April 25, 1996 Contact: Amy Adams or Robert Irion (408/459-2495)

IMPROBABLE RESEARCH TALK TO BE HELD AT UC SANTA CRUZ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Have you ever wondered about the taxonomy of Barney? If cats react differently to bearded men? Whether you can actually compare apples and oranges? These and other unlikely research topics have found their way into The Annals of Improbable Research, the sponsor of Harvard University's yearly Ig Nobel prizes.

Marc Abrahams, editor of The Annals of Improbable Research, will speak at UC Santa Cruz on Thursday, May 2. His seminar and slide show, titled "Advances in Improbable Research," begins at 7:30 p.m. in room 150, Stevenson College. Admission is free.

The talk will include highlights from last year's Ig Nobel ceremonies, which celebrated research that "cannot or should not be reproduced." Winning topics included an analysis of soggy breakfast cereal, teaching pigeons to distinguish between the works of Monet and Picasso, the impact of wet underwear on the health of Danish citizens, and a patient preference study on waxed versus unwaxed dental floss. Abrahams encourages heckling, lab coats, and other appropriate or inappropriate regalia.

The Science Communication Program at UCSC is sponsoring the lecture by Abrahams. For more information, call the program at (408) 459-4475.

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