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Uproar as world's dullest conference is declared 'interesting'

Seminar on electric hand dryers steals show

Uproar as world's dullest conference is declared 'interesting'
Danielle de Wolfe
21 November 2011

A conference dedicated to the art of boredom is being condemned after being a sellout hit.

Boring 2011 examined the dull side of life, with a series of speakers in London. Topics included the advance of electric hand-dryers, locations from the movie About A Boy, the first ten years of Which? magazine 1957-67, polite small talk, the beauty of car park roofs and the thoughts of a man who kept a list of everything he had eaten in the past year.

Boring 2011 was brainchild of James Ward, 30, author of the blog I Like Boring Things.

After the cancellation of the "Interesting" conference last year due to lack of interest, Ward tweeted that there should be an alternative event called Boring that would kill people with its mundanity. The response was so huge he had to follow it through.

James said: "Last year we held a much smaller gathering but this is the first ever conference. I can't believe the number attending. Maybe next year we can host it at the O2."

But once the conference started it all went horribly wrong. Tim Steiner's love for electric hand dryers was a "runaway success". The audience sat gripped by details of the Mitsubushi Jet Towel. Many left livid that it was interesting.

Image: Rex