The annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony took place in Boston, USA on Thursday, September 18th, unveiling research results that may sound strange, even absurd at first glance, but hold unexpected practical value.
Also known as the “Funny Nobel Prize,” the Ig Nobel Prize is organized by the Annals of Improbable Research, a digital magazine that focuses on reporting research results that make people laugh first and then think. Award-winning research must combine humor, scientific rigor, and inspiration, prompting people to laugh before contemplating, demonstrating that research is not always serious and sometimes “eccentricity” can lead to new knowledge or important discoveries.
The organizers noted that many great discoveries initially seem ridiculous, and the Ig Nobel Prize aims to acknowledge the spirit of research that makes people “laugh first, think later.”
The award ceremony took place at Boston University, with ten categories of winners this year. Winners who couldn’t attend had Nobel laureates stand in to deliver speeches on their behalf.
A Japanese research team discovered that spraying white stripes resembling zebras on cows can reduce fly bites. Tomoki Kojima, a member of the team, wore a striped outfit at the ceremony while researchers around him used paper fly swatters to annoy him. He mentioned that while their research found the method effective, there are still challenges to its large-scale application.
“When I conducted this experiment, I hoped to win the Ig Nobel Prize. This is my dream. It’s unbelievable, truly unbelievable,” said Tomoki Kojima. His team taped adhesive strips on Japanese cows and sprayed white stripes, which resulted in a 50% reduction in flies attracted to the cows, seemingly making them less susceptible to fly annoyance.
These seemingly whimsical topics actually involve practical issues such as behavioral biology, insect behavior, and animal welfare.
Other highlights of the awarded research include a European team finding that drinking alcohol temporarily enhances foreign language speaking abilities; a researcher spending decades studying nail growth; and Indian scientists exploring whether stinky shoes affect people’s usage of shoe racks.
An American-Israeli research team tested whether a non-stick pan coating material, “Teflon,” can increase food volume. An international team discovered that giving alcohol to bats makes them fly slower and disrupts their echolocation.
Additionally, there were studies on lizards’ preferences for pizza and the physics of spaghetti sauce.
This year’s theme was “digestion,” and the ceremony featured a small opera based on the theme of gastroenterologists and patients. There was also a segment called “24-second speech” where top researchers had to introduce their research within 24 seconds.
(Reference: The Associated Press)