Science writer Vito Tartamella has raised questions about the existence of one Stronzo Bestiale, a name found in a few scientific journals.
The name means 'Total Asshole', according to Tartamella.
The supposed Palermo, Sicily physicist co-authored papers in the Journal of Statistical Physics, the Journal of Chemical Physics and the proceedings of a meeting of American Physical Society in Monterey.
The name caught Tartamella's eye when he was doing research for his book on surnames, and the writer decided to see if it was real.
He immediately turned to Italy's phone book - only to find no such person listed.
The then Chancellor of the University of Palermo, Ignazio Melisenda Giambertoni also didn't know a Stronzo Bestiale (or at least, not one with that as their actual name.)
It turns out that Bestiale was invented by two American researchers, Bill Moran and William G. Hoover after publishers kept rejecting their papers.
"I thought that Stronzo Bestiale would have been the perfect co-author for a refused publication. So I decided to submit my papers again, simply by changing the title and adding the name of that author. And the researches were published," Hoover told Tartamella.
