Date: Wednesday, May 31st
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
Join us for another magical, nerdy evening! We have three excellent talks planned:
Lexy Spry with “Flax to the Future: Everything I know about Linen”
Alex Demers discussing the social perception of gender through vocal presentation (how are we biased around voices, and how to change your own!)
Emilee Martell will finish out the evening with prescribed fires! Is it good to set prairies on fire, and how do you do it?
(Note: this is a “rain date” for the cancelled February nite!)
Date: Wednesday, April 26th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon
It’s time for another wacky and wild Nerd Nite! Up this month:
Welcome a visiting Nerd all the way from the University of Alabama, Jacelyn Peabody-Lever, for some ferret talk! How is a human like a ferret? The surprising similarities are in our lungs! Learn about what these similarities mean for scientists studying lung disease.
We will also have the pleasure of returning Nerd Nite presenter Tyler Wintermute with “Super MariWOAH! Way too much about Super Mario Bros (1993)”. He will be doing a deep dive into the bizarre cult classic film of the 90s just in time for you to check out the new one.
Our third speaker, Lisa Luczak, will be debunking diets: “Low carb high fat? Vegan? Paleo? Keto? High carb low fat? We’ll debunk popular diets, counter misinformation, and discuss nutrition hot topics with a Registered Dietitian.”
Date: Wednesday, March 22nd
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
“Not too cold to croak: frogsicles and other things”, presented by Larry Werner! He will be discussing how frogs and other vertebrates cope with the winter months– an appropriate topic as temperatures refuse to increase this spring!
Next is “There is a voice in your head? Surprising hidden differences in our inner experiences” with Gary Lupyan. Have you ever wondered why some people have an inner monologue, or why some people can smell ants? Gary will share some interesting insights about how this relates to evolution, culture, and how we do science.
Finally, Scott Olsen will be presenting “Furniture making as a hobby and social activity! (or, how to get compliments by making things)”. Scott says: “After witnessing other craft people, I decided to keep myself busy designing and building furniture for life. I work out of my garage making tables, desks, lamps, shelving units, beds, picture frames and more. In addition to the occasional compliment, I get usable high-quality items that I could not otherwise afford. If you’re interested in learning more about furniture, tools and woodworking skills and perhaps starting something like this yourself come see the presentation!”
Date: Wednesday, February 22nd
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Stay safe and warm! Look for future information regarding Lexy, Alex, and Emilee’s presentations!
Date: Wednesday, January 18th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Have you ever wondered what a cat is hearing, seeing, smelling, or feeling? Local veterinary professional Elycia Degenhardt will help you get a cat’s view of the world with her talk on Cat Senses. Learn about the meowvelous abilities and unique purrception of our feline friends while looking at a lot of cute cat pictures on a big screen.
Want the perfect gift for the cat in your life? The music Elycia discussed is available here.
Up next: Learn the salty facts!
All the salt applied to roads and sidewalks ends up in our lakes, streams, and drinking water. How salty is our water, what impacts does salt have, and what’s being done to protect freshwater resources.
Check out Wisconsin Salt Wise to stay in touch with what Allison is working on!
Date: Wednesday, December 14th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Join us for the last Nerd Nite of 2022!
Our first speaker is experienced Nerd Niter Bob Baddeley: “Bob Baddeley will expose the mind-boggling world of “Intermodal Transport and Supply Chain Logistics.” As we all have consumerism heavily on our minds this season, we’ll take a look at all the things that have to happen to get your presents to you. We’ll blow your mind with a glimpse of the hundreds of steps it takes to get a simple product from raw materials to underneath your tree, and how everyone can coordinate across borders and trust each other to move billions of dollars worth of stuff around the globe every day.”
Next up is Nicholas Rogall with “Cult of the Classics: The Greco-Roman Mysteries”. He describes it thusly: “That’s right, the Greeks have been drinking the Koolaid since ancient times! Greco-Roman mystery cults were a personalized and secretive way to worship the gods & goddesses we know and love. We’ll dive into members-only revelries, raw meat feasts, and the mythical equivalent of Civil War reenactments.”
