as a Frenchman."
The survey results show that:
1. 54% of respondents say that President Chirac is correct about
the gassiness of the average American.
2. Only 12% of respondents say that, President Chirac's
observation will, directly or indirectly, create an international
gas-fired conflagration.
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2001-01-07 The Young Turk: Mystery Solved
The mystery of which Turk is the Young Turk is solved (thanks in
part to investigator Collier N. Smith). The puzzle, posed last
month, concerned the landmark research paper:
"Structural and Functional Aspects of Papain-Like Cysteine
Proteinases And Their Protein Inhibitors," B. Turk, V. Turk,
and D. Turk, Biological Chemistry, vol. 378, nos. 3-4,
March-April 1997, pp. 141-50.
The solution arrived in message form:
Dear Investigators,
I will try to help you in your detective investigation --
among the 3 Turks is the youngest Boris Turk and the
oldest Vito Turk - the third one is for your investigation.
I wish you a lot of success in your further investigations.
Expecting correct final result,
Sincerely yours
Professor Dr. Vito TURK
J. Stefan Institute
Jamova 39
SI-1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
<http://bio.ijs.si/director.htm>
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-08 Crystal Correctness Survey
This month's Scientific Correctness Survey (#605) was inspired by
a January 14, 2001 Associated Press news report that began as
follows:
Twelve of the most popular science textbooks used at
middle schools nationwide are riddled with errors, a new
study has found. Researchers compiled 500 pages of errors,
ranging from maps depicting the equator passing through
the southern United States to a photo of singer
Linda Ronstadt labeled as a silicon crystal.
Now please answer our survey question:
In your professional assessment, should singer Linda
Ronstadt be labeled as a silicon crystal? (YES/NO)
Please send your response to CRYSTAL CORRECTNESS SURVEY c/o
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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2001-01-09 Textbook Survey
The survey was led by physicist John Hubisz of North Carolina
State University. Hubisz is president of the American Association
of Physics Teachers.
The AP news report can be read online at
<http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/01/14/textbookerrors.ap/index.html>
It inspires a second AIR survey question. The report says that:
The study's reviewers tried to contact textbook authors
with questions, Hubisz said, but in many cases the
people listed said they didn't write the book, and
some didn't even know their names had been listed.
Some of the authors of a physical science book,
for example, were biologists.
Our question Number Two is this:
Should textbooks be used in science classes? (YES/NO)
If your answer is NO, feel free to suggest
what specific books or other materials should
be used instead of textbooks.
Please send your response to TEXTBOOK BROUHAHA c/o
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-10 What Now? (Spam Gnawing)
>From time to time we try to update you on the continuing
activities of various past winners of the Ig Nobel Prize. This is
another of those times.
Thanks to investigator and V-Chip Monitor William J. Maloney, we
now know that the utilizers of Spam, who collectively won the 1992
Ig Nobel nutrition Prize for their more than half century of
undiscriminating digestion, have, some of them anyway, been
experimenting anew.
The object of their ingestion: Spam Oven Roasted Turkey. Details,
for the non-faint of stomach, can be seen at
<http://www.spam.com/sp/sp_ort.htm>
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-12 The Y2K Anti-Nostalgist
Last month's mini-AIR mentioned that we've been receiving letters
from people who miss the excitement of the Y2K watch. This week we
heard from a therapist who specializes in millennial disorders. He
asked that we desist from mentioning the subject, which, he gives
us to understand, can cause discomfort, pain, and bloating to
those who care.
We apologize to any of our readers who suffer from Y2K pain and/or
bloating.
The topic will not be mentioned here again.
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-13 Cavalcade of HotAIR: Wife, Toilet Victim, etc.
Here are concise, incomplete, flighty mentions of some of the
features we've posted on HotAIR since last month's mini-AIR came
out. You can get to all of them by clicking on "WHAT'S NEW" at the
web site, or by going to:
<http://www.improbable.com/navstrip/whatsnew.html>
UPDATE UPDATE: Celebrity Nutritionist -- an update on our recent
update on Celebrity Nutritionist Don Lemmon and an attractive
client who is not his attractive wife and who is no longer
pictured due to request from said attractive wife
RE-DISCOVERY -- The Essence of a Sniff. The article that
originally appeared in the magazine. Describes what may be a
revolutionary understanding of how we smell.
ECCENTRICS -- Full and/or not-so-full versions of articles that
appeared in the magazine's special ECCENTRICS issue. Reports
concern CHARLES WATERTON, EDWARD D. COPE, FRANK "BRING 'EM BACK
ALIVE AND READY TO EAT" BUCKLAND, CHONOSUKE OKAMURA, and LEN X.
FINEGOLD.
HAROLD W. DOWD (with a "w," not a "u") comments on the subject of
eccentrics.
