Amorous ostriches scoop Ig Nobel prize.

October 4, 2002 12:50 AM

Amorous ostriches scoop Ig Nobel prize. 'An investigation into why amorous UK ostriches were failing to breed is just one of the winners of the 2002 Ig Nobel Prizes. The annual awards for achievements that "cannot or should not be reproduced" were presented at Harvard University on 3 October. '
'Work on scrotal asymmetry in men and sculpture, the surface area of Indian elephants and a Japanese dog bark translator were among the other recipients of Ig Nobels, awarded annually by the humour magazine, the Annals of Improbable Research.'
The Ig Nobel homepage.
posted by plep (2 comments total)

in statues "the left testicle is always the larger, as in nature". He took a closer look at 107 anatomically correct male statues, and found that the historian was right about most statues but wrong about men, which normally have larger right testicles

It's not just testicles. I remember reading in David Hockney's book Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters, that painters and sculptors more often than not portray their human subjects as left-handed. Take a look at some artwork and you will see people holding drinks, books, etc. with their left hand. Apparently this looks more natural to the viewer.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:11 AM on October 4, 2002

I would have liked to see links for those items run off in the last sentence. Feeling lazy right now, but want to read about the Japanese dog bark translator later.
posted by son_of_minya at 1:54 PM on October 4, 2002