Ignoble

October 13, 2005 5:43 PM

Winners of the Ig Nobel Prize
posted by semmi (14 comments total)

Neuticles are available in three models: NeuticleOriginals (rigid firmness) NeuticleNatural (natural firmness) and Neuticles UltraPLUS. Each are crafted from FDA medically-approved (for human use) materials- replicating the animals testicle in size, shape, weight and feel.
posted by strawberryviagra at 6:32 PM on October 13, 2005

I need the alarm clock that the Economics award recipient invented.
posted by painquale at 7:17 PM on October 13, 2005

You can also still watch the video of the 2005 awards ceremony.

For more information: the Economics winner was discussed here previously; and apparently dolface owns a neuticle. It may or may not have been the neuticle that was at the informal lectures on Saturday to answer questions, since the inventor himself couldn't make it.

Also at the lectures was the 2003 winner who published the article on homosexual necrophilia among ducks. His recent studies involve a blackbird that has been repeatedly flying into the same window of a suburban Rotterdam home for something like three years now.
posted by whatzit at 7:35 PM on October 13, 2005

You know, I bet they're gonna sell a bajillion of those Neuticles... it's the name. God what a fantastic name. Quite worthy of an Ig Nobel. :)
posted by Malor at 7:38 PM on October 13, 2005

This is incredible.

At first I thought it wouldn't get any better than the guy with the agriculture paper about exploding pants.

THEN the gave the lit award to nigerian email scammers, and I destroyed my work keyboard. thanks for this.
posted by shmegegge at 7:48 PM on October 13, 2005

I'm quite impressed by the Coca-Cola company's ability to sell water that's worse than tap water for three thousand times the price :)

Missed noticing that one last year. Thanks, strawb!
posted by flabdablet at 8:01 PM on October 13, 2005

You can get a t-shirt of Figure 1 from the IgNobel in Fluid dynamics over here.
posted by redbeard at 9:24 PM on October 13, 2005

I like the hiding alarm clock and the
penguin poo.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:35 AM on October 14, 2005

Me, gravitating towards the cute absent-minded professor type at a banquet: And what is it that you do for a living?

C a-m P: I sniff frogs.

Me: Oh. Ah. Armpits?

C a-m P: Odors brought on by stress. My partner and I have cataloged over 131 species. Fascinating, really.

Me: Oh. Ah. Excuse me, would you?
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:19 AM on October 14, 2005

Of course Neuticles exist to scam dog shows by making neutered males seem "unaltered" they are less agressive and easier to train, because they have no testosterone. (or whatever the canine equivalent is)
posted by Megafly at 9:22 AM on October 14, 2005

So, do people swim faster in water or syrup? Anyone?
posted by Pollomacho at 11:03 AM on October 14, 2005

Pollomacho: the article concludes that it's about the same in both (with the "syrup," actually guar gum in water, about twice as viscous as water, but having a density nearly identical to water). They also note that this is supported by theory as well, as the major component of drag on a swimming is form drag, and not viscous drag. The authors note that fluid mechanics predicts that the liquid would have to be about 1000 times as viscous as water to have an effect!

It's worth noting that something like maple syrup is not only more viscous than water, but also more dense than water, and the authors did not invesigate the effects of density. IANAP, let alone one specializing in fluid mechanics, but my understanding is that according to theory the density of the medium would affect form drag.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:20 PM on October 14, 2005

s/swimming/swimmer
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:21 PM on October 14, 2005

So will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?
posted by mr.marx at 4:38 PM on October 14, 2005