Here are the top Tenn research studies for 2008. Each study was written or co-written by a researcher named Tenn. (The selections were made by the Annals of Improbable Research‘s Top Tenn List Selection Committee.): 1. “Comparison of selected skin decontaminant products and regimens against VX in domestic swine,” S Bjarnason, J Mikler, I Hill, […]
Year: 2008
Mel Better Localized
I am not immune to the human failings that have beset others who sent you historic photos of Mel. I sorrowfully report that the photo you printed (AIR Vents 14:3) which I sent you which shows Mel during his visit to Notre Dame in 1909, with an inscription on the back signed by three Paris […]
Big: Hand
“How Big Is a Hand?”, N.D. Rossiter, P. Chapman and I.A. Haywood, Burns, vol. 22, no. 3, May 1996, pp. 230–1 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0305-4179(95)00118-2). The authors, who are at Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, Woolwich, London, UK, report: Exactly what constitutes ‘the palm of the hand’ and how large an area this is, depends on whether you follow […]
How It (Ig) Works, so they say
The How Things Work web site offers its analysis (by Robert Lamb) of how the Ig Nobel Prizes work:
Economics Lesson: How to get a job
The best economics lessons, everyone except economists reminds us, can be found in the pages (or whatever) of great literature. The trick is to find them (in computer science terminology: to perform the searching and sorting properly). Here is one such lesson: how to get a job. It can be found in the short (about […]
Magazine issue 14:6 — special Ig Nobel issue
The Nov/Dec 2008 issue (vol. 14, no. 6) of the magazine (the Annals of Improbable Research) just went out. It’s the annual Ig Nobel Prize issue, with copious coverage and lots of photos of the new Ig Nobel Prize winners, the ceremony, the lectures, the mini-opera, and more. Click on the magazine cover (below) to: […]
37 Therapists
by Jeremy Gorman Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada One day when I was wondering just what was wrong with me, I thought to ask some experts in what’s called psychology. Beginning with the founders of the psychologic arts, I went to Wundt and Titchener, who broke me into parts. John Dewey proved more functional, and Peirce […]
Violent chess claymation
Violent chess claymation, at least in the form of this brief video, is a treat for philosophers, music enthusiasts, chess players, and gentle violence lovers alike. (Thanks to investigator Mason Porter for bringing this to our attention.)
Approximate Reasoning, more or less
Investigator Val Eklund writes: Do you now someone whose reasoning is not quite on target? The Journal of Approximate Reasoning (which you mentioned in mini-AIR) may be just what they need. And speaking of “not quite on target,” that journal is going to publish a study that explores a notoriously hit-or-miss activity: “A closer look […]
Diet Coke Plus: Much more than a Fortified Snack
A snack can also be contraceptive — failure to appreciate this fact may be the unspoken story behind a December 24, 2008 Bloomberg news report: FDA: Diet Coke Plus violates rules Coca-Cola Company’s claims that Diet Coke Plus contains vitamins and minerals violate US regulations, the Food and Drug Administration said in a letter to […]