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Celebrating Silly Science Since 1991
By Linda | March 6, 2008
The whole world is already familiar with the Nobel Prize. This post highlights a lesser known, but in my view much more entertaining accolade; the Ig Nobel Prize. The Igs are awarded based on the silliness of their recipient’s scientific achievements more than anything else. The real aim being to first make people laugh, and then make them think.
Reminescent of the Darwin Awards but much less mean spirited, the IG Nobel Prize was created to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginitive and spur people’s interest in science, medicine and technology. All prizes are awarded for actual achievements and are commonly presented by genuine Nobel Laureates!
The creators of this popular coiffure took the prize in 2004!
Here is a list of my favorite past Ig Nobel Prize winners - one from each year:
Medicine (1991) - Alan Kligerman, deviser of digestive deliverance, vanquisher of vapor, and inventor of Beano, for his pioneering work with anti-gas liquids that prevent bloat, gassiness, discomfort and embarrassment.
Chemistry (1992) - Ivette Bassa, constructor of colorful colloids, for her role in the crowning achievement of twentieth century chemistry, the synthesis of bright blue Jell-O.
Visionary Technology (1993) - Presented jointly to Jay Schiffman of Farmington Hills, Michigan, crack inventor of AutoVision, an image projection device that makes it possible to drive a car and watch television at the same time, and to the Michigan State Legislature, for making it legal to do so.
Entomology (1994) - Presented to Robert A. Lopez of Westport, NY, valiant veterinarian and friend of all creatures great and small, for his series of experiments in obtaining ear mites from cats, inserting them into his own ear, and carefully observing and analyzing the results.
Psychology (1995) - Presented to Shigeru Watanabe, Junko Sakamoto, and Masumi Wakita, of Keio University, for their success in training pigeons to discriminate between the paintings of Picasso and those of Monet.
Biology (1996) - Presented jointly to Anders Barheim and Hogne Sandvik of the University of Bergen, Norway, for their report, “Effect of Ale, Garlic, and Soured Cream on the Appetite of Leeches.”
Entomology (1997) - Presented to Mark Hostetler of the University of Florida, for his book, That Gunk on Your Car, which identifies the insect splats that appear on automobile windows.
Literature (1998) - Presented to Dr. Mara Sidoli of Washington, DC, for her illuminating report, “Farting as a Defense Against Unspeakable Dread”.
Peace (1999) - Presented to Charl Fourie and Michelle Wong of Johannesburg, South Africa, for inventing the Blaster, an automobile burglar alarm consisting of a detection circuit and a flamethrower.
Computer Science (2000) - Presented to Chris Niswander of Tucson, Arizona, for inventing PawSense, software that detects when a cat is walking across your computer keyboard.
Biology (2001) - Presented to Buck Weimer of Pueblo, Colorado for inventing Under-Ease, airtight underwear with a replaceable charcoal filter that removes bad-smelling gases before they escape.
Interdisciplinary Research (2002) - Presented to Karl Kruszelnicki of The University of Sydney, Australia, for performing a comprehensive survey of human belly button fluff — who gets it, when, what color, and how much.
Physics (2003) - Presented to Jack Harvey, John Culveno, Warren Payne, Steve Cowle, Michael Lawrance, David Stuart, and Robyn Williams of Australia, for their irresistible report “An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces”.
Engineering (2004) - Presented jointly to Donald J. Smith and his father, Frank J. Smith, of Orlando, Florida, for patenting the comb over (U.S. Patent 4,022,227)
Fluid Dynamics (2005) - Presented jointly to Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow of International University Bremen, Germany and the University of Oulu, Finland; and József Gál of Loránd Eötvös University, Hungary, for using basic principles of physics to calculate the pressure that builds up inside a penguin, as detailed in their report “Pressures Produced When Penguins Poo — Calculations on Avian Defecation”.
Chemistry (2006) - Antonio Mulet, José Javier Benedito and José Bon of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, and Carmen Rosselló of the University of Illes Balears, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, for their study “Ultrasonic Velocity in Cheddar Cheese as Affected by Temperature”.
Nutrition (2007) - Brian Wansink, for investigating people’s appetite for mindless eating by secretly feeding them a self-refilling bowl of soup.
Read more about upcoming Ig Nobel events and awards ceremonies at Improbable Research, an official sponsor of the Igs. You can also view a complete list of past winners at the site.
Topics: Jokes, Humor & Poetry, Technology, The Petri Dish |
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April 13th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
[…] Although some of these science fair projects may seem wacky, professionals in the real world are applying science in far sillier ways and winning prizes for it! To read about Silly Science’s answer to the Academy Awards CLICK HERE! […]
May 12th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
[…] “Shoppies” celebrate fakes - The “Iggies” honor very real, albeit silly science. To learn more about the IgNobel Awards CLICK […]