The Eagle is one of Cambridge’s most popular pubs, particularly among tourists. Arguably one reason for this is the story, a favourite of the tour guides, that DNA was in some way ‘discovered’ in the pub. To be fair, the Eagle does not itself claim this: rather, they say that “Watson & Crick used the Eagle as a place to relax and discuss their theories whilst refreshing themselves with ales.”

In the first place, James Watson and Francis Crick did not discover DNA: rather, they discovered the ‘double helix’ structure which DNA uses to replicate itself. Secondly, most of their research was done not in the pub but – as is traditional – in a laboratory, specifically the old Cavendish Laboratory on the New Museums site. At the time Watson and Crick were at Clare and Caius respectively.

The major breakthrough in that research came on February 28 1953, after they had seen the work of radiologist Rosalind Franklin, who had been X-raying DNA at King’s College, London, and who was very close to discovering its structure herself. Watson has said that “the discovery was made on that day, not slowly over the course of the week,” and that afternoon the pair walked round the corner into the Eagle, where Crick announced, “We have found the secret of life.”

So, as you could probably guess, the story is untrue. But it serves to remind us of the importance of Cambridge pubs to generations of work-hard-play-hard dons and students, and the Eagle, as one of the city’s oldest, must have seen thousands of great minds through its doors. Moreover, given the very strong partnership between Crick and Watson, without which they would not have made the breakthrough, it makes us remember the importance of social bonding in academia, and that a chat at Cindies can be as intellectually scintillating as any supervision. At least, that’s what you can tell your DoS.

Hugo Gye