Snail throwing? Is that why we’re paying £9k?

It has recently been revealed that students have spent both their time and money researching into the behaviour of – believe it or not – snails.

In the name of biological science, a group of students marked 416 snails and threw them over a wall 1,385 times.

The reason for this experiment was to investigate whether snails thrown 20 metres return to the same garden. The result: they don’t.

They’re hardly the most aerodynamic creatures, are they?

In regard to the study, Exeter’s University’s Dr Dave Hodgson said: “At the University of Exeter we are continuing studies into snail-homing behaviour, and the management of snails as pests and as vectors of disease, via projects with Masters Students, PhDs and gardeners.”

So, from University of Exeter’s research, we now know that stress is bad for a snail’s memory and that we can easily protect our gardens by throwing them 20 metres.

The equivalent of two snails colliding, perhaps?

With the rise of tuition fees to £9,000 a year, though, is this the sort of research we expect from a Russell Group University?

Katie Vickers, first year Physics student, said: “While I agree it’s not exactly the most ground-breaking of scientific experiments. I don’t believe further developing our understanding of nature should be called a waste of time.”

Ciara Svensen, however, a first year Geography and Business student, said: “I definitely wouldn’t expect it from [University of Exeter]. I would say it is a waste of money, it could be used instead to cut down tuition fees.”