PLEASE FORWARD/POST AS APPROPRIATE
================================================================
mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR")
Issue Number 2000-09
September, 2000
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
================================================================

-----------------------------
2000-09-01	TABLE OF CONTENTS

2000-09-01	Table of Contents
2000-09-02	mini-Housekeeping
2000-09-03	What's New in the Magazine
2000-09-04	Harry Potter / Bomby the Bombardier Beetle
2000-09-05	Katti Conundrum (Part 1)
2000-09-06	Katti Conundrum (Part 2)
2000-09-07	Katti Conundrum (Part 3)
2000-09-08	Ig (1) -- Vital Info 
2000-09-09	Dreaded Bird
2000-09-10	Ig (2) -- Debate, "Brain Food Opera," Leonid Hambro 
2000-09-11	On Napkins
2000-09-12	Manhood Found?
2000-09-13	Seeking B. Rubin
2000-09-14	Cavalcade of HotAIR: Twinkling, Garbage, Sniff, etc.
2000-09-15	AIR VENTS: Heslop-Harrison on Their Minds
2000-09-16	Project AIRhead 2000: Butter, Van, Anti-viral
2000-09-17	MAY WE RECOMMEND: Unreasoning Assortment
2000-09-18	AIRhead Events
2000-09-19	How to Subscribe to AIR (*)
2000-09-20	Our Address (*)
2000-09-21	Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*)
2000-09-22	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


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-02	mini Housekeeping

1. The Ig Nobel Ceremony takes place October 5! 
See sections 2000-09-08 and -09 below for info about tickets, the 
live telecast, the Great Intelligence Debate, the Leonid Hambro 
concert, "The Brain Food Opera," etc.

2. A new academic year has started. If you know someone who would 
be beneficially corrupted by seeing mini-AIR, please forward this 
to her/him.


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-03	What's New in the Magazine

AIR 6:5 (Sept/Oct 2000) is the special BOMBY THE BOMBARDIER BEETLE 
issue. The issue includes, among other things:

<> Seven reviews, from different perspectives, of the 
   classic creation science children's book BOMBY THE
   BOMBARDIER BEETLE.

<> "NOBEL THOUGHTS: Steven Weinberg," by Marc Abrahams. 
   A curiously succinct interview with the 1979
   Nobel physics laureate.

<> "Sonnet by a Bard With Sprue," a non-epic poem 
   by Robert. R. Pascal.

<> ...and much, much more.

See the cover and full table of contents, and several of the 
articles posted at 
<http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i5/v6i5-toc.html>

       (What you are reading at this moment is mini-AIR,
        a monthly e-mail small supplement to the print magazine.)


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-04	Harry Potter / Bomby the Bombardier Beetle

As a service to humanity, we will be posting many of the Bomby 
reviews that were published in the magazine. The section 
introduction is at
<http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i5/bomby-intro-6-5.html>

Sally Shelton's  soon-to-be-classic "Harry and Bomby," a 
comparative review of BOMBY and HARRY POTTER, is at 
<http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i5/bomby-harry-6-5.html>

We'll be posting more of the BOMBY reviews over the next few 
weeks.


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-05	Katti Conundrum (Part 1)

The "Favorite Katti" vote, announced last month, has temporarily 
come a cropper. Let us explain.

First, here is the question that was to be voted on. We asked, 
"Which is YOUR favorite Katti?"
     (1) R.K. Katti
     (2) R.K. Katti
     (3) D.R. Katti

The three Katties in question, we explained, were co-authors of 
the research book:
     "Influence of Gravity On Granular Soil Mechanics",
     R.K. Katti, R.K. Katti, and D.R. Katti, Balkema 
     (Publishers), Rotterdam, 2000.

Sadly, we mangled a Katti. Therefore, the initial balloting is 
declared void.

R.K. should have been A.R., although the other R.K. really was, 
and really is, R.K. And so, it seemed, we SHOULD have offered a 
selection consisting of the following three Katties:

     A.R. Katti
     D.R. Katti
     R.K. Katti.

