Humor in Medicine and Academia

We all need a laugh. Gott in Himmel Knows it. With that being said, here is a collection of items that may spark some hint of a smile for those in medicine and academia.

PHDComics

This. This is an amazing collection of comics by an individual who has gone through the rigors of attaining a Doctorate in XYZ. The artist/author now conducts talks internationally at multiple institutions, with alot of tongue in cheek humor. My suggestions would be to start with the top 200 comics section. Many of these images I have snuck into some of my presentations and gotten a good chuckle.

The. Best. Presentation. Ever.

Doug Zongker is my Hero with his audacious presentation entitled "Chicken Chicken Chicken: Chicken Chicken." The paper is available here. But I highly recommend actually seeing him give the presentation, as see on YouTube. Watch it the whole way through, especially in regards to the Q&A section. All I can say, is that if I ever get tenure and become old and bold, my last presentation will be something along this line. Chicken.

Humor in Medical Publications

There are a number of publications that are quite funny and worth a 'read.' Here is a collated list of several I still hang onto. 

• The Parachute Study. Nothing says RCT like those jumping off a plan wondering which arm of the trial they are in. Especially if its a Crossover.
• Apples and Oranges. Not sure if I agree with the overall results.
• CPR on Television - Miracles and Misinformation. Gotta love what the NEJM puts out.
• Chocolate and Pregnancy. Beneficial?
• Effect of a tight necktie on intraocular pressure. Who knew?
• Caffeine, Coffee, and the Medical Consequences. My consumption has not decreased.
• The holidays are a risk factor. I think it's the travel times.
• A field guide to experts. Enough said.
• Can words hurt? Sticks and stones... 
• Cardiovascular events during the World Cup Soccer. Huh... Wonder what FIFA has to say.
• Lap burn due to a laptop computer. A word of warning.
• Thunderstorms and iPods. Interesting... what about iPhones?
• A Foreign Body. Something does not belong.
• BMJ Holiday issues. They do love their food.
• Have you ever done a PubMed search on 'Harry Potter?'

Someone should do a review of the medical literature for the number of humorous articles and who has a higher impact factor...

Online Journal Dedicated to Bogus Articles

This one is tongue in cheek. The Journal of Irreproducible Results is well worth looking into if you want to see academics spending time preparing an article whose worth is valued in laughs. What is the impact factor on that?

The Ig Nobel Prize

I owe this one to a colleague of mine, @thomasllewis, who pointed this one out. A parody of the Nobel Prizes that are given annually, the overall idea is that academics are celebrated for unusual or trivial achievements in research. Ironically, the awards are actually given by nobel laureates. There is even a magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research. I am not sure if I would ever want to be published in there, yet.