Ig Nobel Prize Tour of the UK and Ireland 2004

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The Oxford Show

on the 2004 Ig™ Nobel Tour of the UK and Ireland

Faces in the crowd.

WHEN/WHERE: March 11, 2004, Martin Woods Lecture Theatre, Clarendon Laboratory

MASTER OF CEREMONIES: Marc Abrahams (organizer of the Ig Nobel Prizes, and editor of the Annals of Improbable Research).

IG NOBEL WINNERS: Several Ig Nobel Prize-winners gave five-minute talks/demonstrations and took questions. Among them: Chris McManus, David Gadian, Pek Van Andel, Harold Hillman, Karl Schwartzler and Kees Moeliker. (See below for a brief description of what each did to win an Ig; for more detail, click here.)

Pek Van Andel and his coital images.

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: The event included a performance of the Ig Nobel mini-opera"Atom and Eve," starring Sandra Lawrence, Dan Gillingwater and Sarah Redmond

Paper airplane enthusiasts in the audience.

COMPETITIONS: There were two competitions (for details click here):

  • Science Limerick Contest (the winner received a free trip for two to the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard!).
  • Science-Barnet-of-the-Year Competition (conducted in stylish cooperation with the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. The winner received a free makover at a posh London Hair Salon!).

    • David Gadian uses hand-waving to describe the brains of London taxi drivers.

    ORGANIZERS: Alasdair Kergon, Paula Wallace, Nona Ahmat

    Lucia Singer, the winner of the Limerick Contest, both at the Oxford show and, eventually, in the tour-wide contest. Thanks to the Times Higher Education Supplement, she received a free trip for two to the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard on September 30.

    PHOTOS: The photographs shown here were taken by Ig Nobel winner Kees Moeliker

    Chris McManus demonstrates how balls hang, and explains why the ancient Greeks were misled by certain aspects of this phenomenon.

    SPONSORED BY: The Times Higher Education Supplement and The British Association for the Advancement of Science.

    Karl Schwartzler, having explained how one can rent Lichtenstein, sits in the audience and listens to his fellow Ig winners explain themselves and their achievements.

    (Left to right) Sandra Lawrence, Sarah Redmond and Dan Gillingwater perform the nano-opera "Atom and Eve."

    2004 Ig Nobel U.K. / Ireland Tour 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

    • 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

     

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