Boring Conference attracts 400

LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The second annual Boring Conference in London attracted 400 people Saturday ready for talks on topics like the view from parking garage roofs.

James Ward, the organizer, told The Independent he is afraid the success of last year's conference -- which originated as a joke on Twitter -- means this one may be too interesting. The attendees include a documentary film crew from Canada to record the proceedings.

The speakers this year include an expert on the hot-air hand-dryer who has installed one in his home. Ward is scheduled to spend 10 minutes on the first decade of "Which," a pioneering consumer magazine that guided Britons in the 1950s and 1960s through subjects like how to use a refrigerator.

Another speaker will discuss how parking garages, ugly inside, often reward drivers with gorgeous views from the top level. The London locations used for the Hugh Grant movie "About a Boy" are another topic.

"What we are talking about is the stuff people take for granted, which is considered trivial mundane," Ward said. "Because it is so familiar when you look at it in detail it is incredibly interesting."