But, lo, that was not the end of the story....


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-06	Katti Conundrum (Part 2)

We received a curiously calm note from M. Katti -- the famous M. 
Katti of Arizona State University's Center for Environmental 
Studies. Investigator Katti declaims:

     My favorite Katti isn't even on this list!! All these 
     years, I thought we were a pretty small tribe, and now
     we are having contests about who is the world's favorite?!
               Best wishes,
               M. Katti

We apologize to M. Katti for having unthinkingly excluded him from 
contention. 

We will rectify the omission, in the following manner...


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-07	Katti Conundrum (Part 3)

Please join us, enthusiastically if you can, in casting a ballot 
for your favorite Katti of these four:

  (a) A.R. Katti
  (b) D.R. Katti
  (c) R.K. Katti
  (d) M. Katti

We apologize for the inconvenience, but not for the Kattiness of 
it all.

Please send your vote to <marca@chem2.harvard.edu>


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-08	Ig (1) -- Vital Info 

The 10th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will happen on 
Thursday night, October 5. For details see 
<http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-top.html>. 
Here are the very basics:

At least five (5) of the ten new winners will be present, coming 
at their own expense from several continents. At least five (5) 
Nobel Laureates will be on hand to physically hand them their Ig 
Nobel Prizes.

TICKETS
Get 'em from the Harvard Box Office (phone 617-496-2222). 
Info: <http://www.improbable.com/ig/attend.html>

DELEGATIONS
Plan to bring an official Delegation? Then register it by 
September 28. Info: 
<http://www.improbable.com/ig/delegations.html>

LIVE TELECAST
The live Internet telecast will happen thanks to generous help 
from <http://www.biomednet.com> and <http://www.chemweb.com>. The 
broadcast page will be at <http://www.ignobel.org>, which will go 
live about a week before the ceremony.

RELATED EVENTS (Fri and Sat)
After the ceremony, there will be two related events. The 
schedule:

    <> Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony -- Oct 5, 7:30 pm
       Sanders Theatre, Harvard 
    <> Ig Medical Lectures -- Oct 6, 2:00 pm
       Snyder Auditorium, Harvard School of Public Health
    <> Ig Informal Lectures -- Oct 7, 1:00 pm
       MIT 26-100

POSTERS
(1) A downloadable version of the 2000 Ig poster should be on our 
web site any day now.
(2) If you would like to help place the magnificent paper Ig 
posters in appropriate places, and can come to Cambridge to pick 
some up, please email us at <marca@chem2.harvard.edu>


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-09	Dreaded Bird

Some of you did not receive last month's mini-AIR, because your 
system's censoring software disliked a certain letter combination 
-- specifically, the name of a common small bird.


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-10	Ig (2) -- Debate, "Brain Food Opera," Leonid Hambro 

The ceremony will also include THE GREAT INTELLIGENCE DEBATE, to 
determine which of the debaters is the smartest person in the 
world. Participants will include top scientists, politicians, 
musicians, etc. [The debate will also include the Smartest Harvard 
Undergraduate and the Smartest MIT Undergraduate, each of whom 
will have been selected in a random drawing.] 
     <> Each round will pit one individual against another 
     <> Each round will last thirty (30) seconds, the 
        time limit to be enforced by a professional referee 
     <> In each round, both debaters will talk at the same time 
     <> Each round will be scored by the Nobel Laureates

LEONID HAMBRO, former principal pianist of the New York 
Philharmonic Orchestra (and for ten years Victor Borge's touring 
partner) will perform at the Ceremony, and will present a special 
science/humor/music concert at the Ig Lectures at MIT on 9/7/2000.

"THE BRAIN FOOD OPERA" will have its premiere at the Ceremony, and 
will be repeated at MIT.

Etc., etc., etc. 


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-11	On Napkins

Here are some preliminary results from our Napkin Innovation 
Survey. We are compiling a list of great inventions that got their 
start on restaurant napkins.

