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Improbable Research
Marc Abrahams
109 episodes
1 week ago
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.
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Science
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All content for Improbable Research is the property of Marc Abrahams and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
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.
Show more...
Science
Episodes (20/109)
Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
15 minutes 6 seconds

Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
10 minutes 25 seconds

Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
10 minutes 34 seconds

Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
20 minutes 27 seconds

Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
12 minutes 49 seconds

Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
9 minutes 40 seconds

Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
13 minutes 30 seconds

Improbable Research
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

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3 years ago
9 minutes 53 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1087: “Modes of Cat-Human Communication”

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 #1087, Marc Abrahams presents the 2021 Ig Nobel Prize for Biology winners Susanne Schötz, Robert Eklund, and Joost van de Weijer. They received the prize for analyzing variations in purring, chirping, chattering, trilling, tweedling, murmuring, meowing, moaning, squeaking, hissing, yowling, howling, growling, and other modes of cat–human communication.

  • REFERENCE: “A Comparative Acoustic Analysis of Purring in Four Cats,” Susanne Schötz and Robert Eklund, Proceedings of Fonetik 2011, Speech, Music and Hearing, KTH, Stockholm, TMH-QPSR, 51.
  • REFERENCE: “A Phonetic Pilot Study of Vocalisations in Three Cats,” Susanne Schötz, Proceedings of Fonetik 2012, Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • REFERENCE: “A Phonetic Pilot Study of Chirp, Chatter, Tweet and Tweedle in Three Domestic Cats,” Susanne Schötz, Proceedings of Fonetik 2013, Linköping University, Sweden, 2013, pp. 65-68.
  • REFERENCE: “A Study of Human Perception of Intonation in Domestic Cat Meows,” Susanne Schötz and Joost van de Weijer, Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Speech Prosody, Dubin, Ireland, May 20-23, 2014.
  • REFERENCE: “Melody in Human–Cat Communication (Meowsic): Origins, Past, Present and Future,” Susanne Schötz, Robert Eklund, and Joost van de Weijer, 2016.

The video for this lecture—graphs, charts and all—can be found online at www.IMPROBABLE.com.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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3 years ago
13 minutes 1 second

Improbable Research
Episode #1086: “Beards and Face-Punching”

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 #1086, Marc Abrahams presents the 2020 Ig Nobel Peace Prize winners Ethan Beseris, Steven Naleway, and David Carrier. They received the prize for testing the hypothesis that humans evolved beards to protect themselves from punches to the face.

The video for this lecture—graphs, charts and all—can be found online at www.IMPROBABLE.com.


REFERENCE: “Impact Protection Potential of Mammalian Hair: Testing the Pugilism Hypothesis for the Evolution of Human Facial Hair,” Ethan A. Beseris, Steven E. laNeway, David R. Carrier, Integrative Organismal Biology, vol. 2, no. 1, 2020, obaa005.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Podcasts, AntennaPod, BeyondPod and elsewhere!

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3 years ago
8 minutes 39 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1085: "Mindful Dishwashing"

In Podcast Episode #1085, 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. You can also like Improbable Research on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!


Jean Berko Gleason encounters:

  • "Washing Dishes to Wash the Dishes: Brief Instruction in an Informal Mindfulness Practice," Adam W. Hanley, Alia R. Warner, Vincent M. Dehili, Angela I. Canto, and Eric L. Garland, Mindfulness, October 2015, vol. 6, no. 5, pp 1095-1103.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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3 years ago
9 minutes 59 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1084: “Chalk and Mathematicians”

In Podcast Episode #1084, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to biologist Dany Adams. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.


Dany Adams encounters:

  • "Chalk: Materials and concepts in mathematics research," Michael J. Barany Donald MacKenzie, in: C. Coopmans, M. Lynch, J. Vertesi and S. Woolgar (Eds) Representation in Scientific Practice Revisited, 2014, pp. 107–130 (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press).


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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4 years ago
11 minutes 26 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1083: “Faces and Smoked Ham”

In Podcast Episode #1083, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to biomedical researcher Chris Cotsapas. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.


Chris Cotsapas encounters:

  1. "Consumer Facial Expression in Relation to Smoked Ham With the Use of Face Reading Technology. The Methodological Aspects and Informative Value of Research Results," Eliza Kostyra, Bożena Waszkiewicz-Robak, Wacław Laskowski, Tadeusz Blicharski, and Ewa Poławska, Meat Science, vol. 119, September 2016, pp. 22–31.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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4 years ago
14 minutes 48 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1082: "The Man in the Black Bag"

In Podcast Episode #1082, 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:

  1. "Attitudinal effects of mere exposure," Robert B. Zajonc, Journal of personality and social psychology, vol. 9, no. 2, part 2, 1968.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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4 years ago
10 minutes 39 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1081: “Ear Bigness Through the Years”

In Podcast Episode #1081, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to biologist Dany Adams. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.


Dany Adams encounters:

"Ear size as a predictor of chronological age," R. Tan , V. Osman, and G. Tan, Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, vol. 25, 1997, pp. 187–191.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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4 years ago
15 minutes 17 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1080: “Pleasurability of Scratching an Itch”

In Podcast Episode #1080, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to biomedical researcher Chris Cotsapas. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.


Chris Cotsapas encounters:

"The Pleasurability of Scratching an Itch: A Psychophysical and Topographical Assessment," G.A. bin Saif, A.D.P. Papoiu, L. Banari, F. McGlone, S.G. Kwatra, Y.-H. Chan and G. Yosipovitch, British Journal of Dermatology 166, no. 5 (2012): 981-985.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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4 years ago
15 minutes 2 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1079: "Cats and Appropriate Music”

In Podcast Episode #1079, 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:

"Cats Prefer Species-Appropriate Music," Charles T. Snowdon, David Teie, and Megan Savage, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, vol. 166, 2015, pp. 106-111.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

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4 years ago
10 minutes 39 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1078: “Are People Happier on Weekends?”

In Podcast Episode #1078, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to biologist Dany Adams. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.


Dany Adams encounters:

"Weekends, work, and well-being: Psychological need satisfactions and day of the week effects on mood, vitality, and physical symptoms," Richard M. Ryan, Jessey H. Bernstein, and Kirk Warren Brown, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, vol. 29, no. 1 (2010): 95-122.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Podcasts, AntennaPod, BeyondPod and elsewhere!

Show more...
4 years ago
7 minutes 17 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1077: "Danger Assessment of Holy Water"

In Podcast Episode #1077, Marc Abrahams shows an unfamiliar research study to biomedical researcher Chris Cotsapas. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.


Chris Cotsapas encounters:

“Holy Water—A Risk Factor for Hospital-Acquired Infection,” J.C. Rees and K.D. Allen, Journal of Hospital Infection, vol. 32, no. 1, January 1996, pp. 51–5.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Podcasts, AntennaPod, BeyondPod and elsewhere!

Show more...
4 years ago
11 minutes 45 seconds

Improbable Research
Episode #1076: "Adventure of the Random Million Digits"

In Podcast Episode #1076, Robin Abrahams dramatically reads aloud selected highlights from a treasured collection of a million random digits.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.


Seth Gliksman, Production Assistant

Bruce Petschek, Producer (Original Recording)

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Podcasts, AntennaPod, BeyondPod and elsewhere!

Show more...
4 years ago
5 minutes 9 seconds

Improbable Research
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.