Improbable Research

Investigator Neville McConnell writes:

The book The Leadership Genius of George W Bush: 10 Common Sense Lessons from the Commander-in-Chief has been translated into Bulgarian.

That apparently happened some years ago, but as you did not mention it in your analysis, I thought I ought to bring it to your attention and, through you, to the attention of researchers elsewhere.

Good scholarly works do eventually find larger audiences. The current price of this book — $0.99 US — may encourage audiences to acquire their own copies of what I have found to be a remarkable piece of work.

The latest (false) cheating scandal in international chess soiled the Vandoeuvre Open in France during the last week in December. Latvian grandmasters were fazed by the strong performance of Anna Rudof, who was unexpectedly leading the tournament. The disgruntled GMs accused the Hungarian phenom of cheating.

The pattern of these nebulous accusations is often the same, as in Toiletgate and Toddlergate: a successful player is accused of going to the bathroom too often and having physical or wireless access to a chess-playing computer. In Rudolf’s case, suspicion centered on her lip balm, which was said to be a wireless device for communicating with a remote silicon adviser. To her chagrin, the organizers confiscated her handbag and lip balm before the key round. Her opponent refused to shake her hand before the game and told her she didn’t play fair. Her concentration was rattled and she ultimately blew the game.

The Web site Chessdom has an interview with Rudolf and continuing coverage of the nonsense.

So writes Paul Hoffman.

Dr Mahmood Bhutta’s greatest achievement - measuring the sound produced by a person with a hot potato in his mouth - has been overlooked in the flurry of attention given to his new study on whether sexual thoughts can trigger sneezing fits.

Bhutta practises surgery at Wexham Park hospital, Slough. The new paper, Sneezing Induced by Sexual Ideation or Orgasm: An Under-Reported Phenomenon, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, has brought acclaim to Bhutta and his co-author Dr Harold Maxwell, a retired honorary senior lecturer and consultant psychiatrist.

Back in 2006, Bhutta worked at the Royal Sussex county hospital in Brighton. He and colleagues George Worley and Meredydd Harries examined the phenomenon known as “hot potato voice”.

The study, Hot Potato Voice in Peritonsillitis: A Misnomer, appeared in the Journal of Voice….

So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian.

The unstoppable Dr. David Robert Leffler, who devised a Theory of Pretty Much Everything, has again written us in hopes of saving the world. This time he mentions a very few of his recent publications. He explains:

I hope things are going well for you since we last communciated and that you have a joyous holiday season. You are free to forward or reprint any of these articles referenced below about Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). Some of these were co-authored by [2004 Ig Nobel Peace Prize winner] Dr. John Hagelin.

In the interest of quickly preventing future terrorist attacks and in order to save lives and prevent suffering, we are submitting our editorials simultaneously to many places worldwide. Here is a list of published articles that you are free to forward or reprint:
Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, October 26). A Proven Enlightened Counter-measure. Muslim.net. Available at: http://www.muslims.net/news/print.php?newid=174773

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, October 4). An Overlooked, Proven Solution to Terrorism. Arab News. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=115116&d=4&m=10&y=2008

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, October 24). A Proven Enlightened Counter-measure. Aljazeera Magazine. Available at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=174773

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, October 22). A Proven Enlightened Counter-measure. Middle East Online. http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/opinion/?id=28440

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 3). A Proven Approach to Make the Pakistan Air Force Invincible. Frontier India Strategic & Defence. Available: http://frontierindia.net/a-proven-approach-to-make-the-pakistan-airforce-invincible

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, October 29). Attn: Secretary Gates, a Proven New Approach to Eliminate Extremism. Sentinel Review (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada). Available: http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1270965

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, September 25). Global Views: An Overlooked, Proven Solution to Terrorism. The Seoul Times. Available at: http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=7334

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, September 4). LEFFLER - An overlooked, proven solution to terrorism. Fiji Daily Post. Available at: http://www.fijidailypost.com/international-news-feature.php

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, December 4). Ten Most Important Trends for the Future of Terrorism An Overlooked, Proven Solution to Terrorism-Comments About Invincible Defense Technology. News From Bangladesh. Available at: http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=234750

Major General Kulwant Singh (Indian Army, Retired), Dr. John Hagelin, Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, December 4). Attn: Abdul Kalam, a Positive Counter-Terrorism Method for India. United News Network. Available at: http://www.unnindia.com/english/story.php?Id=3591

Major General Kulwant Singh (Indian Army, Retired), Dr. John Hagelin, Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, December 4). A Proven Approach to Counter Terrorism in India. News Wing. Available at: http://newswing.com/?p=2098

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, December). A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. Southern Asian Outlook, Vol. 8-No. 6, Available: http://www.southasianoutlook.com/issues/2008/december/a_proven_approach_to_make_bangladesh_strong_and_invincible.html

Major General Kulwant Singh (Indian Army, Retired), Dr. John Hagelin, Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, December 4). A Proven Approach to Counter Terrorism in India. Northern News Lines. Available at: http://northernlines.in/2008/12/04/a-proven-approach-to-counter-terrorism-in-india

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 28). A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. Democratic Labor Pary, Bangladesh. Available: http://democraticlabor.vox.com/library/post/a-proven-approach-to-make-bangladesh-strong-and-invincible.html

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 27). A proven enlightened counter-measure. News of Interest. Available at: http://obiwancanola.blogspot.com/2008/11/proven-enlightened-counter-measure.html

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 26). A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. South Asian Media Net. Available: http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_opinion.cfm?category=Politics&country=bangladesh#A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 26). Politics: A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. Bangladesh Business On Line.
http://www.bdbusinessonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=635&catid=91:politics&Itemid=127

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 26). A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. Blitz. Available: www.weeklyblitz.net/index.php?id=185

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 26). A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. Dhaka Mails. Available: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dhakamails/message/2149

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 25). A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. Daily Online Alochona. Available: http://dailyalochona.blogspot.com/2008/11/alochona-proven-approach-to-make.html

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 23). A Proven Approach to Make Bangladesh Strong and Invincible. News From Bangladesh. Available: http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=232934

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 14). Realistic Methods For Ending War And Terrorism. India Defence Consultants. Available: http://www.indiadefence.com/terrorsol1.htm

Dr. David R. Leffler (2008, September 8). No One Wants The Nobel War Prize. The Fiji Daily Post. Available at: http://www.fijidailypost.com/opinion.php?date=20080908

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 14). A Proven Approach to Make A Force Invincible. India Defence Consultants. Available: http://www.indiadefence.com/terrorsol2.htm

Dr. David R. Leffler, (2008, November 14). No One Wants the Nobel War Prize. India Defence Consultants. Available: http://www.indiadefence.com/terrorsol3.htm

Major General Guru Israni (Indian Army) & Dr. David R. Leffler (2008, September 1). LEFFLER - Operation: World Peace. Fiji Daily Post. Available at: http://fijidailypost.com/opinion.php?date=20080901

UCL Press Release: The sound of jelly wobbling

The sound of a jelly [known as "Jello" in some parts of the world] wobbling has been recorded for the first time ever in a soundproof chamber at UCL.

The recording is being turned into a soundtrack for an architectural jelly banquet to be hosted at UCL at 8pm on 4 July 2008. The event, run by Bompas and Parr as part of the London Festival of Architecture, will see a troupe of dancers deliver a spoon-based performance to the soundtrack sampled from wobbling jellies and a delicious aroma of strawberries, and will feature jelly wrestling and other festive frolics.

So says a July 2, 2008 University College London press release.

(Thanks to investigator Caroline Richmond for bringing this to our attention.)