Day four of the x-change and it was another fab show. There was a distinct food theme in this show with cheese, cocktails and…erm…cannibalism. The show kicked off with two thirds of SpaceDogs, Sarah Angliss and Stephen Hiscock. They performed a spooky number which combined a theramin, cow bells and robotics.
After learning how the theramin works, we moved onto Dwarf Elephants with Tori Herridge who gave the Charles Lyell award lecture here at the festival. We saw some fossils from these miniature mammals that have evolved on several different islands at different points through time. My favourite new fact; 10,000 years ago Cyprus had mini-elephants and hippos the size of dogs.
We then heard from Sarah Castor-Perry on the surprising science of cheese. Ever wondered why pongy feet smell like cheese? It turns out the bacteria that grow in strong cheeses also grow well in warm moist, salty places just like a sweaty foot. Nice. Sarah also brought along some instant cheese - next time you want cheese and can’t be bothered to go to the shop all you need is milk, vinegar, salt and a microwave.
James Soper entertained us with the unusual mix of science and circus. After some very impressive juggling he showed us how to balance juggling pins like a pro – apparently it’s all about the centre of mass. Richard learned to balance a feather on his head (after the juggling pin nearly knocked him out) and showed there’s more than one use for a power drill!
We were then treated to a unique insight into the rather funny world of Andrew Pontzen and Tom Whyntie, who bickered about the ominously named dark matter. We heard that if you want to find dark matter all you have do is wait a long time down a mine in Yorkshire. Alternatively you can use a gamma ray telescope and look at the centre of the galaxy. Obviously both options are equally glamorous.
Sue Bird and Jenny Downs from the University of Aberdeen Museum very kindly brought along some 200 year-old forks thought to be used by cannibals. The macabre objects are part of the Food Stories exhibition and originate from Fiji. It’s still up for debate whether the forks were used in this grim way or it’s a fabrication imagined by the cannibal obsessed Victorians.
Finally we finished off with Noel Jackson mixing up some cocktails for us. We explored the 5 rules to making a nice tasting drink and gave Noel a ready steady cook-like challenge. We presented him with various juices, vodka, lemons, limes and tinned strawberries and with the help of the audience Noel produced a tropical cocktail with a strawberry twist. During this transformation of ingredients we learned about the science of how we taste and the appeal of bitter flavours.
The show today had a distinctly food related theme so we set twitter and our live audience the challenge of telling us their dream scientist dinner party guest, dead or alive. We had some amazing suggestions you can see here. Please add to them on twitter (@TheSiSTeam #thexchange).
We’re now putting the finishing touches to the prep for tomorrow’s show, which is going to be a science demo extravaganza! With all the exciting things happening on stage tomorrow’s show is going to be filmed so those of you who aren’t in Aberdeen won’t miss out. Those who are, swing by - it’s going to be a fantastic show.
Liz (@Bio_Fluff)