Finishing the evening is Emmy Hill. Emmy says: “I will briefly describe the geological and biological/paleontological history of the earth from the Big Bang to the present. We’ll discuss global climate change, dinosaurs, all the really weird animals we have had over the years, and all the weird rocks we have as a result.”
Date: Wednesday, November 30th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
We will start with Gigi Melone and a group of “Insect Ambassadors” from UW-Madison’s Entomology department. It’s about time we gave bugs some love!
Shawn Steffan and Jacki Whisenant are our two Insect Ambassadors. Shawn will be discussing the power of insect-microbe symbioses through deep evolutionary time, using bees, leaf-cutter ants, and bark beetles as examples! Jacki Whisenant will be taking us behind the scenes at the UW Zoology Museum and their flesh-eating beetle colony!
Next up is Whitney Thompson, giving a talk about the “Taylor Swift” of the 1800s: Under the nom de plume of Claribel, Charlotte Alington Barnard (1830-1869) published over 100 songs between 1859 and 1869, mostly in the sentimental- or drawing-room-ballad genre. Despite the domesticity suggested by the genre’s name, her songs were so popular that they escaped the drawing room and became staples not just of amateur music societies, but also of large public concerts. However, with her success came a fierce backlash from the trade press. Publications like The Orchestra and The Athenaeum decried the profusion of “Claribel-ware,” occasionally outright calling the music “trash” and particularly protesting the nascent royalty system in which Claribel took part. Her career may have only lasted a decade, but Claribel was nonetheless at the forefront of some massive changes in both the business and culture of music, and it’s that impact that I’ll attempt to sketch out here.
Last up is Kevin Bachhuber, who has a different angle on insect appreciation: food! He founded the US’s first FDA inspected human food grade insect farm, and continues to work in the industry today.
Check out our facebook page for more information referenced in tonight’s Nerd Nite including Kevin’s favorite cricket recipe and Whitney’s Claribel research site!
Date: Wednesday, October 26th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Hilary Stohs-Krause will be, appropriately for Halloween, talking about fear! “Let’s dive into why modern humans are generally so terrible at risk assessment. Our world is increasingly complicated, and our fear response has been left behind (it’s like current threats are displayed via hologram, but our brain is trying to play them with a gramophone). We’ll explore threat pathways in our brains, risk amplifiers and the established “types” of fears. Enter the Halloween season ready to face all the goblins, ghouls and men’s rights activists with confidence!”
Lili Luxe will be discussing “Scintillating Stories of Stenography” “Courtroom drama is a popular form of entertainment and dominates headlines around the world every day. This talk will introduce you to the person who is front and center of every proceeding, the stenographer. Learn how that weird little machine works and some history behind this fascinating — and surprisingly lucrative! — profession.”
Our final presentation is by Finn Kuusisto, sharing the lore of the popular first-person shooter video game Hunt: Showdown. “Hunt monsters in the bayous of late 19th century Louisiana for fun and profit. We’ll briefly review the lore of Crytek’s popular horror-themed shooter game that almost never saw the light of day. From the Louisiana event to the emissaries of the Sculptor, we’ll
cover all the basic story you need to know to be a real hunter.”
Date: Wednesday, September 7th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
Mark your calendars! The Nerd Nite Madison season opener after our summer break is 8:00pm September 7th at the High Noon Saloon. As always, Nerd Nite is free and 18+ admitted. (21+ to drink).
Speakers are Jessica Schmitz, talking about her life raising jumping spiders, and Tyler Wintermute with a tale from Hoosier history and the Indiana Gas Boom! Your host Haley will close out the night with a round up of interesting nerd news that you might have missed this summer, plus some exciting announcements for Nerd Nite you won’t want to miss!
Date: Wednesday, May 25th
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)
This event was canceled – see you all after the summer hiatus!