AIRPLANE
"The airplane Voyager [don't confuse it with either the lost, 
dysfunctional probe or the lost, disfunctional ST show -- this was 
the first airplane to circumnavigate the earth on a single load of 
fuel] was first planned in a napkin-based CAD system."
     --Investigator Marcelo Rinesi

BRIDGE
The Guardian newspaper (London) suggests that London's Millennium 
Bridge may have first been sketched on the back of a napkin. This 
is the pedestrian bridge over the Thames which wobbled so much 
when walked on that it has been closed. Does that count?
     -- Investigator Keith Nockels 

NAPKIN SUBSTITUTE
Does it have to be a napkin? Ken Thompson designed *all* of UTF-8, 
the byte-level encoding for Unicode, the 16-bit international 
character set, on a paper placemat while sitting opposite me in a 
diner one night. It's now an ISO standard. It's now an ISO 
standard.
     -- Investigator Rob Pike Investigator Rob Pike

More soon.


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-12	Manhood Found?

Investigator Peter B. Kessler may have tracked down the 
mysteriously self-endowed Dr. Joel Kaplan, the Dean and full 
Professor of the Department of Psychology at the Florida Religious 
University in Miami, Florida [a university which apparently is 
located in California], whose curious anatomical properties we 
mentioned last month. Apparently he can be found at:

    Dr. Joel Kaplan, PhD, Inc.
    1286 University Ave., Suite 221, San Diego, CA 92103

We had not previously encountered the honorific "PhD, Inc.," and 
would be grateful to anyone who has certain knowledge as to its 
meaning.


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-13	Seeking B. Rubin

We wish to compile a complete list of all liver specialists named 
William (Billy) Rubin. Please send pertinent info to 
<marca@chem2.harvard.edu>


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-14	Cavalcade of HotAIR: Twinkling, Garbage, Sniff, 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>

MAY WE RECOMMEND -- An Ever-Less-Brief History of Time

MAY WE RECOMMEND -- When Not in Doubt, Problematize
     A recent article in Salon Magazine alerted us to the 
     concept of PROBLEMATICIZATION...

RESEARCH QUESTION -- How Fast the Twinkling of an Eye?
     How long, exactly, is the twinkling of an eye? The 
     fundamentalist philosopher Jack Van Impe has defined
     the twinkling of an eye as...

MAY WE RECOMMEND -- Actual Garbage

AIR Teachers' Guide
     This teachers' guide appears in every issue of the Annals 
     of Improbable Research.
     ********************
     Three out of five teachers agree: curiosity is 
     a dangerous thing, especially in students. If you 
     are one of the other two teachers...

BOOK REVIEW -- Subtle, Intentional, Conscious?
     This is a lovely example of why it's so hard for the 
     average (wo)man in the street to detect pseudoscience 
     in a book....

PHYSICS LESSON -- When Millipede Meets Train

INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY-- Fatstopper 2000

RESEARCH QUESTION -- What are the Most Unquestionable Statistics?

TECH NOTES-- Middle East Peace Solution Complications

RE-DISCOVERY: The Essence of a Sniff
     Our most ancient, most reliable sense - the sense of smell - 
     may be more simple, more complicated, and more intriguing
     than most scientists realize....

BIOLOGY LESSON -- Fat and Skinny

BOOK REVIEWS -- Deadly Poisons for Everyone
     These are four of the most fun books ever written. I cannot
     recommend them highly enough to anyone who, like me, enjoys
     worrying constantly about deadly poisons....

MAY WE RECOMMEND -- Multiple Hostility Hostility Checklist 
Question

AIRhead Olympics Research Review

THESE, AND MORE, ARE ON HOTAIR AT
<http://www.improbable.com/navstrip/whatsnew.html>


----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-15	AIR VENTS: Heslop-Harrison on Their Minds

MORE HESLOP-HARRISON
In regard to your discussion [mini-AIR 2000-07] of Heslop-
Harrison, Heslop-Harrison, and Heslop-Harrison:
You will be pleased to know that I cut my teeth (and nearly broke 
one) on J. Heslop-Harrison's "New Concepts in Flowering-Plant 
Taxonomy" of 1964. Unfortunately, he was only able to find someone 
named W.B. Turrill to write the foreward, the other Heslop-
Harrisons apparently being away from Cambridge at press time.
     --Investigator Don McGraw

