# Nobel sperm and Mr. Pink??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 24, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024 "2007-07-24T23:25:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/1 "2007-07-24T23:25:40Z")
So we have a report on Nobel prize winners (and others) donating sperm to try to produce more intelligent children – which can be seen [here](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mnobelsperm.htm) – and how does the author chose to start it? A long and totally irrelevant quote from the movie _Reservoir Dogs_. Yeah, that’s how we know we’re going to get some serious, thoughtful information on a topic. Is there no one here actually providing any sort of editorial input for the staff report writers? That’s almost as bad as the report a while back that was completely cribbed from a Wikipedia article. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/2 "2007-07-25T00:06:02Z")
Not irrelevant: **Gfactor** talks about the rumour that the donors were colour-coded in the first paragraph. That’s why the quote was there. I found it funny, even though I’ve never watched _Reservoir Dogs_ and didn’t know about that rumour. In fact, I think this was a very good report by Gfactor. The idea of a sperm bank of Nobel winners was something I believe I had heard before, but I certainly didn’t know anything about it. The article did a great job of explaining the background and history of this sperm bank. I think Gfactor should have linked to [this Cecil column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070406.html) when mentioning William Shockley, though. And what’s this about a report that was taken directly from a Wikipedia article? Do you have the link? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/3 "2007-07-25T00:13:43Z")
[QUOTE=severus] I think Gfactor should have linked to [this Cecil column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070406.html) when mentioning William Shockley, though. [/QUOTE] Good catch. Thanks. > [@](#): > > And what’s this about a report that was taken directly from a Wikipedia article? Do you have the link? I was going to ask the same thing. [QUOTE=Dan Norder] Yeah, that’s how we know we’re going to get some serious [/QUOTE] I don’t think we promised you serious. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_the\_Bug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4491bb/32.png) [@Jack\_the\_Bug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_the_Bug)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/4 "2007-07-25T01:25:44Z")
[QUOTE=Dan Norder] Yeah, that’s how we know we’re going to get some serious, thoughtful information on a topic. [/QUOTE] Yeah, because Cecil’s articles are so straight-faced. Look, you’ve got a charter membership on the boards, so you’ve presumably been reading these columns for a while. Since when has Straight Dope ever been all that serious? Accurate, one hopes, and enlightening, but let’s face it: entertainment has always been a part of the columns too, and why not? ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/5 "2007-07-25T06:44:49Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] Good catch. Thanks. [/QUOTE] [thread=416179]This thread[/thread], which discusses whether Shockley deserved a Nobel Prize in the first place, is also interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/6 "2007-07-25T13:41:36Z")
[QUOTE=Dan Norder] That’s almost as bad as the report a while back that was completely cribbed from a Wikipedia article. [/QUOTE] Hi! It’s a brand new day. We’re all curious about this “cribbed from Wikipedia” thing. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/7 "2007-07-25T14:04:13Z")
[QUOTE=severus] Not irrelevant: **Gfactor** talks about the rumour that the donors were colour-coded in the first paragraph. That’s why the quote was there. [/QUOTE] I agree. The staff report was excellent, and the quote (from one of my favorite movies) was apropos. Now everyone kick in for the tip. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/8 "2007-07-25T14:27:39Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] I agree. The staff report was excellent, and the quote (from one of my favorite movies) was apropos. Now everyone kick in for the tip. 😃 [/QUOTE] Thanks. The quote was a bit more relevant in an earlier draft. I cut a couple of sentences because they weren’t 100% accurate. The truly funny part of the color scheme to me was that they reused the colors. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick up on the fact that they’d uses colors _plus_ numbers. That gave me an “oh shit” moment, and caused me to email David Plotz. I remembered that he talked about reused colors in his book. He got back to me and said, yes they used colors and numbers, so there was never a redundant combination. But some recipients remembered the color and forgot the number, which caused the confusion. I decided that was too long for a punchline. So I cut the part about the reused colors, left the quote and the part about donors getting secret color-names, and called it a day. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/9 "2007-07-25T14:58:46Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Hi! It’s a brand new day. We’re all curious about this “cribbed from Wikipedia” thing. [/QUOTE] Maybe he’s referring to [this one](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mvanishingbees.htm). I’m sure **Doug** said he maintained a Wikipedia page on the subject, so the assertion would be technically correct but hardly a valid criticism. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/10 "2007-07-25T15:07:00Z")
[QUOTE=essell] Maybe he’s referring to [this one](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mvanishingbees.htm). I’m sure **Doug** said he maintained a Wikipedia page on the subject, so the assertion would be technically correct but hardly a valid criticism. [/QUOTE] I guess I’m also a bit puzzled about how having a “long and totally irrelevant” epigraph is “almost as bad” as a report that was “completely cribbed from a Wikipedia article.” One is a stylistic fault–the other, if it actually happened, is plagiarism, copyright infringement, or both. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024/11 "2007-07-25T15:25:17Z")
[QUOTE=essell] Maybe he’s referring to [this one](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mvanishingbees.htm). I’m sure **Doug** said he maintained a Wikipedia page on the subject, so the assertion would be technically correct but hardly a valid criticism. [/QUOTE] The first two sentences from the column in question: > [@](#): > > Not to brag, but **thanks to Wikipedia** I’ve become the #1 authority on disappearing bees. Type “colony collapse disorder” into Google and hit return – the top hit is **the Wikipedia page I maintain on the subject**. (In real life I’m an entomologist with the University of California at Riverside.) (Bolding mine.) Seems pretty upfront to me. RR