Improbable After Dark - Ig Nobel Event March 10, 2012

The Ig Nobel Prizes and Improbable Research (honouring achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think) finally pay a visit to the historic NPL site (the national measurement standards laboratory and largest applied physics organisation in the UK) in Teddington.

The show features Marc Abrahams, organiser of the Ig Nobel Prizes and Guardian columnist, together with the odd Ig Nobel Prize winner, improbable researchers and other colourful individuals.
Marc will review the past year’s improbable research and a number of Ig Nobel winners and colleagues will try to explain what they did and why they did it.

Confirmed speakers:

Mr Marc Abrahams (Improbable Host)
Mr Dan Schreiber (BBC's Museum Of Curiosity & QI Elf)
Dr Stuart Clark (Astronomer, journalist & Author)
PC Stevyn Colgan (Author and QI contributor)
Dr Alice Bell (Nerd, Blogger, Science Communicator, did we say Nerd?)
Mr James Harkin (QI Elf)
Dr Adam Kay (Physician, writer, comedian. One half of the Amateur Transplants)
Ms Laurie Winkless (NPL Materials Scientist)
Mr Alom Shaha (Physicist, writer, film-maker)

Research papers which have been covered include:

Sword Swallowing and its Side Effects, The Effect of Country Music on Suicide, Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture, the long asked question: Can Humans Swim Faster or Slower in Syrup?, and What are the Forces Required to Drag Sheep Over Various Surfaces?, the first documented case of... Homosexual Necrophilia in the Mallard Duck, the story of 'A Man Who Pricked His Finger and Smelled Putrid for 5 Years', and The Significance of Mr. Richard Buckley’s Exploding Trousers.
Warning: Some of the material presented may not be suitable for younger persons - please use your own sound judgement whether you should be at this meeting, or not.