AND YET MORE
Your correspondent could have chosen an earlier paper by the three 
of them, published before John H.-H.'s death in May 1998. The 
paper cited was J.H.-H.'s last one, published posthumously. (By a 
strange synchronicity, the Mini-AIR issue arrived a day or so 
before I received the Biographical Memoir of J.H.-H. for 
preparation for the Royal Society's annual volume at the end of 
the year.) Please don't take this as a criticism of your esteemed 
virtual journal, which I am always relieved to receive (*must* 
take out that subscription some time) -- it was intended purely as 
a point of information.
     --Investigator Bruce Goatly


-----------------------------------------------------------
2000-09-16	Project AIRhead 2000: Butter, Van, Anti-viral

Here are further selections from our vast collection of items that 
inexplicably have 2000 as part of their name.

ITEM 6390 (submitted by investigator S. D'Aprano)
"BEYOND 2000," salted butter, sold in Australia.

ITEM 10701 (Submitted by investigator P. Tiplady)
GLASS 2000, an enterprise whose van roams the streets of Coventry, 
England.

ITEM 882103 (submitted by investigator R. Josephson)
PRO 2000 - A topical vaginal gel that prevents the transmission of 
HIV, herpes, chlamydia, and other such diseases. A product of 
Procept Inc., Cambridge, MA.


----------------------------------------------------------- 
2000-09-17	MAY WE RECOMMEND: Unreasoning Assortment

Circular Unreasoning
"Can Human Irrationality Be Experimentally Demonstrated?" L. 
Cohen, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 4, 1981, pp. 317-70. 
(Thanks to Terry T. Janes for bringing this to our attention.)

Assorted Treatment
"Popcorn and Fairies in the Management of Measles in Ethiopia," G. 
Barnabas, The Lancet, no. 8269, February 20, 1982, pp. 450-1. 
(Thanks to Miriam E. Tucker for bringing this to our attention.)

Anything is Possible
"A Possible Approach for Researching Purported Spirit 
Communication: An Empirical-Anecdotal Investigation," L.G. Russek, 
et al., Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, vol. 15, no. 4, Fall 1999, 
pp. 295-301. (Thanks to Mark Ungrin for bringing this to our 
attention.)


------------------------------------------------------------ 
2000-09-18	AIRhead Events

==> For details and updates see <http://www.improbable.com>
==> Want to host an event? <marca@chem2.harvard.edu> 617-491-4437.


NEW ENGLAND SKEPTICAL SOCIETY -- CHESHIRE, CT	SAT, SEPT 23
12 noon, Cheshire Public Library.
AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS et al. will discuss and illustrate 
the Ig Nobel Prizes and improbable Research in general.
INFO: Jon Blumenfeld <jon@jblumenfeld.com>
<http://www.theness.com/member.html>

TENTH FIRST ANNUAL IG NOBEL PRIZE CEREMONY	THURS, OCT 5
Sanders Theatre, Harvard University. 
Tickets available from the Harvard Box office 617-496-2222
INFO: <http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-2000-details.html>

IG MEDICAL LECTURES, HARVARD SCHL OF PUBLIC HEALTH	FRI, OCT 6
2 pm. Snyder Auditorium, HSPH, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston. Public 
lectures by the new Ig Nobel Prize winners in the fields of 
chemistry, medicine, and public health.
INFO: <http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-2000-details.html#related-events>

IG INFORMAL LECTURES					SAT, OCT 7
1:00 pm. MIT room 26-100
The 2000 Ig Nobel Prizewinners will attempt to explain themselves. 
Also: A special mini-concert by Leonid Hambro, and more.
INFO: <http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-2000-details.html#related-events>

SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, DEARBORN, MI	THURS, OCT 12
AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS will be the dinner speaker at the SAE 
TOPTEC symposium.
INFO: Kurt Godden <KurtGodden@excite.com>

