Preparations for the imminent Ig Nobel Tour of the UK occur fast-and-furiously, or not at all. Here’s an example — a snippet of conversation with Charles Paxton, who shared the 2002 Ig Nobel Biology Prize for co-writing the report “Courtship Behaviour of Ostriches Towards Humans Under Farming Conditions in Britain.” Dr. Paxton will be a prominent part of the shows in Edinburgh (this Sunday afternoon) and St. Andrews (Monday evening):
MARC: And can you provide an ostrich egg? Or feathers?
CHARLES PAXTON: Alas no, I have an egg but it is 250 miles away.
Eggless and featherless, Dr. Paxton will nonetheless still be a crowd favorite, if past Ig Nobel audiences are a reliable indication.