A nice cup of t

Stephen Senn concludes his excellent article on the t test (Significance, March 2008) by leaving it to the reader to decide whether Guinness or tea would be most appropriate for celebrating the centenary of said test. At the University of Canberra, Australia, we decided to go for tea, and held a “tea party for the t-test”. Around 30 academics joined in the fun, every single one of whom had used t tests in their research or teaching. They came from every corner of the campus, along with invited statisticians from the Australian National University. Decorations for the venue were supplied by two local Irish pubs, and a large and rich chocolate cake inscribed “Happy 100th Student's t” was consumed. The event turned out to be a great opportunity for researchers and teachers right around the campus to meet and discuss their projects.

I hope that this event turns out to be one of many organised to celebrate the centenary of the t-test.