Annals of Improbable Research Goes Free Online 50

Posted by Zonk on Friday December 28, 2007 @02:41PM from the inconceivable-they're-gaining dept.

prostoalex writes "The Annals of Improbable Research, a scientific publication that hosts the annual Ig Nobel awards, has decided to offer its publication free online, News.com reports. According to the journal Web site, visitors can view HTML articles with low-res images or download low-res PDFs for free. High-resolution PDFs and 'traditional on-the-toilet-readable paper-and-ink' issues are still available for a subscription fee."

Annals of Improbable Research Goes Free Online

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Fond memories of bygone days (Score:3, Funny)

by davidwr ( 791652 ) writes: on Friday December 28, 2007 @02:43PM (#21842082) Homepage Journal

I seem to remember some journal of a similar nature. It was run by a great group of people. They had a management change and the new management had trouble reproducing the previous staff's results in the humor department.

- Re:Fond memories of bygone days (Score:4, Informative)
  
  by DynaSoar ( 714234 ) writes: on Friday December 28, 2007 @03:13PM (#21842358) Journal
  
  You're remembering the Journal of Irreproducible Research, aad you're misremembering the details.
  The JIR was purchased by Blackwell Scientific. The staff had a hard time reproducing the good results they had working with their previous publisher, and indeed producing anything at all. The staff quit, and formed AIR.
  
  - Re:Fond memories of bygone days (Score:4, Informative)
    
    by kalirion ( 728907 ) writes: on Friday December 28, 2007 @04:10PM (#21842914)
    
    You mean Journal of Irreproducible Results [wikipedia.org].
    
    - Re: (Score:2)
      
      by DynaSoar ( 714234 ) writes:
      
      kalirion (728907) sez:
      "You mean Journal of Irreproducible Results."
      
      Of course I do. I was published in that too, so I misremember it accurately.
      
      Read what I mean, not what I write. Oh, you already did.
    - Re: (Score:2)
      
      by smittyoneeach ( 243267 ) * writes:
      
      Or, more directly: http://www.jir.com/ [jir.com]
      Check out the "Pullet Surprise"
- Re: (Score:3, Funny)
  
  by jandrese ( 485 ) writes:
  
  For a second I thought you were talking about Mad Magazine.
- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by fermion ( 181285 ) writes:
  
  It was the JIR. It focuses more on the research that could not or should not be reprodcued, and therein lies the humor. Irreproducible research.
  My favorite was the national geographic as the doomsday machine [jir.com]. It seems to now be a running joke. I notice on the AIR site, national geographic subscriptions are heavily pushed, so one can see on which side of science they are on.
Dear Annals of Improbable Research: (Score:2, Funny)

by sm62704 ( 957197 ) writes:

Welcome to the 21st century.
Not taking slashdotters into account there (Score:3, Funny)

by m50d ( 797211 ) writes: on Friday December 28, 2007 @02:49PM (#21842164) Homepage Journal

I can read this just fine on the toilet using my PDA and wifi.

- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by rts008 ( 812749 ) writes:
  
  At least the 'made from dead trees' version still has utility in this scenario....let's see you wipe your ass with your wireless and PDA when you are: *to the tune of the old TV series "Branded" theme song (western starring Chuck Connors back in the 1960's)*
  "Stranded on the toilet bowl, what do you do when your stranded without a roll?
  You can prove you're a man by using your hand...when your stranded, on the toilet bowl.
  What do you do when your stranded without a roll?"
- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by Warbothong ( 905464 ) writes:
  
  Just hope that the splash you just heard was a result of your bowel movements...
- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by riskeetee ( 1039912 ) writes:
  
  "I'd like to return this." "Um, I'm sorry sir, this PDA has been flagged."
- Re: (Score:3, Informative)
  
  by cp.tar ( 871488 ) writes:
  
  I can read this just fine on the toilet using my PDA and wifi.
  
