Let me though, I have a hypothesis!

I miss Tomorrow's World. It was on prime time, and it made nerdy science-stuff interesting, not to mention inspiring (a bit like Junkk.com I hear you say, no?). And as I can't think of anything that has since replaced it (and while I do confess to the odd peek and snigger, Sky's 'Brainiac' ain't even close), I think I can trace the fact that Universities are closing down Physics and Chemistry Departments left and right to this sad fact.

Which is why I quite perked up when I saw this: Science Comes to the Masses (You Want Fries With That?)

And I quote: "A scientist walks into a bar. More than 100 people are there, eager to hear all that she has to say and ask a lot of questions. No joke. Science is not cold and remote in this setting. It's live, interactive, free and informal, with a drink or two. The purpose is to make science accessible and even fun to anyone with the time to stop by." Amen. Not to mention... coooooool!

At first I thought it was one of those dashed clever ideas from our cousins over the pond, but it turns out they copied it from... us! It all started with an article in Nature by one Duncan Dallas, now a retired television producer, who started Café Scientifique in 1998 with a note posted in a bar in Leeds: "Where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to discuss the scientific ideas and developments which are changing our lives."

Café Scientifiques in Britain received public financing to get started, and dozens are now held around the country.

Now, a plan forms in my head....