Scientific Spoofs

Having worked on chemoreception, I read David Hambling’s piece on human pheromones [FT384:15] with interest. Olfactants have been claimed to affect various types of human behaviour for a long time; so why not a contraceptive that could be sniffed? In 1965 a JS Greenstein published a spoof paper in a respected journal about a fictitious contraceptive that had its effect via the olfactory system1. He called his invention Armpitin and gave it a chemical formula that included several nitroso groups (represented by the symbol NO). The more NOs there were the more effective the chemical was as a contraceptive. The paper was apparently seriously reviewed in an annual review of Pharmacology, and Greenstein was said to have received various requests from pharmaceutical companies about the patent. If anyone really took this seriously, they couldn’t have picked up on clues in the title or bothered to read the references. One sentence read: “One must also admit to a measure of inspiration that can only be described as heaven-sent” – and carried a reference to a personal communication from a certain Gabriel, A.

Many forteans will know Isaac Asimov’s spoofs in Astounding Science Fiction ona time-travelling molecule 2 and a goose that lays golden eggs,3 but those published in ‘serious’ scientific journals can be even more fortean. A favourite of mine is one on dragons by Peter Hogarth. Not only is the paper4 fun but a follow-up review5 and a response6 from the author were both published in the eminent journal Nature.

NOTES

1 Julius S Greenstein, ‘Studies on a New, Peerless Contraceptive Agent: A Preliminary and Final Report’ (Canad. Med. Ass. J., 25 Dec 1965, vol.93, pp1351-1355).

2 I Asimov, ‘The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline’ (Astounding Science Fiction ,Mar 1948).

3 I Asimov, ‘Pate de Foie Gras’ (Astounding Science Fiction, Sept 1956).

4 Peter Hogarth, ‘Ecological Aspects of Dragons’ (Bull. Brit. Ecol. Soc. 1976, vol.7(2), pp2-5).

5 Robert M May, ‘The Ecology of Dragons’ (Nature, 4 Dec 1976, vol.264, pp16-17).

6 Peter Hogarth, “The Ecology of Dragons: a reply’ (Nature, 16 Dec 1976, vol.264, p607).

Ron Gardner

Upton Snodsbury, Worcestershire