According to the article, "Professor Moss" (front center) devised the sleep deprivation experiments but was then one of the subjects in the test himself.

Their finding: Sleep is the result of "intoxication ... caused evidently by an excess of toxins or poisons produced by muscular and nerve exertion," much like a "drunkard" falling asleep and waking up sober.

The ones I'm curious about are the woman second from right in the front row, identified as Katherine Omwake and the woman second from right in the back row, identified as Louise Omwake. Sisters?

(But I feel like a nap after reading about Louise Omwake's activities. She was goalkeeper for the GWU hockey team, captain of the basketball and tennis teams, also active in swimming and track, and evidently a good shot with a rifle. See, among many others, Washington Post 5/15/1927, p. 24. and 5/25/1928, p. M2. One minor puzzle: Post photos of Louise appear to show the woman identified here as Katherine.)

You say nerds, I say they look smart and interesting.

Yep, me can hardly solve the math question at the bottom. So give us more Kaa-Razy Kat Club stuff.

[There is no more. The Krazy Kupboard is bare. - Dave]

GWU did a nationally-publicized study released in 1925 on how much sleep the brain really needs, and I'd bet that this photo is of the professor (front and center) and grad students who made up that team. The best free clue comes from the nyt.com preview of a December 13, 1925 New York Times article on the study, which includes these lines: "A Group at George Washington University. Left to right, Front Row -- Lester Petric, Thelma Hunt, Professor Moss, Katherine Omwake and Robert Ward. ... "

[It is indeed them. You can read the article for $3.95. - Dave]

was that term part of the lingo in 1925?

None of them look like they fell off the turnip truck. Just imagine, they were probably the scientists who helped save this nation while working at facilities such as Los Alamos during WWII.

Just what are they testing for, intelligence or defects?

A nerdier looking group is difficult to imagine.

Isn't it interesting how these college kids look so much older than ones today or even a couple of decades ago. I wonder what their actual ages are!

The pens in the pockets of the two guys up front makes me wonder if they were called nerds and I bet they never went to the Krazy Kat Club.