Scientists confess to sneaking Bob Dylan lyrics into their work for the past 17 years

[n2doc]

By Rachel Feltman

While writing an article about intestinal gasses 17 years ago, Karolinska Institute researchers John Lundberg and Eddie Weitzberg couldn't resist a punny title: "Nitric Oxide and inflammation: The answer is blowing in the wind".

Thus began their descent down the slippery slope of Bob Dylan call-outs. While the two men never put lyrics into their peer-reviewed studies, The Local Sweden reports, they started a personal tradition of getting as many Dylan quotes as possible into everything else they wrote -- articles about other peoples' work, editorials, book introductions, and so on.

Soon, the pun ring doubled in size. After another two researchers (also at Karolinska, where Dylan is apparently a big thing) published an article called "Blood on the tracks: a simple twist of fate," a librarian connected the foursome. A fifth scientist joined the group when his article "Tangled up in blue: Molecular cardiology in the postmolecular era" hit the stands.

Now, the researchers say, they have a running bet: Whoever can sneak in the most references before retirement will get treated to lunch.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/09/26/scientists-confess-to-sneaking-bob-dylan-lyrics-into-their-work-for-the-past-17-years/