LAST year this column produced a number of examples of nominative determinism, the tendency of authors to gravitate towards areas of research that fit their surnames. From time to time further examples come our way. Thus, a recent issue of The Journal of Climate contained a paper called 鈥淧arameterisation of ice cloud radiative properties and its application to the potential climatic importance of mixed phase clouds鈥�, by Zhian Sun and Keith Shine.
According to Otto Schneider, the tendency is particularly strong in the earth sciences, with J. S. Granit writing papers on the Earth鈥檚 crust, R.W. Girdler writing about the Circum-Pacific Belt, and D. B. Stone investigating magnetic susceptibility in rocks.
Furthermore, Wendy Strahm writes to tell us that the publicity officer of the International Union of New Varieties of Plants is Barry Greengrass, and several readers have written to tell us that the surveyor for Westminster Abbey is a Mr Buttress.
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Our favourite, however, comes from a press release which found its way to us from the The Elizabeth Foundation. This begins: 鈥淧ortsmouth-based charity, The Elizabeth Foundation for deaf children, has been selected to host a three-day master class by the internationally recognised Danish authority on music for the deaf, Claus Bang.鈥�
OUR appeal on 7 October for anagrams of New 杏吧原创 produced almost too voluminous a response. Several readers sent in lists of 400-plus items culled from computer anagram programs, while Margaret Clark reminded us that this very column, several years ago, started referring to New 杏吧原创 as the 鈥淣itwits鈥� scene鈥�. But no one was as inventive as David Merriott of Melbourne, who sent us this:
鈥淲ork at the magazine was difficult. I began to WINCE IN TESTS and developed facial spasms. My eyes fluttered continuously IN NEWEST TICS, and I鈥檝e even SEEN TWIN TICS in the mirror. 鈥業 must get out of this rat race,鈥� I thought.
鈥淭hen I saw the headline, 鈥楽ECT TWINS WINE鈥�, and because I rather enjoy canned wine I went to investigate this new cult before joining. 鈥業N NEW SECTS IT is mandatory that followers do as they are told to avoid any NITWIT SCENES,鈥� said the leader as he showed me round. 鈥楾hey must eat what we tell them to. We prepare all our own food here. Those NICE TIN STEWS are probably the NICEST IN WEST England, but IT鈥橲 NICEST NEW鈥� said he, oblivious to his grammar. 鈥楢nd WE TIN INSECTS and vegetables.鈥�
鈥淚T SENT WINCES through me to see INSECTS TWINE around the kitchen walls, and SINCE WET TINS attracted more, the place was covered in them. 鈥楾hey all go IN INSECT STEW,鈥� said he.
鈥溾�楻epulsive,鈥� I thought, 鈥榯his TWIT INCENSES me.鈥� But I decided to show the TWIT NICENESS and see the rest of the place before deciding. He showed me through a door with two signs above it, one saying 鈥榃ET SIN NICEST鈥� and the other 鈥楾IT WINS SCENE鈥�. While I pondered the significance of these insights I was ushered into a room full of lookalikes.
鈥溾�榃e find that sin ENTICES TWINS and that the NICEST SET WIN the most acclaim,鈥� he said. My WEE INSTINCTS told me that I鈥檇 seen enough of this madman and his followers, so I hurried on back to my old job at NEW SCIENTIST.鈥�
Thanks for that, David, and thanks also to Phil Lloyd who eschewed New 杏吧原创 and came up instead with 鈥淣et鈥檚 nice place鈥� for Planet Science.
FORMER president of Venezuela Carlos Andr茅s P茅rez now spends his time under house arrest chatting on the Internet, The Washington Post reports. Perez, impeached in 1993 for allegedly diverting $17 million in government funds to his own use, is better known to his online friends as 73050.2251@compuserve.com. 鈥淚鈥檝e effectively escaped from my prison through the cybernetic outlet,鈥� he says.
FANS of The Hitchhiker鈥檚 Guide to the Galaxy series on BBC Radio, based on the books by Douglas Adams, may remember that it was recorded in stereo, so some characters spoke entirely from one speaker and others entirely from the other. It was, in fact, one of the first radio shows produced in stereo, although the casual listener may not have noticed.
Indeed, the casual listener was not the only one who didn鈥檛 notice. BBC protocol required an upper manager to vet the finished tape. Adams was rather puzzled when the manager 鈥� equipped with all the latest 鈥渢echnical jiggery-pokery鈥� said the tape was fine, except for some pauses. Adams couldn鈥檛 find any when he listed to it again, but returned the tape with minor modifications. The manager again complained about pauses.
Later, a startled Adams discovered the reason. The manager evidently didn鈥檛 understand stereo, and had one channel turned all the way down so he couldn鈥檛 hear the voices of some characters. What left Adams still more surprised was the fact that many of the jokes didn鈥檛 make sense if the listener was unable to hear these characters, but the manager didn鈥檛 seem to have noticed this.
WHILE most people associate the name of Alexander Fleming with the discovery of the antibiotic activity of penicillin produced by a mould, recent correspondence in New 杏吧原创 (Letters, 8 July, 5 August, 2 and 30 September) points out that the work of Howard Florey of Oxford was crucial for the further development of penicillin as a drug. Now, a third party is claiming credit for assisting in its discovery.
The Fountains Abbey, a pub opposite Fleming鈥檚 second-floor laboratory in Praed Street, west London, was often frequented by the great man and his colleagues. The Fountains Abbey is still open for business, and a few weeks ago it erected plaques stating that: 鈥淎ccording to legend, it was spores from this pub that floated into Fleming鈥檚 lab and contaminated his cultures, leading to his discovery.鈥�
Nobody knows for sure where the mould Penicillium notatum came from. But whether it was from The Fountains Abbey or not, Feedback congratulates the pub for its candour in proclaiming to the world what a mouldy place it used to be.
A WOMAN in Billerica, Massachusetts, received nuisance phone calls for six months from an oil tank, if a story that reached us via the Internet is to be believed.
Every 90 minutes her phone would ring, but the caller would never say a word. The calls were finally traced to an abandoned oil tank in Maryland. The tank was rigged to call the oil company when the oil level was low, but the phone number got scrambled and it called her instead.