Do you laugh out loud when you encounter headlines about health or science topics that are unsupported by scientific evidence? Then you will like the humour of BAHFest, a satirical competition held every October.

At BAHFest (the Bad Ad hoc Hypotheses Festival), speakers present well-argued and thoroughly researched but completely incorrect theories. Presenters speak before live audiences. The judges consist of a panel of experts with real science credentials. The prize is a coveted trophy featuring the top half of Charles Darwin shrugging his shoulders asking, “I guess so?” If you own a 3-D printer, you can make your own, but that would be cheating.

I discovered BAHFest in a recent Science Friday podcast. Ira Flatow interviewed creator Zack Weinersmith, and Sarah Hird, winner of BAHFest West 2014. It’s an informative, light discussion about what the festival is all about, great for loading onto your phone and listening to on a walk. Weinersmith is a cartoonist and creator of the web cartoon Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.

Why is satire so funny?

Because fiction masquerading as truth is everywhere and it takes a good crap detector and a sense of glee to navigate a click bait world! Even the email example to sign up for BAHFest updates is funny: darwin@galapagos.com.

Have you ever wondered why middle-aged men have belly fat? Check out Michael Anderson’s BAHFest East 2014 winning talk at MIT, The Abdominal Torus. 

You may also enjoy Sarah Hird’s BAHFest West 2014 winning talk, Why Do Mammals Sleep?