Pizza paper making the rounds
Our predatory paper about the Fishiness of Piscine Birds Linked to Absence of Poisonous Fungi but not Pizza seems to have touched a positive nerve. Martin and I have been referred to as geniuses, there’s hope for an IgNobel Prize (an idle hope, since they are only given for actual research), and people are crying with laughter, which in depressing times of isolation during COVID-19 is always a good thing. For the first time in my career, I feel like I did something good. Making people laugh seems more important than describing new species of fungi that no-one else really cares about. Below are some highlights after less than four days that the paper has been published.
Forgot which paper I am talking about? This is the GROUNDBREAKING research in which we predicted that penguins will re-evolve flight as poisonous fungi colonize the Antarctic if the temperature rises, and this decreased fishiness will increase the chances of you ordering a penguin pizza in the future. You can read the paper here: pdf or online.
Stervander M, Haelewaters D. 2020. Fishiness of piscine birds linked to absence of poisonous fungi but not pizza. Oceanography & Fisheries Open Access Journal 12(5): 555850.
How fun is it to bring surreal experiences to fellow science enthusiasts:
Only after the paper was published, Martin and I became of this thread that had been ongoing since June. Apparently, Dr. Robinson-Rechavi had been invited to review the manuscript. The poll he set up was a close call but he ended up not playing along, and rightfully so.
Two days. That’s all that was needed for the paper to be used as an example in class. Fastest turn-around of any of my papers from publication to being showcased!
And, finally, a fun thread in Spanish:
Note: I may have found myself a new goal. To win an IgNobel Prize.
