This week saw the second Science Showoff, the open mic night for scientists and science communicators everywhere and it was just as packed as the first one, with people standing squinting from the doorway as one performer attempted to educate us in the world of chillies… while eating them whole. One of my personal favourite moments was the story of Justin O. Schmidt, an entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Arizona, who in 1984 published the Schmidt Sting Index, a systematic look at the relative pain of being stung by 78 species of hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants – all things stinging). His method? Let them sting him and record how much it hurt! More brilliant are his descriptions of the pain: the Bullet Ant scores the highest rating, with the pain described as “Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.’
As well as the most dangerous ants known to man, the night featured topics including icecream, neutrinos and lacrosse and to celebrate all the fantastic performers, we have put together a quick Storify of the evening, complete with some updated links to find out more.