Show Your Colors

The object of this game is to compile a list of different words -- each related to its predecessor to form a compound word or familiar phrase -- and have this chain begin and end with the same word. Our theme is Color ... and, to keep the exercise interesting, we ask that your chains be no fewer than fifteen, nor more than twenty-five words in length. This will eliminate a simple BLUE-sky-BLUE combination ... and it conserves on paper by keeping your lists from stretching to infinity

Neurophysiology

Contains report on one research project.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 ROl NB-04985-05)U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research (Grant Nonr(G)-00063-65

E Pluribus Unum

In most instances, one adds an S to pluralize a word: all well and good. But when a second S is added, interestnig things begin to happen; suddenly, the word becomes singular again, or takes on an altogether new meaning -- ADVENTURES becomes ADVENTURESS, or CARES becomes CARESS. Try your hand at identifying the following dual-identity words

The Name is the Game

We\u27ve all known people whose names or nicknames indicated that their parents had a sense of humor, if not compassion or good taste. One of the most highly noted examples of frivolous appellation was Ima Hogg, the highly-regarded philanthropist. The actor Rip Torn\u27s real name is Rip Torn, and in popular fiction, Perry Mason\u27s courtroom adversary was Hamilton Ham Burger

Occupational Hazards

Nobody gets fired anymore. They are now victims of \u27involuntary resignations\u27 or \u27temporary cutbacks\u27 or \u27job classification eliminations\u27 ... or any of a dozen other euphemistic descriptions for summary dismissal. In the continuing search for newer, softer, more ambiguous terms with which to deliver the final blow to unsatisfactory workers, some industries are digging into their own terminology. Thus a Yellow Pages employee on the way out may be \u27declassified\u27, \u27unlisted\u27 or \u27disconnected\u27. A deposed nobleman may be \u27discounted\u27, \u27distributed\u27 or subjected to \u27delivery\u27

Venerable Venery

If you thumb through your standard deskside dictionary, you may be shocked to learn that venery is a euphemistic term describing coital commerce. To stem any blazing tide of flaming pens charging us with smut, sensationalism, prurience and suchlike, let us assure you that our topic concerns another -- wholly respectable -- interpretation of the word

Racial Group Identification from the Innominate by Discriminant Function Analysis

The purpose of this study was to develop a statistical method for determining the race of unknown individuals from measurements on the innominate. Samples of 45 individuals of each sex from skeletal collections of American Blacks, American Whites, and American Indians were used to calculate discriminant functions and classification functions which separated those groups. Data for this research consisted of 23 measurements from the right innominate of individuals of known race, and known or estimated sex and age. These data were analyzed by a discriminant function program which calculated both discriminant and classification functions, and percent correct classification by race of individuals in the sample. In addition, several descriptive statistics were calculated for each group. A group of test cases of individuals of known race from outside the original sample was used to determine the accuracy of the functions for classifying unknown individuals into correct race categories. The major findings of the research were that measurements on the innominate, when analyzed by discriminant function, were highly reliable in discriminating between Blacks, Whites, and Arikara. In females, correct racial classification occurred in 93.33% of cases when all 23 measurements were used in the analysis, and in 90.37% of cases when 11 measurements were used. In males, correct racial classification occurred in 87.14% of cases when 23 measurements were included, and in 87.14% of cases when 13 variables were analyzed. Classification results on a group of 28 test cases were promising. Ten of 13 females classified correctly as to race, and eight out of 15 males were correctly grouped. Discriminant function analysis can classify individuals from the samples used in calculation into their correct categories with a high degree of accuracy. The accuracy of discriminant functions for the classification of unknown individuals into correct categories is less accurate, although the results indicated that correct classification occurred more often than expected by chance. However, in order to insure the best results, the classification of unknown individuals into racial groups by discriminant function analysis on innominates should be used in combination with other criteria, if possible. The need for an accurate method of racial determination from postcranial skeletal material is evident because crania are not always present and complete in human identification cases. Statistical methods for race determination in such cases add an objective approach to human identification techniques. When used in combination with other means of race identification, they should enhance the ability to determine an individual\u27s identity from skeletal remains