Research on Finger Nails and Zebra-Striped Cattle
The 35th Ig-Nobel Prizes were awarded in a university building in Boston, themed around "digestion". This quirky event, which celebrates unusual research and honours the imaginative, attracted around 1000 spectators. Among the guests were genuine Nobel laureates, who watched as paper airplanes were thrown from the audience.
In the aviation category, a team of scientists from Israel, the USA, and Colombia won for their research on whether alcohol affects bats' ability to fly and echolocate. The idea for this study was born while the researchers were enjoying a drink, demonstrating that inspiration can strike at the most unexpected moments.
Another intriguing study was conducted by a German research team, who won in the category of peace. They found that alcohol consumption can sometimes improve a person's ability to speak a foreign language. This discovery was made during a conference in Vienna.
A research team from Nigeria, Togo, Italy, and France won in the category of nutrition for their study on lizards choosing specific types of pizza to eat. The preferred pizza of the lizards studied is not specified in the available search results.
In the category of psychology, a team from Poland, Australia, and Canada received the award for their research on what happens when you tell narcissists or anyone else that they are intelligent.
A US scientist and another researcher were awarded in the category of pediatrics for their research on a baby's experience when its mother consumes garlic while breastfeeding.
The Ig-Nobel title is a play on words, derived from "Ignoble" meaning "dishonorable" in German. Despite the humorous name, the research honoured at the ceremony has the potential to make a significant impact in various fields.
Two researchers from India were honoured in the category of engineering design for analysing how smelly shoes affect the positive experiences of using a shoe rack.
A research team from Japan received the prize in the biology category for tests to find out whether cows painted with a kind of zebra stripes can avoid being bitten by flies.
The ceremony concluded with the traditional closing remarks by host Marc Abrahams: "If you didn't win an Ig-Nobel Prize this year, especially if you did, here's to better luck next year!"
Two notable posthumous honours were given. William Bean, a US researcher, was honoured in the category of literature for his 35-year study on the growth rate of one of his fingernails. Fritz Renner and Jessica Werthmann from the University of Freiburg, who were part of the German team that won the prize in the category of peace, could not attend the ceremony but sent a thank-you speech.
The Ig-Nobel Prizes continue to celebrate research that challenges conventional wisdom and encourages us to question the world around us.
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