Improbable Research

Marc Abrahams
  • 4.6 (9)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

Research that makes people LAUGH, then THINK — research about anything and everything, from everywhere —research that's good or bad, important or trivial, valuable or worthless. Presented by Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony.

  1. 05/22/2022

    Episode #1095: “Saliva and Frog Puppets”

    In Podcast Episode #1095, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue. Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public. Jean Berko Gleason encounters: “A Salivary Collection Method for Young Children,” Laura K. Zimmermann, Psychophysiology, vol. 45, no. 3, May 2008, pp. 353-355. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    15 min

  2. 05/08/2022

    Episode #1094: “Can You Navigate in a Crowd, While Distracted by Your Mobile Phone?”

    The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK. In the Ig Informal Lectures, some days after the ceremony, the new Ig Nobel Prize winners attempt to explain what they did, and why they did it. We released these lectures one at a time. In Podcast Episode #1094, Marc Abrahams presents the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize for Kinetics winners Hisashi Murakami, Claudio Feliciani, Yuta Nishiyama, and Katsuhiro Nishinari. They received the prize for conducting experiments to learn why pedestrians do sometimes collide with other pedestrians. REFERENCE: “Mutual Anticipation Can Contribute to Self-Organization in Human Crowds,” Hisashi Murakami, Claudio Feliciani, Yuta Nishiyama, and Katsuhiro Nishinari, Science Advances, vol. 7, no. 12, 2021, p. eabe7758. The video for this lecture—graphs, charts and all—can be found online at www.IMPROBABLE.com. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    10 min

  3. 04/24/2022

    Episode #1093: “Why Pedestrians Do Not Constantly Collide”

    The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK. In the Ig Informal Lectures, some days after the ceremony, the new Ig Nobel Prize winners attempt to explain what they did, and why they did it. We released these lectures one at a time. In Podcast Episode #1093, Marc Abrahams presents the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize for Physics winners Alessandro Corbetta, Jasper Meeusen, Chung-min Lee, Roberto Benzi, and Federico Toschi. They received the prize for conducting experiments to learn why pedestrians do not constantly collide with other pedestrians. REFERENCE: “Physics-based modeling and data representation of pairwise interactions among pedestrians,” Alessandro Corbetta, Jasper A. Meeusen, Chung-min Lee, Roberto Benzi, and Federico Toschi, Physical Review E, vol. 98, no. 062310, 20188. The video for this lecture—graphs, charts and all—can be found online at www.IMPROBABLE.com. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    11 min

  4. 04/10/2022

    Episode #1092: “The Bacteria in Discarded, Chewed Chewing Gum”

    The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK. In the Ig Informal Lectures, some days after the ceremony, the new Ig Nobel Prize winners attempt to explain what they did, and why they did it. We released these lectures one at a time. In Podcast Episode #1092, Marc Abrahams presents the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize for Ecology winners Leila Satari, Alba Guillén, Àngela Vidal-Verdú, and Manuel Porcar. They received the prize for using genetic analysis to identify the different species of bacteria that reside in wads of discarded chewing gum stuck on pavements in various countries. REFERENCE: “The Wasted Chewing Gum Bacteriome,” Leila Satari, Alba Guillén, Àngela Vidal-Verdú, and Manuel Porcar, Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 16846, 2020. The video for this lecture—graphs, charts and all—can be found online at www.IMPROBABLE.com. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    20 min

  5. 03/27/2022

    Episode #1091: “Hula Hoop Syndrome”

    In Podcast Episode #1091, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue. Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public. Jean Berko Gleason encounters: “Hula-Hoop Syndrome,” Zafar H. Zaidi, Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 80, no. 9, May 1, 1959, pp. 715-716. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    13 min

  6. 03/13/2022

    Episode #1090: “Obesity of Politicians, Corruption in Countries”

    The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK. In the Ig Informal Lectures, some days after the ceremony, the new Ig Nobel Prize winners attempt to explain what they did, and why they did it. We released these lectures one at a time. In Podcast Episode #1090, Marc Abrahams presents the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize for Economics winners Pavlo Blavatskyy. They received the prize for discovering that the obesity of a country’s politicians may be a good indicator of that country’s corruption. REFERENCE: “Obesity of Politicians and Corruption in Post‐Soviet Countries,” Pavlo Blavatskyy, Economic of Transition and Institutional Change, vol. 29, no. 2, 2021, pp. 343-356. The video for this lecture—graphs, charts and all—can be found online at www.IMPROBABLE.com. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    10 min

  7. 02/27/2022

    Episode #1089: “Inverted Rhino Translocation”

    The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK. In the Ig Informal Lectures, some days after the ceremony, the new Ig Nobel Prize winners attempt to explain what they did, and why they did it. We released these lectures one at a time. In Podcast Episode #1089, Marc Abrahams presents the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize for Transportation winners Robin Radcliffe, Mark Jago, Peter Morkel, Estelle Morkel, Pierre du Preez, Piet Beytell, Birgit Kotting, Bakker Manuel, Jan Hendrik du Preez, Michele Miller, Julia Felippe, Stephen Parry, and Robin Gleed. They received the prize for determining by experiment whether it is safer to transport an airborne rhinoceros upside-down. REFERENCE: “The Pulmonary and Metabolic Effects of Suspension by the Feet Compared with Lateral Recumbency in Immobilized Black Rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) Captured by Aerial Darting,” Robin W. Radcliffe, Mark Jago, Peter vdB Morkel, Estelle Morkel, Pierre du Preez, Piet Beytell, Birgit Kotting, Bakker Manuel, Jan Hendrik du Preez, Michele A. Miller, Julia Felippe, Stephen A Parry; R.D. Gleed, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 57, no. 2, 2021, 357–367. The video for this lecture—graphs, charts and all—can be found online at www.IMPROBABLE.com. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    14 min

  8. 02/13/2022

    Episode #1088: “Cursing Babinski”

    In Podcast Episode #1088, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue. Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public. Jean Berko Gleason encounters: “The Babinski Sign,” P.H.W. Rayner, British Medical Journal, vol. 314, February 1997, p. 374. Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

    10 min
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4.6
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Research that makes people LAUGH, then THINK — research about anything and everything, from everywhere —research that's good or bad, important or trivial, valuable or worthless. Presented by Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony.

Information

  • Creator
    Marc Abrahams
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2022
  • Episodes
    109
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Marc Abrahams
  • Show Website
    Improbable Research

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