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The Nobel boys club (again)
Confirmed
In Short: The Ig Nobel Prizes, a parody of the Nobel Prizes, were awarded this year, but the ceremony will not be held in the US due to safety concerns.
The winners of the Ig Nobel Prizes, a good-natured parody of the Nobel Prizes, were announced this week, honoring research ranging from the perfect splash-free urinal design to the aerodynamics of nose-blowing.
Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of The Annals of Improbable Research magazine, stated that it had become unsafe for guests to visit the US, leading to the decision to hold the ceremony elsewhere.
This year's ceremony will take place in Antwerp, Flanders, and Abrahams noted that it will be similar to the Eurovision Song Contest with a European base.
The Ig Nobels, established in 1991, celebrate achievements that initially make people laugh and then make them think, featuring miniature operas, scientific demonstrations, and '24/7 lectures,' where experts explain their work in 24 seconds and then in just seven words.
Starting in 2028, the Ig Nobels will return to Zurich and be held every even-numbered year thereafter.
Women have historically been underrepresented among Nobel laureates, making up only 4% since the award's inception, though this has increased to 12% in the past decade.
What this adds
The Ig Nobels will continue to provide a platform for unconventional and often humorous scientific research, highlighting the lighter side of academia.
What's confirmed
- The winners of the Ig Nobel Prizes, a good-natured parody of the Nobel Prizes, were announced this week, honoring research ranging from the perfect splash-free urinal design to the aerodynamics of nose-blowing.
- Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of The Annals of Improbable Research magazine, stated that it had become unsafe for guests to visit the US, leading to the decision to hold the ceremony elsewhere.
- This year's ceremony will take place in Antwerp, Flanders, and Abrahams noted that it will be similar to the Eurovision Song Contest with a European base.
- The Ig Nobels, established in 1991, celebrate achievements that initially make people laugh and then make them think, featuring miniature operas, scientific demonstrations, and '24/7 lectures,' where experts explain their work in 24 seconds and then in just seven words.
- Starting in 2028, the Ig Nobels will return to Zurich and be held every even-numbered year thereafter.
- Women have historically been underrepresented among Nobel laureates, making up only 4% since the award's inception, though this has increased to 12% in the past decade.
What's still developing
- Test your knowledge with our new weekday mini crossword If you’re into online gambling, I think it’s worth mentioning that STAT predicted optogenetics’ success and a potential Nobel almost a decade ago.
- Yesterday, the winners of the last of the three science Nobels were announced. (You can read about the chemistry laureates here).
- If you have $249 on hand, you can upload a recent mammogram to a website and receive a prediction of your five-year breast cancer risk.
- This year, the prizes honor research on designing the perfect splash-free urinal; using mosquito proboscises to “necroprint” tiny nozzles; studying composition rates of buried cotton underwear; and the aerodynamics of a healthy nose-blow, among other highlights.
- “We cannot in good conscience ask the new winners, or the international journalists who cover the event, to travel to the US this year.” Next year’s ceremony will be held in Antwerp, Flanders.
- “In that respect, it will be a little like the Eurovision Song Contest with a base in Europe,” said Abrahams, who founded the Ig Nobels and serves as emcee during the annual ceremony.
- It’s that time of year again, when we learn which lucky scientists are among the winners of the Ig Nobel Prizes.