World of the Bizarre

Drunk worms and pigeon missiles head up Ig Nobel Prize winners

By T.K. Randall
September 13, 2024 ·  3 comments

Can pigeons guide missiles to their targets ? Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Tristan Ferne A parody of the better-known and more prestigious Nobel Prize, the Ig Nobel Prize seeks to offer recognition to those who have contributed to the world of science in more unusual ways.

The winners are typically those who have engaged in research into strange, bizarre and often ludicrous ideas and concepts and this year's recipients are no exception.

2024's winning projects include the discovery that mammals, such as rats and mice, can breathe through their anuses - a find that could help develop new ways to treat respiratory failure.

Elsewhere, late US psychologist BF Skinner was honored for his research into using live pigeons housed inside missiles to guide them to their targets, while an international team won the botany prize for demonstrating that a particular species of plant placed next to a fake one will mimic its plastic leaves.The medicine prize was awarded to a group from Switzerland, Germany and Belgium who managed to demonstrate the extremely peculiar concept that fake medicine with painful side effects can be more effective in patients than fake medicine with no painful side effects.

Meanwhile, a team from Amsterdam developed a technique using chromatography to separate drunk worms from sober worms - an interesting, though totally pointless accomplishment.

There was also a prize for an (albeit more useful) study into the fact that data regarding cases of extreme old age tend to be highly questionable, often originating in countries where life expectancy is lower and proper records, such as birth and death certificates, are unreliable.

"Extreme old age records are a statistical basket case," said study author Dr Saul Newman from the University of Oxford. "From the level of individual cases, up to broad population patterns, virtually none of our old-age data makes sense."

Arguably, though, very few of the studies that won Ig Nobel Prizes this year make much sense either.

Source: The Guardian | Comments (3)

Tags: Ig Nobel Prize