Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

 

Whale snot and other winners of the Ig Nobel prize

ig nobel scientistGot any inventions up your sleeve? You could be a candidate for the next Ig Nobel prize, an award for weird and wonderful ideas in science.

We’ve all heard of the Nobel prize, but how about the Ig Nobel prize? This annual award goes to quirky inventions and is awarded at the University of Harvard in America.

The 2010 winner of the Ig Nobel prize for engineering went to Dr. Karina Avecado-Whitehouse from the Zoological Society of London and Dr. Diane Gendron from the Mexican National Polyechnic Institution, for their work collecting 'whale snot'. The pair designed a radio-controlled helicopter that can be flown above a whale as it sprays water when breathing through its blowhole, collecting samples in petridishes which can then be analysed for evidence of respiratory diseases.

Other winners included two scientists from the Netherlands who proved that the symptoms of asthma can be treated with a rollercoaster ride and a team from the University of Otago in New Zealand who demonstrated that people are less likely to slip on icy paths if they wear socks over their shoes, while the 'peace' prize went to the study undertaken at Keele University which showed that swearing relieves pain.

All the research is real and is often published in well-known scientific or medical journals. Winners don’t get any prize money but the awards are presented by real Nobel prize winners, one of whom – a professor of physics – stays behind to sweep up after the festivities.

Marc Abrahams, editor of the 'Annals of Annals of Improbable Research', spoke about the awards:

"The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honour the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology."

Related links

Your shout!

Do you have any ideas for a study that could win the Ig Nobel prize? Share your thoughts by posting a comment using the link below.