The Ig Nobel Awards
The results that we've all been waiting for have been announced: the 2007 Ig Nobel Awards! The 10 awards are handed out by actual Nobel prize winners and include a prize in Aviation that went to a team at Quilmes National University in Buenos Aires, Argentina for showing that hamsters on Viagra recover faster from jet lag. Other awards:
Medicine - Brian Witcombe, of Gloucestershire Royal NHS Foundation Trust, UK, and Dan Meyer for their probing work on the health consequences of swallowing a sword.
Physics - A US-Chile team who ironed out the problem of how sheets become wrinkled.
Biology - Dr Johanna van Bronswijk of the Netherlands for carrying out a creepy crawly census of all of the mites, insects, spiders, ferns and fungi that share our beds.
Chemistry - Mayu Yamamoto, from Japan, for developing a method to extract vanilla fragrance and flavouring from cow dung.
Linguistics - A University of Barcelona team for showing that rats are unable to tell the difference between a person speaking Japanese backwards and somebody speaking Dutch backwards.
Literature - Glenda Browne of Blue Mountains, Australia, for her study of the word "the", and how it can flummox those trying to put things into alphabetical order.
Nutrition - Brian Wansink of Cornell University for investigating the limits of human appetite by feeding volunteers a self-refilling, "bottomless" bowl of soup.
Economics - Kuo Cheng Hsieh of Taiwan for patenting a device that can catch bank robbers by dropping a net over them.
And last but certainly not least:
Peace - The US Air Force Wright Laboratory for instigating research and development on a chemical weapon that would provoke widespread homosexual behavior among enemy troops.
Medicine - Brian Witcombe, of Gloucestershire Royal NHS Foundation Trust, UK, and Dan Meyer for their probing work on the health consequences of swallowing a sword.
Physics - A US-Chile team who ironed out the problem of how sheets become wrinkled.
Biology - Dr Johanna van Bronswijk of the Netherlands for carrying out a creepy crawly census of all of the mites, insects, spiders, ferns and fungi that share our beds.
Chemistry - Mayu Yamamoto, from Japan, for developing a method to extract vanilla fragrance and flavouring from cow dung.
Linguistics - A University of Barcelona team for showing that rats are unable to tell the difference between a person speaking Japanese backwards and somebody speaking Dutch backwards.
Literature - Glenda Browne of Blue Mountains, Australia, for her study of the word "the", and how it can flummox those trying to put things into alphabetical order.
Nutrition - Brian Wansink of Cornell University for investigating the limits of human appetite by feeding volunteers a self-refilling, "bottomless" bowl of soup.
Economics - Kuo Cheng Hsieh of Taiwan for patenting a device that can catch bank robbers by dropping a net over them.
And last but certainly not least:
Peace - The US Air Force Wright Laboratory for instigating research and development on a chemical weapon that would provoke widespread homosexual behavior among enemy troops.
On 10/08/2007 11:13 AM,
Jenn in Holland said…
Oh, I am just so proud of all of them.
How exactly does one apply for funding for such projects? I am more than certain I could come up with some equally futile research efforts. Want to join me in applying for a grant?
On 10/08/2007 3:15 PM,
cathouse teri said…
Hey Purrrrrrrrrrrrty!
Funny, how in the wolfe den the whore and the transsexual come out of the closet... together! ;)
Love the awards!
Loooooooooooooooooove them!
On 10/08/2007 3:32 PM,
robkroese said…
Oh, the rats can tell. They just don't want us to KNOW they can tell.
On 10/08/2007 5:27 PM,
Howard said…
Now where can I get my hands on that bomb? I know a few places I'd like to make it explode.
On 10/08/2007 7:06 PM,
Brent Diggs said…
I'm still thinking about the cow dung.
I know that really nasty smells are the result of mixing partially bads ones together, like perfume and B.O. which alway team up to further assault your oralfacalties.
So I guess if you could filter out random evil scents from manure, scents like Old Spice and Fabric Softer Smell, you might end up with something that smells good.
But I still wouldn't put it in my cappuccino.
On 10/08/2007 7:41 PM,
Nancy said…
Drop that "peace" bomb on Iran .... the land of no homosexuals!
OMG I have to add this ... my word verification :
Wgaycokk
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