VILNIUS - On April 14, between the hours of 3 and 4 p.m., traffic in parts of the Lithuanian capital will be blocked off to allow a large, green dinosaur to make its way through the center of town and end its trek, so tradition says, by snacking on a female member of Vilnius University's philology department. Anyone familiar with Vilnius culture knows there can be only one explanation for this kind of absurdity: those wacky physics students are at it again.
The occasion is FiDi 39, the 39th annual Physics Day celebration put on by the university's Physics Faculty. The day, which includes several off-beat public events, is as much about noisemaking as it is about Newton.
"A long time ago the students decided to have a tradition, to shake up the university," said the faculty's dean, Professor Juras Banys, recounting how Physics Day started back in 1968.
The oldest and most famous part of the tradition is the procession that starts at the Physics Faculty, Sauletekio 9, at 3 p.m. From there students follow a massive motorized dinosaur through the center of the city, winding up at the Vilnius University's complex in Old Town. The dinosaur, Dinas Zauras to his friends, is a crepe-paper construction with a moving head and tail, built onto the back of a truck.
Dinas' specific destination is the Philology Faculty, whose students greet the procession with further celebrations in their courtyard. It's quite a gracious gesture, especially since they're putting themselves in mortal danger.
"Each year Dinas eats one philologist," confirmed Banys.
Why pick on the philologists? The tradition seems to be connected with something students do best 's flirting. "As you know, physics students are mainly male, and philologists are mainly female," Banys said.
Philology student organizers could not be reached for details on how the victim will be chosen or what other entertainment they'll have in store this year, but members of the public are welcome to drop by the university's main courtyard at 4 p.m. to find out.
Other events on the schedule are put on by the physics students, and naturally include all manner of nerdy fun.
The first of these, a mock press conference, happens at 6 p.m. on April 13, the evening before the big day. Students are encouraged to ask their professors all sorts of ridiculous questions and should expect equally ridiculous answers. The public are invited to sit in at the event, which takes place at the Physics Faculty on Sauletekio.
This may be your big chance to find out if the toilets really flush the other way on the other side of the equator, or how much LT United would weigh on Mars.
More fun, especially for non-Lithuanian speakers, may be the outdoor physics fair held in the Physics Faculty's courtyard. Starting from about noon, before the dinosaur parade, visitors can see all sorts of physics activities and oddities demonstrated, including shooting eggs, baking sausages with high voltage, and professor Banys' favorite, dropping coins into a barrel of water.
The idea is to get the coin to sink down and fall into a glass on the bottom of the barrel. Anyone who manages this feat will win a prize.
"It's not easy" warns the dean. Evidently coins don't fall straight down through fluid.
Whether or not science is their thing, Vilnius residents are welcome to stop by any of these events and join in the fun. At the very least, hanging around the city center for some Saturday afternoon dino-spotting can be a decent way to spend a fine spring day. Unless of course you're a philologist, in which case you should consider heading to Palanga for the weekend.