POST THEATER, NEW YORK CITY				OCT 19-21
214 E. 10th St. #4
American premiere of "The Real Forensic," a play about AIR 
editorial board member Dr. Mark Benecke, a forensic entomologist. 
Check with theater for exact dates/times. The play will also be 
performed in: 
 <> CROATIA; 
 <> HONG KONG; and 
 <> BERLIN.
INFO: <http://www.posttheater.com/schedule.html> 212-982-7399

BOSTON MENSA						FRI OCT 27
Location and time TBA
AIR editor Marc Abrahams will speak on a variety of baffling 
topics.
INFO: Tom Birchmire <cogito@world.std.com>

HARVARD UNIVERSITY					SAT, OCT 28
Special science/theatrical event. Details TBA.

CANADIAN UNDERGRAD PHYSICS CONFERENCE, QUEBEC CITY	SAT, NOV 11
The conference is held at Laval University. AIR editor MARC 
ABRAHAMS will be the banquet speaker at this year's annual 
conference.
INFO: Patrick Grenier <patgre65@hotmail.com>
<http://www.cupc2000.fly.to/>

MCGILL UNIV., MONTREAL					TBA
Date, time, etc. TBA

ALBERT EINSTEIN PLANETARIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C.	SAT, NOV 25
National Air and Space Museum, 6-8 pm.
AIR editorial board member DR. ERIC SCHULMAN will take you on an 
educational and humorous tour of the history of the Universe, 
followed by a free-ranging discussion of anything and everything 
and a brief look around the night skies of December.
INFO: <http://www.nasm.edu/nasm/planetarium/Einstein.html>

INTERNATIONAL ELECTRON DEVICES MEETING, SAN FRANCISCO	TUES, DEC 12
AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS will ruin lunch by discussing the Ig 
Nobel Prizes and the current state of improbable research. Details 
TBA.
INFO: Mark Law <law@tec.ufl.edu> (352) 392-6459

ROCHESTER 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 <paul_porell@rmsc.org> 716-271-4552 x 363

STANFORD UNIVERSITY				 WED, FEB 14, 2001
Valentine's Day improbable research gala with:
 <> AIR editor MARC ABRAHAMS
 <> "How to Quantity 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
Further details TBA.
INFO: Michele Armstrong <michelea@leland.Stanford.EDU>

AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, SAN FRANCISCO				 FEB, 2001
Details TBA. 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 Quantity 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
Further details TBA.

SAS/ACS SPECIAL JOINT MEETING, PRINCETON, NJ	MAY 17, 2001
AIR Editor MARC ABRAHAMS will describe the latest findings in 
improbable research. Sponsored by the Society of Applied 
Spectroscopy (New York Section) and by the American Chemical 
Society
INFO: Gary Richie (914)-709-2634


-------------------------------------------------------------- 
2000-09-19	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/$23		2 yrs/$39
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Overseas		1 yr/$40 US 	2 yrs/$70 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  <air@improbable.com>


----------------------------------------------------- 
2000-09-20	Our Address (*)

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)	 
PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA 
617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927

EDITORIAL: marca@chem2.harvard.edu 
SUBSCRIPTIONS: air@improbable.com 
WEB SITE: <http://www.improbable.com>


--------------------------- 
2000-09-21	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 (marca@chem2.harvard.edu)
MINI-PROOFREADER AND PICKER OF NITS (before we introduce the last
few at the last moment): Wendy Mattson <wendy@posh.com>
WWW EDITOR/GLOBAL VILLAGE IDIOT: Amy Gorin 
(airmaster@improbable.com)
COMMUTATIVE EDITOR: Stanley Eigen (eigen@neu.edu)
ASSOCIATIVE EDITOR: Mark Dionne
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 2000, Annals of Improbable Research 


----------------------------------------------------- 
2000-09-22	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: 
	LISTPROC@AIR.HARVARD.EDU 
The body of your message should contain ONLY the words 
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