A proposal to save the Grand Canyon by filling it with styrofoam piffles. The role Jell-O played in the mass extinction of dinosaurs. Why men's beards trigger hysteria and antipathy in cats. JIR is definitely still at it, and from hypothesis to experiment to conclusion here are 150 startling new discoveries reported in the pages of The Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results, the magazine for biologists, protozoologists, mathematicians, astrophysicists, clinical psychologists, and physiographers. Selection of the Library of Science Book Club.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS OF INCONCLUSIVE INVESTIGATIONS AND OBSCURE NONFINDINGS
For nearly four decades, the wackier writings of Nobel laureates, doctors, biologists, mathematicians, astrophysicists, clinical psychologists, and assorted Ph.D.s have been faithfully recorded in the Journal of Irreproducible Results, the only scientific journal with a sense of humor. Articles featured in More of the Best of the Journal include:
"FELINE REACTIONS TO BEARDED MEN"
. . . with its startling discovery that 26% of cats exposed to a photograph of Robert Bork's beard suffered paralysis of the legs and body, while 31% showed other types of severe distress.
"SURVIVAL STRATEGIES AMONG ANIMAL CRACKERS"
. . . and its helpful suggestions to the cookie manufacturer on how to separate predators from prey.
"PATTERNS OF LIMB RETENTION IN HELLENIC STATUARY"
. . . and its intriguing findings on the connection between the lack of arms on ancient Greek statues and the overabundance of arms on Hindu statues.
"TITULAR DOMINANCE IN 'I LOVE LUCY'"
. . . which yields the dramatic theory that by 1957 not only had American females usurped males as dominant members of society, but that men were even losing prominence to children.
"A BRIEFER HISTORY OF TIME"
. . . Bang!
Praise for the first collection of The Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results:
"Who says scientists don't have a sense of humor?"
(Washington Post Book World)
"A most enjoyable book."
(People)
"Is it funny? The answer is yes."
(Discover)
"This frothy paperback is scarcely designed to enhance the expertise of members of our profession. . . but would not make the least substantial addition to a technical library."
(Journal of the American Chemical Society)
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PURCHASERS:
The Entire Physical Universe, Including This Book, May One Day Collapse Back Into an Infinitesimally Small Space. Should Another Universe Subsequently Reemerge, the Existence of This Book in That Universe Cannot Be Guaranteed.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very funny, but only for the scientifically inclined...,
By Phaedrus (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sex as a Heap of Malfunctioning Rubble: More of the Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results (And Further Improbabilities : More of the Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results) (Paperback)
This book is largely a collection of silly experiments--likethe testing of bricks for infectious diseases, or the reactions ofcats to photographs of men with various styles of beards--written up in the style of a scientific research paper, complete with footnotes. Most of the material is written in a very dry, technical style, which is exactly what makes it so funny--_if_ you're a scientist, or if you've at least been exposed to scientific journals in the past. If you do not fall into this category, you'll be left wondering what could possibly be the least bit funny about this nonsense; so if you're buying this as a gift, choose your recipient very carefully. If you're interested in this book, you should also have a good look at The Best of Annals of Irreproducible Research; it's a collection of the same sort of material, and I found it to be a bit funnier than this collection. Both are very worthwhile to the right audience.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fractal Breakfast Cereal,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sex as a Heap of Malfunctioning Rubble: More of the Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results (And Further Improbabilities : More of the Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results) (Paperback)
While I guess that I like this book, I don't really think that it's up to the lofty standards of 'The Journal of Irreproducible Results' or the latter day 'Annals of Improbable Research'. In this volume there are several wonderful articles such as "Preserving the Grand Canyon: Final Report" in which the author proposes filling the Grand Canyon with Styrofoam peanuts of various types, and "A Decade of Burnt Food" by the founder and curator of the Museum of Burnt Food. Unfortunately, the real gems here are relatively few and far between, and occasion the articles get into heavy-handed political criticism, especially in the Ig Nobel Prizes section, which I found to be inappropriate, irrelevant to science generally, and a put off. Fundamentally, "The Best of Annals of Improbable Research", with many of the same cast of characters is a by far funnier (and genuinely science driven) book than this one, so for my money, between the two, I would go for "The Best of Annals of Improbable Research" without hesitation. The primary difference between the two is a matter of degree: both show science at its most ludicrous, and both use bizarrely convoluted 'experiments' (actual or imagined) and brazen misinterpretations to make for amusing pseudo-scientific reading. "The Best of Annals of Improbable Research", though, is much more rigorously scientifically based, whereas most of "Sex as a Heap of Malfunctioning Rubble" is mostly simple fiction in scientific garb. Yes, it is still funny, but given the wealth of articles published over the years in 'The Journal of Irreproducible Results' it could have been much, much funnier. I would recommend a subscription to the 'Annals of Improbable Research' magazine or a copy of "The Best of Annals of Improbable Research" instead of this book. Normally I think both AIR and JIR are too short, and I can't get enough. With "Sex as a Heap of Malfunctioning Rubble", I just wanted to get the book over with.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
JIR's been funnier,
By
This review is from: Sex as a Heap of Malfunctioning Rubble: More of the Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results (And Further Improbabilities : More of the Best of the Journal of Irreproducible Results) (Paperback)
As an avid reader of the "Best of JIR" books for many years, I didn't find this volume nearly as roll-on-the-floor funny as previous volumes. However, there are some real gems in here.
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