Hostname: page-component-66644f4456-vjjx6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-13T10:49:33.933Z Has data issue: true hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bird is the word – on the importance of ethical and effective scientific communication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2015

Sam Dupont ,
Gregory Puncher  and
Piero Calosi
Sam Dupont*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, The Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences – Kristineberg, 566 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden
Gregory Puncher
Affiliation:
Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences, 48123 Ravenna, Italy
Piero Calosi
Affiliation:
Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec G5L3A1, Canada
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: S. Dupont, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, The Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences – Kristineberg, 566 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden email: sam.dupont@bioenv.gu.se
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Back in 1963, the proto-punk band The Trashmen released the single Surfin’ bird (written by Frazier, White, Harris & Wilson Jr. and released in November 1963 by Garrett label; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZThquH5t0ow). Fifty years later and despite the obscure lyrics, the song remains iconic in western pop culture; e.g. through the recurrent appearance in the TV show Family Guy (e.g. I dream of Jesus episode, released on 5 October 2008; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184). It is thought that the line ‘everybody knows that the bird is the word’ was inspired by a highly successful and catchy radio jingle released/commissioned in post prohibitionist USA by the Gallo brothers to boost the sales of their inexpensive fortified Thunderbird wine: ‘What's the word? Thunderbird’ (http://www.absurdintellectual.com/2009/06/05/everybodys-heard-that-the-bird-is-the-word-but-its-not-what-they-think/). This illustrates how a simple and catchy message can have a profound and long-lasting influence on society.

Keywords

communicationocean literacyclimate
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 95 , Issue 5 , August 2015 , pp. 863 - 864
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Dupont, S., Hall, E., Calosi, P. and Lundve, B. (2014) First evidence of altered sensory quality in a shellfish exposed to decreased pH relevant to ocean acidification. Journal of Shellfish Research 33, 857–861.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krogh, A. (1929) The progress of physiology. American Journal of Physiology 90, 243–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munday, P.L., Dixson, D.L., Donelson, J.M., Jones, G.P., Pratchett, M.S., Devitsina, G.V. and Døving, K.B. (2009) Ocean acidification impairs olfactory discrimination and homing ability of a marine fish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106, 1848–1852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sterner, T. (2003) Policy instruments for environmental and natural resource management. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, RFF Press.Google Scholar
Sundlof, S. (2000) The role of science in regulation and decision making. AgBioForum 3, 137–140.Google Scholar
Thorndyke, M. and McGowan, F. (2014) Editorial. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0025315414001738.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaidyanathan, G. (2014) What have climate scientists learned from 20-year fight with deniers? Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-have-climate-scientists-learned-from-20-year-fight-with-deniers/.Google Scholar