Research that makes us laugh and think
[PRESS INVITATION 5 March 2013] Eager to learn more about homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck, about assymetric testicles in man and ancient art, or why your hair may turn green if you take a shower in the morning?
On Monday 11 media is welcome to hear some of the IgNobel laureates talk about their research. Also attending will be the father of the prize, Marc Abrahams, editor-in-chief of the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR).
The lectures are co-arranged by the Swedish sceptic organisation Vetenskap & Folkbildning and Karolinska Institutet, and are part of the AIR lecture tour of Scandinavia. Journalists are welcome to attend and to interview the speakers (by arrangement).
The IgNobel Prize is a play on the word ignoble (dishonourable and unworthy) and was first awarded in 1991 in recognition of research of the more unusual, creative kind. It is awarded annually in ten different fields, including the conventional categories of the Nobel Prize proper. Far from denigrating its recipients' work, the prize is usually received with humour and appreciation. According to the organisers, the aim of the prize is to first make people laugh, and then make them think.
Date and venue:
5.30 PM, Monday 11 March 2013 in the Vesalius auditorium, Karolinska Institutet, Berzelius väg 3, Solna
Speakers
- Marc Abrahams, founder and editor-in-chief of the humorous and satirical scientific journal, The Annals of Improbable Research. He is also the father of the IgNobel Prize and an author, journalist and speaker.
- Johan Pettersson, environmental engineer at the municipality of Trelleborg . Winner of the IgNobel Prize in chemistry 2013 for discovering why peoples hair turned green in certain houses in Anderslöv.
- Kees Moeliker, ornithologist and chief-curator at the Natural History Museum Rotterdam. Winner of the 2003 IgNobel Prize in biology for his report on homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck.
- Chris McManus, professor at University College London. IgNobel Prize winner 2002 for his studies on scrotal asymmetry in man and ancient sculpture.