Pub Genius
A 1999, COPUS funded project, with the Science Communication Unit (SCU) at UWE. Using pubs as generic venues, targeting drinkers, the event combined a traditional quiz format with a series of lively interactive tabletop experiments.
Drawing heavily on the ambience of the setting, the audience was invited to think about some of the science behind the food and drink we take for granted. It also challenged them to find physical explanations for some of the extraordinary phenomena which can be demonstrated using a few coins, some beer mats, a box of matches and many pints of beer!
Sample questions included:
- Which gas occurs naturally in beer?
- Why is red wine kept in green bottles?
- Why do all wines contain very similar amounts of alcohol?
- Why does Baileys float at the top of a Brain Haemorrhage?
- What are the chances of throwing two sixes at dice?
- What is the malt doing in the whisky?