TOILET COLLAPSE VICTIM -- A letter we received from a gentleman
who believes he may be one of the victims described in the Ig
Nobel Prize-winning medical report, "The Collapse of Toilets in
Glasgow"
ASK SYMMETRA -- Our scientist/supermodel advice columnist solves
the problem of being unbearably stacked.
BRAIN FOOD PHOTOS -- photos from the premiere performance of "The
Brain Food Opera"
THESE, AND MORE, ARE ON HOTAIR AT
<http://www.improbable.com/navstrip/whatsnew.html>
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-14 The Temptations
Is the most important social science experiment of our time -- the
Temptation Island experiment -- in compliance with professional
standards for the Protection of Human Subjects? Investigator Yuri
Ostrovsky alerted us to a possible violation of regulations.
The Temptation Island experiment's published protocol is an
exemplar of brevity and clarity:
[F]our unmarried couples travel to the Caribbean to test
and explore the strength of their relationship.
Once on the island, the couples are introduced to eligible
singles and then separated from their partners until
the final day of their stay. Over this period, each
couple will get the opportunity to answer questions
about themselves and one another, and find out if
what they think they want is actually what they do want.
See <http://www.fox.com/temptation/> for further details of the
experiment.
The pertinent federal regulations concerning Protection of Human
Research Subjects can be found at
<http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm>
Investigator Ostrovsky draws our attention (and yours) in
particular to the oversight responsibilities of the Institutional
Review Board (IRB). [See
<http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm#46.108> for
a basic review of IRB functions and operations.]
Investigator Ostrovsky further directs us to review the duties
charged to the Ethical Advisory Board. [See
<http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm#46.204> for
an elaboration of same.]
The Temptation Island experiment is a lesson for the
scientifically inclined student youths of today. Our future will
be entrusted to these incipient scientists, and for that reason if
none other, we had all best ensure that they see research
conducted in approved fashion, with all the i's crossed and the
t's dotted.
Join us, please, in sending word to the Temptation Island
experimenters that IRBs must be the keystone to their activities.
They can be contacted via
<http://www.fox.com/temptation/lounge.htm>
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-15 70 Lab Coats and a Strapless Evening Dress
If you can provide 70 lab coats (and/or 70 pair of safety goggles)
on the evening of February 10, you can make science history. They
are needed for the world premiere of Deborah Henson-Conant's full
orchestral version of "Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening
Dress. For details see
<http://www.improbable.com/news/2001/jan/lab-coats.html>
----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-16 Project AIRhead 2000: Flow Aid
ITEM 020202 (submitted by investigator Frank J. Nice)
SEPTIC HELPER 2000, details of which can be gleaned at
<http://www.septic-helper.com/>
ITEM 995205 (submitted by investigator Enko O. Vertlin)
TECHNOLOGY EXPLOSION 2000, a newsletter that imploded in 1999.
Back issues, which are the only kind there are, can be found at
<http://www.nswc.navy.mil/cosip/techexpl.shtml>
-----------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-17 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Fowl, Cheating, and Music
Here is a further selection of items that merit a trip to the
library.
FOWL ODOR
"Electroencephalographic Study of Odor Responses in the Domestic
Fowl," Tomoko Oosawa, Yoshiyuki Hirano, and Keiichi Tonosaki,
Physiology & Behavior, vol. 71, nos. 1-2, 2000, pp. 203-5. (Thanks
to Rita Ormand for bringing this to our attention.)
MICRO SOAP OPERA
"Altruism and Social Cheating in the Social Amoeba Dictyostelium
discoideum," Joan E. Strassmann, Yong Zhu, And David C. Queller,
Nature, vol. 408, December 21/28, 2000, pp. 965-7. (Thanks to Ian
Davis for bringing this to our attention.)
MUSIC APPRECIATION
"Motor Performance of Schizophrenics After Mellow and Frenetic
Antecedent Music," C. Chambliss, H. McMichael, K. Tyson, C.
Monaco, and J. Tracy, Perceptual and Motor Skills, vol. 82, no. 1,
February 1996, pp. 153-4. (Thanks to Bill Tedeschi for bringing
this to our attention.) The authors, who are at Ursinus College,
Collegeville, Pennsylvania, report that:
Pegboard performance was higher after frenetic music
but unaffected by mellow music; there was
no effect on tapping.
------------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-18 AIRhead Events
==> For details and updates see <http://www.improbable.com>
==> Want to host an event? <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 617-491-4437.
ROCHESTER (NY) MUSEUM & SCIENCE CENTER WED, JAN 24, 2001
7:30 pm. AIR Editor MARC ABRAHAMS will present the latest on
"Improbable
Research, the Ig Nobel Prizes, and Aha!-Ha-Ha Moments in Science."
