The Jan. 8, 1996, issue of The Scientist contains a letter that seems to say, if I understand it correctly, that I do not exist [G.H. Scherr, page 12]. The letter concerns the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) and the publication I used to edit, the Journal of Irreproducible Results (JIR).

I was especially surprised and delighted to read that "neither Abrahams nor the AIR were ever associated with the Ig Nobel Prize." In 1991, I created and hosted the (now) annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremonies, which were held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the first four years and at Harvard University this past October.

Scherr also says that he was "the editor" of JIR "during the entire period" of JIR's existence. 'Taint so on either count. A look at the old JIR mastheads (available in any fine library) shows that Alexander Kohn and Harry Lipkin...

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