{"id":133,"date":"2009-04-01T16:34:34","date_gmt":"2009-04-01T16:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tomathon.com\/mphp\/?p=133"},"modified":"2009-10-04T19:57:21","modified_gmt":"2009-10-05T00:57:21","slug":"obscure-april-fools-award-of-the-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.tomathon.com\/mphp\/2009\/04\/obscure-april-fools-award-of-the-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Obscure April Fools award of the century"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Who tries to fool people with birth sex ratios in the Central African Republic<\/a>? The British Journal Biology Letters and the British press, apparently.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I became interested in the CAR after reading this fascinating and bone crushingly sad article in the Independent last year, titled “France’s Secret War in Africa: My journeys through the Central African Republic.”<\/a><\/p>\n

So my interest was piqued when I saw an article today claiming that:
\nDr Kristen J. Navara found countries closer to the equator produced significantly fewer boys annually than those at temperate and subarctic latitudes – 51.1% and 51.3%, respectively. “The only country in the world which produces more females than males is the Central African Republic,” she told the BBC<\/a>‘s Network Africa. Hot Climate Produces Baby Girls<\/a>. BBC News. 1 April 2009.<\/p>\n

Of course, this is contrary to everything known in demography. Slightly more male than female humans are born everywhere. Men are stupid and tend not to survive adolescence at the same rate, so it all works out.<\/p>\n

I read the article, made available from the journal Biology Notes (only online and not in their April 23 issue): odd.<\/p>\n