READER Laurel Daniel says she knows we have said we don’t want any more examples of nominative determinism, but she still thinks we might be interested in the convergence of name and talent demonstrated by Jolee Bacon, the Idaho woman who won first place in the Nez Perce County Fair hog-calling contest.
A short trawl of a famous web search engine (FWSE) reveals that 2008 was the first year that women – not only of Idaho () but also of Illinois () – started to beat men in these hog-calling contests, which involve squealing, oinking, snorting and generally making noises like a pig.
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We were pleased to learn this, and we were also pleased to be informed by Meredith Lloyd-Evans that he recently came across the headline “Swine Vets Invited to Apply for Hogg Scholarship”. This was followed by the explanation: “The American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation is to offer the Hogg Scholarship, established to honour the memory of longtime AASV member and swine industry leader, Dr Alex Hogg.”
Meredith tells us that this information was “gleaned in surprise” not from the FWSE but from , which is a mine of information about all things swiney.
Turning to something quite different, Ben Haller tells us of a paper in Science () entitled “Evolutionary origins for social vocalization in a vertebrate hindbrain-spinal compartment” one of whose authors is A. H. Bass. The paper is actually about fish, Ben tells us, and the vocalisations are of the low-frequency variety, making Bass a rare example of double nominative determinism.
THE latest unusual unit to join the Titanic (weight), the Wales (area), the Olympic swimming pool (volume), the African elephant (large size) and the Kylie Minogue (small size) is the kiloSteve (Steves), which was coined this month by . In a parody of creationist lists of “scientists against evolution”, Project Steve has been gathering names of scientists in favour of evolution – as long as their name is Steve (or equivalent). The thousandth such Steve has now signed up, hence the kiloSteve.
We are sure this new unit will be invaluable in enabling people to comprehend large quantities of Steves. It could also highlight a dangerous decline in their number. The current population of Steves in the US is 2924 kiloSteves (according to the 1990 census, and including Stevens, Stephens, Steves, Stephanies and Stefanies). But the birth rate in 2005 was a mere 12.8 kiloSteves per year, far short of replacement level. This becomes more serious if you consider that when the census was taken, the US population density was a scant 304 nanoSteves per square metre.
It is with sadness that we note in conclusion that while the Henry is a well established SI unit (measuring inductance), the Système International does not yet employ the Steve or its derived units. However, stephanometrology is a young science so hope remains that it will soon be given proper recognition.
ON THE TV dinner that Hanne Pederson bought at a Sainsbury’s supermarket was a guarantee saying: “We’re sure you’ll love this product. If you don’t, simply return for a full refund.”
Hanne points out that this offer implies they are not so sure the product will be loved after all, to which Feedback adds, delicately: “How pristine does it have to be for them to accept a return?”
“I did think of that as well,” says Hanne. “If you decide you don’t like the meal, it implies that you have eaten it already. In that case, there is only one way of returning it that I can think of, and it’s not going to go down well at the customer help desk.”
“Philip Hole felt the message he received from Scottish Power was a bit back-to-front: “If you receive this email by mistake, please delete it then advise the sender immediately by reply email”
A PIECE of paper floats to the surface of our filing system from 2008, and we find Emily Ackerman telling us about an advertisement in the medical section of Woman & Home magazine offering trips to a clinic in Bratislava for orthopaedic surgery: “We are offering hip and knee replacements, keyhole surgery, replacement of any other limbs you might have a problem with.”
Emily wonders which limbs they have in mind, how they are going to replace them, “and, er, what with?”
FINALLY, Sam Joyce-Farley was surprised and a little disturbed at the claim on his pack of Oberto dried beef . The pack told him: “The meat contained herein… is derived from animals that received ante and postmortem inspection and were found sound and healthy.”