amusing conference anecdotes

[spinassienne]

Bored writing a paper... gearing up for a conference next week and have been thinking back over conferences past. I remember one in particular a few years back where I got chatting to a pompous mansplaining fart colleague at the opening night drinkies do when I spotted his tie was decorated with comedy copulating pigs. Just why? Any other conference gems you'd like to share?

Don't know how amusing it is to anyone else but your story did remind me of the fancy academic event dinner at which I was sat next to a colleague from another discipline who felt I should recognize him from some 'famous' advert he'd done for insert name of big company here and was very put out I'd never seen it and had no idea who he was. He gave up on me to mansplain to my colleague the field in which she was currently running an absolutely enormous grant and abandoned the table altogether when she shot him down in flames. Well, we found it funny!

I was once at a conference, went to the loo and chatted to the friendly lady in there when washing my hands, asking her where she came from, what she did, whether she would stick around for the dull keynote. Yep she was the dull keynote

Mansplainers being handed their arse is ALWAYS funny Queenrefusenick

creameggs did you manage to style your way out of that one?

@lovecreameggs, nice one!

Another one has just come to me - the conference at which one of the Big Swinging Dicks of our discipline, a deeply unpleasant man, was keynote. Another more lowly colleague alerted us to the fact he had just been interviewed by the glorious Philomena Cunk and the results were on YouTube. I don't know if he heard the sniggering from the podium but he must have been looking out at a sea of heads bent down over phones...

I still watch it sometimes when I need cheering up.

On a happier note, a much more pleasant Big Swinging Dick frequently (grand)dad-dances on the tables at conference wine receptions. Always gets the party started!

I always find that the people at the absolute top of the tree are usually quite nice, as they can afford to be. Being a dick is a sign of someone who hasn't quite made it.

I wish that were true, OP, but I find there are plenty of arseholes in all walks of life. Maybe it's me

Ah QueenRefusenik I remember that Philomena Cunk interview!