Roll up for an improbable travelling show

The irreverent IgNobel awards, which go to 'science that makes you laugh and then think', are coming to Dublin next month for the first time, writes Dick Ahlstrom

The infamous, irreverent IgNobel awards come to Ireland next month with a remarkable travelling show that includes a "nano-opera" sung to familiar Gilbert and Sullivan melodies, quirky science from the annals of improbable research and a scientific limerick competition.

The IgNobels are on tour and visit Ireland for one day only, Sunday March 14th. The trip is organised by The Irish Times and the Royal Dublin Society, which will also host the event.

Established in 1991, the IgNobels have grown to become an institution as eagerly awaited among the scientific community as the Nobel prizes. Held annually in Harvard, the IgNobel awards are given to the most improbable but genuine research projects that can be found.

For example, the 1995 chemistry prize went to Bijan Pakzad of Beverly Hills, for creating DNA Cologne and DNA Perfume, neither of which contain deoxyribonucleic acid, and both of which come in a triple helix bottle.

In the same year the physics prize went to D.M.R. Georget, R. Parker, and A.C. Smith, of the Institute of Food Research, Norwich, England, for their rigorous analysis of soggy breakfast cereal, published in the report entitled "A study of the effects of water content on the compaction behaviour of breakfast cereal flakes".

It was published in the research journal Powder Technology, in November, 1994.

The 2003 physics prize went to Jack Harvey, John Culvenor, Warren Payne, Steve Cowley, Michael Lawrance, David Stuart, and Robyn Williams of Australia, for their compelling report "An analysis of the forces required to drag sheep over various surfaces", one that must surely feature in the forthcoming Leaving Cert honours physics paper.

Other highlights this year include a study of why the brains of London taxi drivers are more highly developed than ordinary folk, an in-depth analysis of the percentage of students who don't like the taste of Brussels sprouts and the first scientifically recorded case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck.

Yes, this is all real research, and some of the award winners for 2003 will be on hand to describe their findings in person as part of the IgNobel tour.

The nano-opera was written by IgNobel host for the day, Marc Abrahams. It opens with the mournful lament, No Wandering Atom I, sung to the tune of A Wandering Minstrel I from The Mikado. The audience will be encouraged, nay, press-ganged into joining in and singing along.

The organisers describe the IgNobels tour as "science that makes you laugh, then makes you think".

It also represents a triumphant "winners tour" for those scientists who claimed IgNobels at Harvard last autumn.

Additional support for the Irish leg of the tour comes from the Discover Science and Engineering Programme run by Forfás on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The IgNobels will be in Dublin, at the RDS Concert Hall, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 14th. Tickets for the event cost €5 each or four tickets for €10.

Only 800 tickets are available for this entertaining show. To book tickets, phone 01-6758640 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The phone lines will remain open until the 800 places at the presentation are fully booked.

The visit is organised by The Irish Times and the RDS. It is a ticket-only event.