  If you have something to stand it on, a laptop works just fine, too.
- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by davidwr ( 791652 ) writes:
  
  These "Annals of Improbable Research" are of dubious value to the public and I can hardly see a reason for them being published on the web other than for the purpose of humor. [emphasis added]
  Maybe, but it's humor value is off the charts high.
slashdotted (Score:1, Funny)

by sneakyimp ( 1161443 ) writes:

the site is too busy.
- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by jcaldwel ( 935913 ) writes:
  
  The Coral Cache version of the first two links:
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wiki/Annals_of_Improbable_Research [nyud.net]
  http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9837983-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&coral-no-serve [news.com]
  I couldn't find cache on the third link, but the original appears to be up-ish (Up but slow)
  http://www.improbable.com/magazine [improbable.com]
  - Re: (Score:1)
    
    by jcaldwel ( 935913 ) writes:
    
    Err... the second link must have 301'd or 302'd me back to news.com... nevertheless, it seems to be up.
Another option needed. (Score:2, Funny)

by palegray.net ( 1195047 ) writes:

...High-resolution PDFs and 'traditional on-the-toilet-readable paper-and-ink' issues are still available...
Can I just pay a for low-resolution version printed on actual toilet paper instead? I guess that would make each article a one-time read, though...
- Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
  
  by Rude Turnip ( 49495 ) writes:
  
  I've always found their publication soft and absorbent.
  - Re: (Score:3, Funny)
    
    by palegray.net ( 1195047 ) writes:
    
    I'll file that one under "Annals of Improbable Product Usage."
    - Re: (Score:1)
      
      by dgun ( 1056422 ) writes:
      
      Annals of Improbable Product Usage
      
      or Anals
- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by blind monkey 3 ( 773904 ) writes:
  
  not necessarily...
- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by contrapunctus ( 907549 ) writes:
  
  traditional on-the-toilet-readable
  This would make a good iPhone slogan.
- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by shadowbearer ( 554144 ) writes:
  
  Who has the time to read an article twice?
  
  SB
A really small audience. (Score:2)

by Ancient_Hacker ( 751168 ) writes:

If this is the journal I'm thinking of, it's only of interest to a certain teensy demographic, those that have labored for months to years writing, editing, and re-editing a scientific paper.
Only then do these parodies have any jocular impact.
- Re: (Score:1, Informative)
  
  by Anonymous Coward writes:
  
  The predecessor pub was the Journal of Irreproducible Results. TFS should have perhaps stipulated that AIR is a scientific journal parody. I disagree about the narrow focus - lampooning the cosmetic ads in women's supermarket mags as scientific break throughs are pretty funny to me. Make that a slightly wider than teensy readership.
  - Re:A really small audience. (Score:4, Informative)
    
    by uglyduckling ( 103926 ) writes: on Friday December 28, 2007 @04:06PM (#21842882) Homepage
    
    It's not a scientific journal parody, the majority of the articles published are genuine research, just research that could be regarded as improbable and amusing, like functional MRI images of people chewing gum. In fact, lots of journals carry light-hearted or off-the-wall research (check out the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal [bmj.com]) but with AIR it's the rule rather than the exception.
    
- Re: (Score:2)
  
  by Antique Geekmeister ( 740220 ) writes:
  
  Oh, I've read a few issues. Most of them are dreck, but a few are so funny they make up for the rest. The presentation for the coffee made by having animals eat the beans, and using the semi-digested beans from their feces took me 5 minutes to stop laughing when I saw the video of the awards ceremenony.
  
  Who knew the real Nobel Prize winners who were giving the awards could be so funny?
From TFA (Score:1)

by Lord of Hyphens ( 975895 ) writes:

...an Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, who invented a chemical weapon that when dropped causes heterosexual men to become attracted to each other...
Am I one of the few people wondering about the specifics of that weapon? Or why the Navy isn't developing it?

Hrm.. found a few links here [newscientist.com] and here [sunshine-project.org]. Cache of Ignoble's page as it's currently under /. [64.233.169.104]
- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by psued0ch ( 1200431 ) writes:
  
  For the record, the Department Of Defense had made backup plans to use this substance against the Serbs in 1994.
SLASHDOTTED! (Score:2)

by Brett Buck ( 811747 ) writes:

Took at least 1/2 hour - are we losing our touch?

