The mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR")
Issue Number 1994-07 November, 1994. ISSN 1076-500X
Key words: science humor,improbable research,Ig Nobel
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The mini-journal of inflated research and personalities
published by The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
at The MIT Museum
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Once again, we salute those members of the international
scientific and technical community who arranged the details of
World Standards Day. This year, World Standards Day was October
14.  In the US, the day was marked on October 11.  In Finland,
World Standards Day occurred on October 13.  Italy held its own
standards conference on October 18.

AIR is an intensely nonprofit educational activity of The MIT
Museum.  Any generous support you or yours (or someone else's)
might donate in the form of equipment, clerical assistance, or one
of the more widely recognized kinds of sustenance would: (a)
irremediably advance the cause of improbable research and
education; and (b) bring widespread glory, satisfaction and other
desirable states of being.

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      Ig Nobel Peace Prize: Follow-up Investigation

Robert L. Park of the American Physical Society (APS) has done a
follow-up investigation of the work which earned John Hagelin this
year's Ig Nobel Peace Prize.  Park's report appeared in his weekly
APS newsletter, "WHAT'S NEW."  It reads in part:

"The [1994 Ig Nobel] Peace Prize went to physicist John Hagelin
for his experiment to reduce crime in Washington, DC by the
coherent meditation of 4,000 TM [Transcendental Meditation]
experts. By coincidence, Hagelin was holding a press conference
[on the day of the Ig Nobel Ceremony] to announce his final
results.  It was a data analysis clinic; violent crime, he proudly
declared, decreased 18%!  Relative to what?  To the predictions of
"time-series analysis" involving variables such as temperature and
the economy.  So although the weekly murder count hit the highest
level ever recorded, it was less than predicted."

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     Selected Abstracts from AIR vol. 1, no. 1

Following are selected abstracts from vol. 1, no. 1, of The Annals
of Improbable Research (AIR).  For full details, including lurid
photographs and data, see the issue itself.  Additional abstracts
will appear in the next issue of mini-AIR.  Collect the whole set
and amaze your friends and yourself.

"The Taxonomy of Barney," Edward C. Theriot, Arthur E. Bogan, and
Earle E. Spamer.
The authors observed on television an animal which was there
identified as a dinosaur, Barney.  X-ray, cladistic, and
morphological analyses suggest that Barney is a hominid. The
authors note that Barney more closely resembles a dead salmon than
a dinosaur.  [Includes photos and charts]

"The Aerodynamics of Potato Chips," by Scott Sandford, Jim Ross,
Joe Sacco, and Nathaniel Hellerstein.
Potato chips were subjected to a rigorous series of wind-tunnel
tests.  The authors conclude that, "you can throw a potato chip,
just not very far."  Other conclusions are also presented.
[Includes photos and graphs]

"Nobel Thoughts: Sidney Altman," by Marc Abrahams.
The Nobel chemistry Laureate addresses questions about beer and
potato chips. [Includes photo]

"At the Fourth First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony," by Stephen
Drew and Francesca Thurston.
A complete report on this year's ceremony, featuring citations of
the ten Prizewinning efforts and highlights from the acceptance
speeches and the 30-second Heisenberg Certainty Lectures.
Features 16 photos, including several of the world premiere ballet
"Interpretive Dance of the Electrons" featuring The Nicola Hawkins
Dancers, three Nobel Laureates, and jazz harpist Deborah Henson-
Conant.

"The mickeymouse Gene" (photomicrograph), Timothy P. Angelotti and
Marco A. Scarpetta

"QI of IQ: Quantum Interpretation of The Intelligence Quotient,"
by Dudley Herschbach.
It is hypothesized that intelligence arises from the vibrating
molecules within our brains.  Qualitatively, IQ is directly
proportional to the vibrational amplitude.  The distribution of
IQ's can be explained by a combination of quantum "tunnel
effects," temperature T, and the spring constant K of each
individual's head. [Includes instructive graph]

Each issue includes genuine page numbers.

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               Science and the Dervish

The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey are currently on a performance
tour of the United States.  Here is an extract from the program
booklet given to their audiences.  It was written by Dr. Celaddin
B. Celebi, their master of ceremonies and the grandson of Hz.
Mevlana:

"Contemporary science definitely confirms that the fundamental
condition of our existence is to revolve.  There is no object, no
being that does not revolve and the shared similarity among beings
is the revolution of the electrons and protons in the atoms, which
constitute the structure of the smallest particle to the stars far
in the sky.  As a consequence of thsi similarity, everything
revolves and man carries on his life, his very existence by means
of the revolution in the atoms, structural elements in his body,
by the circulation of his blood, by his coming from the Earth and
return to it, by his revolving with the earth itself."

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               May We Recommend...

Research reports that merit a trip to the library:

"The effects of chewing gum stick size and duration of chewing on
salivary flow rate and sucrose and bicarbonate concentrations," M.
Rosenhek, L. Macpherson, and C. Dawes, "Archives of Oral Biology,"
vol. 38, no.10, Oct. 1993, pp. 885-891.  (Thanks to Wayne Woods
for bringing this to our attention.)

"Illustrations of the Gestalt-Individual versus Group Performances
By the Members of the Rolling Stones," R.N. Paddle, "Australian
Psychology," vol. 23, no. 1, p. 88. (Thanks to Jim Jewett for
bringing this to our attention.)

"Synergistic activation of Ras and 14-3-3 protein of a mitogen
activated protein kinase kinase kinase named Ras-dependant
extracelluar signal regulated kinase kinase stimulator," by K.
Shimizuet et al, "Journal of Biological Chemistry," vol. 269,
1994, p. 22917.  (Thanks to Mohan Natesan for bringing this to our
attention.  Natesan suggests that the title was inspired by
Boutros Boutros-Ghali.)

(We welcome your suggestions for this column.  Please include full
citations. If possible, please send us a photocopy of the paper.)

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               AIRhead Events

   IG NOBEL CEREMONY RADIO BROADCAST            Fri., Nov. 25
"Talk of the Nation/Science Friday" will broadcast a (nearly)
complete recording of this year's Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony.
This is the day after Thanksgiving in the US.  Check your local
National Public Radio station for broadcast time; in most cities
other than DC and NYC, the show is on from 2-4 pm eastern time.
The Ig Ceremony will comprise (and compromise) the program's
second hour (3-4 pm eastern).

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             Purpose of mini-AIR (*)

The mini-Annals of Improbable Research (mini-AIR) publishes news
about improbable research and ideas. Specifically:

A) Haphazardly selected superficial (but advanced!) extracts of
research news and satire from The Annals of Improbable Research.

B) News about the annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony.

C) News about other science humor activities intentional and
otherwise.

WHAT IS AIR? (An introduction, of sorts)
AIR is a new magazine produced by the entire former editorial
staff (1955-1994) of "The Journal of Irreproducible Results
(JIR)," the world's oldest satirical science journal. The new
magazine's co-founders are Marc Abrahams, who edited JIR from
1990-1994, and Alexander Kohn, who founded JIR in 1955 and was its
editor until 1989. AIR is published by the MIT Museum in
Cambridge, MA.  The editorial board consists of more than 40
distinguished scientists from around the world including seven
Nobel Laureates. Each October, AIR and the MIT Museum produce the
Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, honoring people whose achievements cannot
or should not be reproduced.

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