2004 Ig™ Nobel Tour of the UK and Ireland
WHAT: The Ig
Nobel Tour of the UK and Ireland
WHEN: March 11-22, 2004
WHERE:
(To see details and photos, click on the name of each
city)
Oxford, Nottingham,
Belfast, Dublin
(and then some), Glasgow,
Exeter, Manchester,
London, and Warrington.
WHY: To celebrate National
Science Week
WHO: Marc
Abrahams (organizer of the Ig Nobel Prizes, and editor of the Annals
of Improbable Research), and many Ig Nobel
prize winners, and surprise guests. At most events, there was a performance
of the Ig Nobel mini-opera "Atom
and Eve." A mallard duck assisted in the proceedings. In some cities
there was also a dog.
COMPETITIONS: There were also two competitions in which
you could have taken part (for details click here):
Science
Limerick Contest (the winner received a free trip for two to
the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard, courtesy of the Times Higher
Education Supplement).
Science-Barnet-of-the-Year
Competition (conducted in stylish cooperation with the Luxuriant
Flowing Hair Club for Scientists).
 |
Ig
Nobel Prizewinner Kees Moeliker's duck was a popular figure during the
shows, and afterwards, too. |
TICKETS: Are all gone; the tour events have already happened.
FURTHER INFO: Click on a link to reach the BA's
Ig Tour site.
SPONSORED BY: The Times Higher
Education Supplement and The
British Association for the Advancement of Science.
DOWNLOADABLE FLYERS (in PDF format): Click
here
and
here.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST YEAR: Click here.
Ig Nobel 2004 UK & IrelandTour Events
Thu 11th March, OXFORD: Martin
Wood Lecture Theatre, Clarendon Laboratory, OXFORD UNIVERSITY,
8:00 PM
Fri 12th March, NOTTINGHAM: John Clare Lecture Theatre
6, Clifton Campus, Clifton Lane (A453), NOTTINGHAM
TRENT UNIVERSITY, 7:00 PM
Sat 13th March, BELFAST: W5@Odyssey
2 Queen's Quay, 3:00 PM
Sun 14th March, DUBLIN: Royal
Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, 3:00 PM
Mon 15th March, GLASGOW: Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons, 232-242 St Vincent Street, 7:00
PM
Tue 16th March, EXETER: Parker Moot Room, Amory Building,
EXETER UNIVERSITY,
7:00 PM
Wed 17th March, MANCHESTER: Staff House Lounge, Refectory
Building, Burlington Street (off Oxford Road), UNIVERSITY
OF MANCHESTER, 7:30 PM
Thu 18th March, LONDON: Institute
of Electrical Engineers, Savoy Place, 6:30 PM
Mon 22nd March, WARRINGTON, CHESHIRE: CCLRC
Daresbury Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, nr Warrington, 7:00
PM
 |
Master
of ceremonies Marc Abrahams, at the London show. The small box next
to him contains a Bow-Lingual, the automatic dog-language-to-human-language
translation device that was honored with the 2002 Ig Nobel Peace Prize.
The device was demonstrated in the London show and several others on
the Tour. |
Winners on the Tour
Here are some of the Ig Nobel Prize winners who appeared at one or more
Tour events.
Charles Deeming (Biology Prize 2002), Courtship Behaviour
of Ostriches Towards Humans Under Farming Conditions in Britain
Chris Frith, (Medicine Prize, 2003), The Impressive Brains
of London Taxi Drivers
David Gadian (Medicine Prize, 2003), The Impressive Brains
of London Taxi Drivers
Andrey Geim (Physics Prize, 2000), Using Magnets to Levitate
a Frog
Harold Hillman (Peace Prize, 1997), The Possible Pain
Experienced During Execution by Different Methods
Chris McManus (Medicine Prize 2002), Scrotal Asymmetry
in Man and in Ancient Sculpture
Kees Moeliker (Biology Prize, 2003), The First Scientifically
Recorded Case of Homosexual Necrophilia in the Mallard Duck
Charles Paxton (Biology Prize 2002), Courtship Behaviour
of Ostriches Towards Humans Under Farming Conditions in Britain
Karl Schwärzler (Economics Prize, 2003), How to
Rent the Entire Country of Liechtenstein for Corporate Conventions, Weddings,
and Bar Mitzvahs
Pek Van Andel (Medicine Prize, 2000), Magnetic Resonance
Imaging of Male and Female Genitals During Coitus and Female Sexual Arousal
For more details about any of them, see the list of all Ig
Nobel Prize Winners