Brett
- Re: (Score:1)
  
  by RealGrouchy ( 943109 ) writes:
  
  Quickly, indeed. How improbable is that?
  
  Of course, since their site is down, I guess we'll never know!
  
  - RG>
Wonderful for research (Score:1)

by SleptThroughClass ( 1127287 ) writes:

This is wonderful news for those needing to search improbable research. We'll be able to almost read their almost results.
Vol 1, Issue 2 (Score:2)

by DynaSoar ( 714234 ) writes:

Teachers' Guide: "Attention Getting Mechanism". Yes, I actually did/do this in my classes.

Also made the The Best of AIR. I'm more proud of it than I am any of my other research, even the one referenced in 'Thank You For Smoking' ("Why, they've just found that smoking can offset Parkinson's disease!")

But it was my (now replaced) picture in the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists, wearing a hot pink tutu, chartreuse fishnet panty hose and black cowboy boots for a concert performance, that made my previ
What is it? Wikipedia to the rescue... (Score:1)

by ComputerPhreak ( 1057874 ) writes:

Since I had no idea what this publication was about, I'll spare you the trouble of having to look it up:

The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to scientific humour, in the form of a satirical take on the standard academic journal. AIR, published six times a year since 1995, usually showcases at least one piece of scientific research being done on a strange or unexpected topic, but most of their articles concern real or fictional absurd experiments, such as a comparison
skimming (Score:2)

by Wordsmith ( 183749 ) writes:

I really have to stop skimming headlines. I swore this said "Anal-probing research goes online."
the annals are also availble elsewhere (Score:1)

by InfoHighwayRoadkill ( 454730 ) writes:

They are hosted on ingentaconnect.com (who I happen to work for) A particularly fine article that is available for free there is this one on chickens [ingentaconnect.com]. You can also see it being presented on youtube [youtube.com]
Ohhh, ow, ow, ow ... (Score:2)

by RockDoctor ( 15477 ) writes:

In blatant violation of Slashdot's normal practices, I have RTFA and indeed RTFAIR. I stopped at this wonderful snippet (from this year's Jan-Feb) issue :
J. Hardwicke, C.S. Azad and J.K.G. Laitung, Injury Extra, vol. 37, no. 1, January 2006, pp. 34-5.
`A 25-year-old man was admitted under our care after referral from a local Accident and Emergency Department. Whilst intoxicated the previous night, the patient had fallen asleep at a friend's house and was victim to a "practical joke". He had fallen asleep, fu
Somehow i read that as... (Score:1)

by eZtaR ( 764650 ) writes:

Anal Probe Research Goes Free Online.. What a coincidence, it's 13:37 xD
A Huge Step Forward For Science .. (Score:1)

by Toad-san ( 64810 ) writes:

A huge step forward for science!

Or not.

Never the less, I still intend to faithfully stay current with all that improbabability. Probably.

Toadsan

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Fond memories of bygone days (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Fond memories of bygone days (Score:4, Informative)

Re:Fond memories of bygone days (Score:4, Informative)

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Dear Annals of Improbable Research: (Score:2, Funny)

Not taking slashdotters into account there (Score:3, Funny)

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Re: (Score:3, Informative)

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slashdotted (Score:1, Funny)

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Another option needed. (Score:2, Funny)

Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

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A really small audience. (Score:2)

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Re:A really small audience. (Score:4, Informative)

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From TFA (Score:1)

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SLASHDOTTED! (Score:2)

Re: (Score:1)

Wonderful for research (Score:1)

Vol 1, Issue 2 (Score:2)

What is it? Wikipedia to the rescue... (Score:1)

skimming (Score:2)

the annals are also availble elsewhere (Score:1)

Ohhh, ow, ow, ow ... (Score:2)

Somehow i read that as... (Score:1)

A Huge Step Forward For Science .. (Score:1)

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