Notices by Marc Abrahams (marcabrahams@mstdn.science)

RE: https://mastodon.social/@MikeElgan/116628156172886406

This suggests an alternate use for the phrase "red state". #ParlousFinancialState

RE: https://freeradical.zone/@FranceskaMann/116581229342138037

We live in the bets of all possible worlds.

Techniques of Successful Con Men: Nurture close relationships with people.
A headline in ProPublica, on March 5, 2026, says: “Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate — ProPublica is releasing a trove of disclosure records that detail the finances of more than 1,500 Trump appointees, including former lobbyists, industry executives and at least a dozen officials who declined to identify former clients.” https://improbablestuff.substack.com/p/con-men-work-with-organizations-that-042

Ig Nobel Show at LUND UNIVERSITY, Sweden — TUESDAY, April 21, 2026, 3:30 pm (European Central Time). The tickets are all booked, but you can watch the live webcast https://www.lu.se/evenemang/ig-nobel-euro-tour-i-lund

The Growth of Human Hair in Nude Mice https://improbable.com/2026/04/07/the-growth-of-human-hair-in-nude-mice/

VOLUNTEER TO HELP AT THE IG NOBEL PRIZE CEREMONY: After 35 years in the USA, the ceremony is moving to Europe. Anyone who would like to volunteer to help at the 36th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony (in Zurich in September) can meet with ceremony organizers Marc Abrahams and Mirko Bischofberger, to explore the possibilities. We'll meet up on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 10:00 am – noon — at ORBIZ Josef, Josefstrasse 214a, 8005, Zürich, SWITZERLAND. https://improbable.com/2026/03/10/the-ig-nobel-prize-ceremony-is-moving-to-europe-after-35-years-in-the-usa/

Patricia Fernández de Lis of the Spanish newspaper El País interviewed me about the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony moving to Europe. Here is the interview machine-translated into English. The original version, in Spanish of course, is on the El País web site. https://improbable.com/2026/03/15/el-pais-interview-about-the-ig-nobel-prizes-moving-to-europe/

NO KINGS DAY - March 28, 2026 #NoKings https://www.nokings.org/

No more "women". No more "pregnant". It's impressive that they keep finding new levels of viciousness:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is telling Head Start providers to avoid dozens of terms in federal grant applications, including 'race,' “belonging” and 'pregnant people' ... “Black,” “Native American,” “disability” and “women.” https://apnews.com/article/head-start-dei-women-race-599220b1cd39e3d6c585f8fe7811a59c

Anna Anandita joins the The Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists™ (LFHCfS) https://improbable.com/2026/01/06/anna-anandita-joins-the-the-luxuriant-flowing-hair-club-for-scientists-lfhcfs/

"The fact they chose to release it at a time when most Americans are not paying attention to the news tells you all you need to know about what Smith said.... 'developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power….'
It is against this backdrop that the Trump administration launched a strike against Venezuela" [Heather Cox Richardson] https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-3-2026

“Babies Love When Mom’s Milk Tastes Like Garlic” [632n interview with the researchers] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dVl0EMVntg

Here are the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners https://improbable.com/2025/09/18/here-are-the-2025-ig-nobel-prize-winners/

It's that time of year. Come to the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, or watch online. Thursday, Sept 18, 2025, 6 pm (US eastern time). 10 new winners, 6 Nobel laureates handing out the prizes, 1 new opera (this year’s is about gastroenterologists), 1 tribute to Tom Lehrer. And other stuff. Two livestreams, one in English, one in Japanese. https://improbable.com/the-35th-first-annual-ig-nobel-prize-ceremony/

"The last time I spoke with him was in 2000 when I attended Harvard’s notorious Ig-Nobel Prize event, of which he had been an initiator and remained very much involved despite having given up writing satire (How can you write satire when real life is even more absurd?) and reverted to academia. My task was to accept the ‘honour’ on behalf of an Australian woman whose book claimed people could exist on air instead of food.” https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/08/to-sum-up-tom-lehrer-and-john-stone/

The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes will be awarded at the 35th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, on Thursday evening, September 18, 2025. Ten new winners will be honored for doing things that make people LAUGH, then THINK. TICKETS to attend the ceremony will go on sale in late July, via the ceremony web page. https://improbable.com/the-35th-first-annual-ig-nobel-prize-ceremony/

That wording is the same kind of mumbling stuff you'd hear — any year, anywhere, in any crummy bar — from a down-and-out guy who's nursing his fifth beer and muttering about why everyone else in the bar is staying at least ten feet away from him.

In the US medical insurance business, the notion of #woke is getting a whole new meaning: "Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Won’t Pay for the Complete Duration of Anesthesia for Patients’ Surgical Procedures" https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2024/11/anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield-will-not-pay-complete-duration-of-anesthesia-for-surgical-procedures

"Okinawa in Japan is one of these zones. There was a Japanese government review in 2010, which found that 82% of the people aged over 100 in Japan turned out to be dead. The secret to living to 110 was, don’t register your death." https://theconversation.com/the-data-on-extreme-human-ageing-is-rotten-from-the-inside-out-ig-nobel-winner-saul-justin-newman-239023

Tomorrow: the Ig Nobel Prizes... https://improbable.com/2024/09/11/one-day-until-the-ig-nobel/