And sure, everyone already knows that lab rats are just mad for the craic.

Anyway, this final episode of the series about different aspects of human expression was all about laughing. Dusty Springfield, Elvis, Billie Holiday and the cast of The Muppet Show provided the music while the children of Claddaghduff National School in Connemara told the jokes. Chislers in fits after delivering old gags always makes for infectiously goodhumoured radio. A sample: "Why did the man throw butter out the window? Because he wanted to see a butterfly [cue giggles]." OK, so it's not Bill Bailey but it induced a smile nonetheless.

Another zoologist, of the marine persuasion, materialised the same day on Left Brain, Right Brain, a new RTE Radio 1 programme exploring whether the twain of the sciences and the arts can ever meet.

Prof Tom Cross and his artist sister Dorothy Cross have collaborated on a short film about the selftrained biologist Maud Delap, who used to breed jellyfish in bell-jars in her father's house in Valentia, Co Kerry back in 1902. Valentia must have been quieter back then. The Cross siblings have also investigated the Box Jellyfish, which killed 100 people in its natural habitat of Australia during the 20th century, compared to just 38 who were done for by sharks and a meagre 18 finished off by crocodiles.

"The tourist brochures for Australia don't tell you about Box Jellyfish, " Tom deadpanned, before opining: "Scientists are dull, usually, but artists have passion." Dorothy disagreed, arguing: "Who would sit beside a frog with a camera for five years to see what it does. . . that's about an amazing patience . . . it must involve passion?" I'm no scientist but I'd sit beside a frog with a camera myself for five years if I thought it could take a better picture for my passport.

Along the way, we gleaned that Dorothy thinks there's "so much bad art around" because . . . unlike scientists . . . artists "have to prove nothing". More fascinatingly, we learned that the Box Jellyfish can swim five metres in one second, that its sting can kill within half an hour and that it has a dozen eyes which make it look like something from a 1950s Bmovie. "It's got very well-formed eyes, as wellformed as our own eyes, " said Tom, "but very little brain, in fact no brain, just a series of nerves."

Which brings us neatly onto the people who queued for those 12-a-pop designer reusable shopping bags last weekend. Marty Whelan, who started filling in on The Gerry Ryan Show on 2FM this week, couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. And neither could Vicky, one of his callers. "A shopping bag. . . made of canvas. . . I'm Not A Plastic Bag. . ." Marty mused. "And I'm not an eejit, " said Vicky.

Marty must be a "series of nerves" himself by this stage, what with all the ignominy he has suffered at the hands of RTE. "It's been a quiet spring, " he admitted, in that loveable poor-man's-Wogan style of his, "but he's back, he's found another way in." With Marty, as with the Box Jellyfish, you can run but you can't hide.

Eithne Tynan is on leave