Those crazy academics.
This posting from Boing Boing:
The Improbable Researchers are a group of scientists who collect and conduct research to provoke both laughter and thought. They publish a bi-monthly magazine, "Annals of Improbable Research;" they award the coveted " Ig Nobel Prizes;" and they oversee the exclusive and ridiculous Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists ("for scientists who have, or believe they have, luxuriant flowing hair").
They launch an online series of offbeat videos this week, and like all they do, these 'net shorts are an amalgam of science, technology, and history with Monty-Python-esque irreverence.
In the Researchers' own words:
Each collection - each episode - is about three minutes long, composed of bits and pieces and people from the magazine Annals of Improbable Research, from Ig Nobel Prize lectures and ceremonies and other live events, and from many other sources. We have been collecting this material for almost twenty years.