Just a heads up for an event occurring in March, for which you need to book tickets now(ish).
The Ig Nobel awards – given to genuine scientific research which tends to baffle and lead to joky headlines in the tabloid media have a tour of the UK, and the London visit is happening at Imperial College in Knightsbridge, on the evening of Thur 12th March.
The shows feature Marc Abrahams, organizer of the Ig Nobel Prizes and Guardian columnist, together with a gaggle of Ig Nobel Prize winners and other improbable researchers. Marc will review the past year’s improbable research and Ig Nobel Prize winners. Several Ig winners (and/or colleagues) will try to explain what they did and why they did it, and will field questions.
You can book a maximum of two free tickets by sending your name, email and postal address to events@imperial.ac.uk
I’ve always found the media reaction to the Ig Nobels to be just a bit hypocritical though – as they lambaste the study, but themselves depend on people carrying out these odd bits of research to give them their headlines.
Would the tabloids have been able to laugh at the research on dunking biscuits into cups of tea – if someone hadn’t actually carried out the study?
Great catch. I’ve fired off an email. I witnessed the roadshow event in Boston a few years back and have never laughed so much in my life.