IgNobel means noble!? Only in America…
September 15, 2023 4:44 PM Subscribe
But the anal print sensor identification?
I mean, retina scans are one thing….
posted by MtDewd at 5:11 PM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I mean, retina scans are one thing….
posted by MtDewd at 5:11 PM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I was surprised to see that the Milgram research w results published in 1969 was eligible for the award this year, but it turns out there is no date eligibility requirement for the ig Nobel prizes. Probably a good, thing as the true impact of some research can take years or even decades to truly be felt.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 5:30 PM on September 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 5:30 PM on September 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
As someone who professes for a living, the boredom studies actually sounded like they might be helpful?
posted by thomas j wise at 5:52 PM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by thomas j wise at 5:52 PM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Not a big fan.
I’ve always thought there was something off about the whole enterprise, but when I listened to a live broadcast of a main event on Ira Flatow's Science Friday, the ceaseless and dispirited laughter re-echoing through an obviously almost empty auditorium rang creepier and more hollow than anything you could have heard outside the Rajneeshie compound in Antelope Oregon
posted by jamjam at 6:13 PM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I’ve always thought there was something off about the whole enterprise, but when I listened to a live broadcast of a main event on Ira Flatow's Science Friday, the ceaseless and dispirited laughter re-echoing through an obviously almost empty auditorium rang creepier and more hollow than anything you could have heard outside the Rajneeshie compound in Antelope Oregon
posted by jamjam at 6:13 PM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Love the nose hairs article. Makes perfect sense too: before you can study the impact of nasal hair loss, you have to get a baseline count. And why count both nostrils if you can already show in advance that you only have to count one. Is it weird this makes perfect sense to me?
posted by johnxlibris at 6:27 PM on September 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by johnxlibris at 6:27 PM on September 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I get that a lot when I look at the IgNobels for a lot of the covered papers. Yes, it may be weird and seem inane at first glance, but it is usually exploring new knowledge and may be information needed by researchers in a field of study I know little of.
Love the nose hairs article. Makes perfect sense too: before you can study the impact of nasal hair loss, you have to get a baseline count. And why count both nostrils if you can already show in advance that you only have to count one. Is it weird this makes perfect sense to me?
A lot of the time I find myself saying that, yes, this is strange, but it is also legitimate science.
posted by Clever User Name at 6:46 PM on September 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
The Stanford Toilet (Public Health Prize) is eerily similar to an Adult Swim short from 8 years ago: Smart Pipe
posted by jumpercake at 6:55 PM on September 15, 2023
posted by jumpercake at 6:55 PM on September 15, 2023
The electric chopsticks are actually genius, they are designed to simulate the flavour enhancing properties of salt so you can use less of it:
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/26/taste-adjusting-chopsticks-device-food-saltier/
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 8:36 PM on September 15, 2023
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/26/taste-adjusting-chopsticks-device-food-saltier/
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 8:36 PM on September 15, 2023
It's always funny how some of this stuff almost makes sense. What would William Proxmire think?
posted by ovvl at 8:46 PM on September 15, 2023
posted by ovvl at 8:46 PM on September 15, 2023
the ceaseless and dispirited laughter re-echoing through an obviously almost empty auditorium
You've got ears like a hound dog. Also the 2023 ceremony happened entirely as a webcast, not in a theatre.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:54 PM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
You've got ears like a hound dog. Also the 2023 ceremony happened entirely as a webcast, not in a theatre.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:54 PM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I knew I'd heard of the fossil-licker before: he was the first chair of the Anthropocene Working Group, proving that geological records support a drastic change in geological era starting around 1950.
And that's a two-year streak for Poland! We won last year in medicine for proving that marrow transplant recipients do better if they're allowed to eat ice cream before the transplant. Which I suspect has earned the researchers the gratitude of numerous child leukemia patients.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:43 AM on September 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
And that's a two-year streak for Poland! We won last year in medicine for proving that marrow transplant recipients do better if they're allowed to eat ice cream before the transplant. Which I suspect has earned the researchers the gratitude of numerous child leukemia patients.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:43 AM on September 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
The dead spiders as grippers one is my favorite if only for that "first scene in the sci-fi/horror" film vibe.
posted by tommasz at 8:38 AM on September 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by tommasz at 8:38 AM on September 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
A lot of the time I find myself saying that, yes, this is strange, but it is also legitimate science.
Indeed. Who ever thought refrigerated vegetable storage drawers would lead to a powerful gene-editing technology?
posted by slogger at 9:22 AM on September 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Indeed. Who ever thought refrigerated vegetable storage drawers would lead to a powerful gene-editing technology?
posted by slogger at 9:22 AM on September 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
But the anal print sensor identification?
I mean, retina scans are one thing….
Anything to get away from that miserable two step verification process.
posted by BlueHorse at 11:09 AM on September 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
I mean, retina scans are one thing….
Anything to get away from that miserable two step verification process.
posted by BlueHorse at 11:09 AM on September 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
>the ceaseless and dispirited laughter re-echoing through an obviously almost empty auditorium
Did you listen during a covid year? That would explain the empty audience. I've attended a few of these in person over the years precovid, and Sanders Theatre has always been packed to capacity (wikipedia says that's 1000). The supplementary sessions (usually held at MIT, where the winners give more detailed talks and demonstrations and answer questions) vary in attendance but also had decent turnout.
The routine of the live event is formulaic enough that attending every year feels like too much, but every few years it was fun.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 8:44 PM on September 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Did you listen during a covid year? That would explain the empty audience. I've attended a few of these in person over the years precovid, and Sanders Theatre has always been packed to capacity (wikipedia says that's 1000). The supplementary sessions (usually held at MIT, where the winners give more detailed talks and demonstrations and answer questions) vary in attendance but also had decent turnout.
The routine of the live event is formulaic enough that attending every year feels like too much, but every few years it was fun.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 8:44 PM on September 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
« Older Branding is Everything | Scientists Working in Antarctica Inadvertently... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Sing it with me: "whatever will bore, will bore!"
I might not rip on the toilet people, there might be an actual use for that these days.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:50 PM on September 15, 2023