Football Crazy

”IT’S a question that’s been kicking about for thousands of years,’ according to Alok Jha, the Guardian’s science correspondent.

‘Imagine I’m holding a football…’

The question to which he refers is, of course: is our universe infinite?

Scientist Jeff Watts believes he has found the answer, and in the process, he has cracked another problem: how can I get lots of publicity for my project?

The answer to the latter problem is simple: make sure you contrive a connection, however tenuous, with the f-word.

This he has duly done - hence the relatively prominent position of the story, and its sexy headline: ‘Universe is shaped like a football, says scientist’.

But there is a problem. Watts is based in New York, and American footballs are shaped like rugby balls.

His model resembles a soccer ball, which gets you page six of the Guardian, but is unlikely to excite the New York Times.

Back to the drawing board, guys. Maybe breasts…’

Posted: 9th, October 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink