Improbable Research

In November 1995 Fast Company magazine investigated an example of “everyone knows that…” science:

Manfred Kets de Vries published the fable in his recent book, “Life and Death in the Executive Fast Lane”:

“Take a pot of hot water and a frog. Throw the frog into the pot. What do you think will happen? The obvious, of course: the frog will jump out. Who likes hanging around in a pot of hot water? Now … [t]ake a pot of cold water, put the frog in it, and place the pot on the stove. Turn on the heat. This time something different will occur. The frog, because of the incremental change in temperature, will not notice that it is slowly being boiled. Unfortunately, many organizations, as they grow, begin to resemble the boiled frog.”

Fast Company’s investigative team, the “Consultant Debunking Unit”, put the frog story to the test….

(Thanks to investigator Mark Dionne and several others for bringing this to our attention.)

Fingernails on a blackboard. Why does the very phrase send chills down one’s back? The question has annoyed scientists for at least 2,300 years. Aristotle mentioned “hard sounds”, but didn’t try very hard to explain them.

In the mid-1980s, three scientists subjected volunteers to a battery of electronically synthesised nails-on-blackboard screeching. D Lynn Halpern, Randolph Blake and James Hillenbrand, at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, published details in the journal Perception and Psychophysics. They called their study “Psychoacoustics of a Chilling Sound“.

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

Smoking and Obesity May Increase the Risk of Erectile Dysfunction

Boston, MA — A prospective study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has found that obesity and smoking are strongly associated with a greater risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). Meanwhile, regular physical activity appeared to have a significant impact on lowering the risk of ED. This is the first large-scale prospective study to examine the links between ED and smoking, obesity, alcohol and a sedentary lifestyle. The study appears in the July 2006 issue of The Journal of Urology…

So explains a June 27, 2006 press release.

(Thanks to investigator Sam Ripley for bringing this to our attention. Investigator Ripley writes: “This certainly accords with my experience. But in some cultures fat, smoky women may be attractive.” )

“Improbable Medical Review” is a column that appears in every issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. The column from the May/June 2006 issue also appears online. It gives citations on the following topics:

Shodden Freud

Hamburger: Harmonica

Tales of the Unexpected: Responses of Mistreated Patients

A Loud Noise in the Service of Sleep

Baby Mathematics

That final item refers to a medical study titled “An Empirical Study of Freud?s Penis-Baby Equation.”

Of all the libraries in all the world, which is the most addictive — and the most mysterious? Perhaps it’s The National Library of Addictions.

This addictive entity is located in Brookline, Massachusetts. Founded by Punyamurtula S. Kishore, M.D., M.P.H., it is said to be “an intellectual gathering place for health care professionals and community members.”

The institution is little known to the library-loving public, and information about it is scarce.

Many questions present themselves. What addictions are kept in the library’s collection, and which of them are available for use by the public? Which of these addictions can be taken out on loan? Is there a children’s room, or is the library open only to adults?

Bibliophiles note with pleasure that the library appears to own at least one book.