June 5th 2014 was the 19th Dead Duck Day (here is a full, ilustrated report). Since 2010 a leading scientist or science writer is invited to send in the Special Dead Duck Day Message. So far, over the years, Daniel Klem jr, Patricia Brennan, Tim Birkhead and Carin Bondar have contributed. This year’s special DDD message […]
Tag: ducks
The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera
The Ig Nobel Tour of Europe will kick off Friday, March 14th at Imperial College London. That night’s show will include the world premiere of “The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera” by composer Daniel Gillingwater. My now classic 2003 Ig Nobel Prize winning paper (with about the same title as the opera) has made some people […]
Ducks feet – the physics
What is the optimum stroke angle for a duck’s foot when paddling? Although a duck may already intuitively know the answer, the question has now been clarified for us humans as part of a recent research project undertaken at the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in the US. Research Scientist and Post Doctoral Scholar […]
Celebrate Dead Duck Day
Sunday, June 5th, is Dead Duck Day. The short, open-air ceremony is open free to the public, including ducks. Please come and commemorate the sudden and dramatic death of the mallard duck that entered the scientific literature as the first ever recorded victim of homosexual necrophila in this species, and discuss (new) ways to prevent […]