The 15th Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony – an award parallel to the Nobel Prize, celebrating “achievements that cannot and will not be repeated,” took place on the morning of October 7 at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University (USA).
The Ig Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Professor John Mainstone and the late Professor Thomas Parnell from the University of Queensland (Australia) for their patient experiment demonstrating that pitch can flow like a liquid if left undisturbed over time. Since 1927, the pitch has dripped just eight times.
The Ig Nobel Prize in Biology went to Professor Mike Tyler from the University of Adelaide (Australia) for his research on the smell of frogs. Professor Tyler concluded that each species of frog has a distinct odor when stressed, which includes scents of peanuts, cashews, Indian curry, freshly cut grass, and spoiled food.
The Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Gregg Miller from Missouri (USA) for inventing artificial dog testicles made from silicone. He had to mortgage his house to mass-produce testicles for neutered dogs and has since established a successful business in this field.
The Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to researchers Edward Cussler and Brian Gettelfinger from the University of Minnesota (USA) for investigating whether swimming in freshwater is faster than in regular water. The experiment required 22 permits and volunteers concluded: Swimming in both environments is the same.
The Ig Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Claire Rind and Peter Simmons from Newcastle University (UK) for their work monitoring the brain activity of locusts while they watched selected clips from the “Star Wars” films.
The Ig Nobel Prize in Literature went to Nigerian internet scammers for sending emails to millions of addresses, claiming to be wealthy individuals wishing to donate large sums of money and asking recipients to disclose personal account information to facilitate the transfer.
The Ig Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Gauri Nanda from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) for inventing an alarm clock that can run away on two wheels to prevent the person being awakened from turning it off. The Ig Nobel Prizes were also awarded in the fields of Nutrition, Agricultural History, and Fluid Dynamics.
C.T (Ig Nobel webpage)
