Ergoweb is participating in the 18th World Congress on Ergonomics, being held in Recife, Brazil, and it has been a week of serious hard work as ergonomists from around the world share and learn, but last night our Brazilian hosts set a whole new standard for the social component of a professional conference.
Here's their recipe for fun:
- Start with many hundreds of ergonomics researchers and practitioners who are normally fairly staid, and perhaps even a bit up-tight at times;
- Bus them to Carvalheira, a Cachaca distillery in Recife, Brazil;
- Add a great 10 member band of talented musicians playing music non-stop from 8:30 pm until well past midnight;
- Add some good food;
- Add an endless supply of drinks, especially caipirinhas, the signature Brazilian drink (try to overlook the poor bartenders who for hours exhibit abducted arm postures with high grip force and downward pressure and forearm rotation as they muddle the mixture of fruit, sugar and cachaca at the bottom of your glass);
- Turn heat to a tropical 86 degrees F (30 degrees C)
- Raise humidity to near 100%;
- Add some professional Brazilian Carnaval dancers to the dance floor to motivate the crowd;
- Vigorously shake, rock and roll to the music;
- Dance, sweat, smile and enjoy!
The results should look something like this:
