I spoke to Marc Abrahams, founder of the barmy-but-brilliant Ig Nobel Prizes – which every year honour discoveries which make people laugh and then think.

But don't confuse this with simply poking fun at science - it's clear that Marc ultimately cares deeply about tweaking the publics interest in science, medicine and technology. He just thinks that using humour is the best way to do this... and who could disagree? With former prize winners including the inventor of a bra that turns into a face mask, the team behind work on why wombats do square poo, the medic who figured out which rollercoasters are best for dislodging kidney stones and many, many more – he is clearly on to something.

We spoke, among other things, about the prize itself, why it is important, why science is taught wrongly and why surprise is key to all this.