INFO: Paul Porell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 716-271-4552 x 363
SPRINGFIELD (MA) SYMPHONY SAT, FEB 10, 2001
8 pm. World premiere of Jazz Harpist DEBORAH HENSON-CONANT's
full orchestral version of "Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening
Dress."
INFO: 413-733-2291, <http://www.masslive.com/sso/>
and also <http://www.hipharp.com> and
<http://www.improbable.com/news/2001/jan/lab-coats.html>
For map see <http://www.masslive.com/sso/direction.html>
STANFORD UNIVERSITY WED, FEB 14, 2001
Valentine's Day improbable research gala with:
<> AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS
<> "How to Quantify Failure" author MARTIN J. MURPHY
<> "UFOs & Internal Combustion Engines" author SCOTT SANDFORD
<> "Postal Experiments" author JEFF VAN BUEREN
<> "Structured Procrastination" author JOHN PERRY
<> and other surpris(ing) personages
<> ...and, and perhaps a special musical performance...
Further details TBA.
INFO: Michele Armstrong <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
650-723-1655
AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, SAN FRANCISCO FRI, FEB 16, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO HILTON HOTEL, Continental Ballroom 1, 8 pm.
AIR's annual session as part of the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. Participants will
include:
<> AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS
<> "How to Quantify Failure" author MARTIN J. MURPHY
<> "UFOs & Internal Combustion Engines" author SCOTT SANDFORD
<> "Postal Experiments" author JEFF VAN BUEREN
<> "Structured Procrastination" author JOHN PERRY
<> and other surpris(ing) personages
<> ...and, and perhaps a special musical performance...
Further details TBA.
AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, SAN FRANCISCO MON, FEB 19, 2001
SPECIAL SPACIAL BONUS!
Special 1 minute AIR spectacular at the beginning of the Plenary
Lecture
Be there on time -- 8:00 AM -- to see it.
UC BERKELEY TUES, FEB 20, 2001
AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS and other AIRheads will appear, speak,
show fascinating things, and then disappear.
Sponsored by the Bay Area Skeptics.
Details TBA.
SAS/ACS SPECIAL JOINT MEETING, PRINCETON, NJ DATE TBA
WEIZMANN INSTITUTE, ISRAEL WEEK OF MAY 13-18, 2001
Details TBA.
HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM MAY 2001
Tentatively scheduled. Details TBA.
11th FIRST ANNUAL IG NOBEL PRIZE CEREMONY THURS, OCT 4, 2001
Sanders Theatre, Harvard University
--------------------------------------------------------------
2001-01-19 How to Subscribe to AIR (*)
Here's how to subscribe to the magnificent bi-monthly print
journal The Annals of Improbable Research (the real thing, not
just the little bits of overflow material you have been reading
here in mini-AIR).
...............................................................
Name:
Address:
Address:
City and State:
Zip or postal code:
Country
Phone: FAX: E-mail:
...............................................................
SUBSCRIPTIONS (6 issues per year):
USA 1 yr/$24.95 2 yrs/$44.95
Canada/Mexico 1 yr/$28.95 US 2 yrs/$49.95 US
Overseas 1 yr/$41.95 US 2 yrs/$71.95 US
...............................................................
BACK ISSUES are available, too:
First issue: $8 USA, $11 Canada/Mex, $16 overseas Add'l issues
purchased at same time: $6 each
...............................................................
Send payment (US bank check, or international money order, or
Visa, Mastercard or Discover info) to:
Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA
617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
-----------------------------------------------------
2001-01-20 Our Address (*)
Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA
617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927
EDITORIAL: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
SUBSCRIPTIONS: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WEB SITE: <http://www.improbable.com>
---------------------------
2001-01-21 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.
------------- mini-AIRheads -------------
EDITOR: Marc Abrahams ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
MINI-PROOFREADER AND PICKER OF NITS (before we introduce the last
few at the last moment): Wendy Mattson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
WWW EDITOR/GLOBAL VILLAGE IDIOT: Amy Gorin
([EMAIL PROTECTED])
COMMUTATIVE EDITOR: Stanley Eigen ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
ASSOCIATIVE EDITOR: Mark Dionne
DISTRIBUTIVE EDITOR: Robin Pearce
CO-CONSPIRATORS: Gary Dryfoos, Ernest Ersatz, Craig Haggart, Nicki
Rohloff
MAITRE DE COMPUTATION: Jerry Lotto
AUTHORITY FIGURES: Nobel Laureates Dudley Herschbach, Sheldon
Glashow, William Lipscomb, Richard Roberts
(c) copyright 2001, Annals of Improbable Research
-----------------------------------------------------
2001-01-22 How to Receive mini-AIR, etc. (*)
What you are reading right now is mini-AIR. Mini-AIR is a (free!)
tiny monthly *supplement* to the bi-monthly print magazine.
To subscribe, send a brief E-mail message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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.)
----------------------------
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