A study on the feasibility of using pigeons to guide missiles and another examining the swimming abilities of dead fish were among the comical scientific achievements honored at this year’s Ig Nobel Prizes, held Thursday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The annual ceremony, organized by the Annals of Improbable Research, celebrates research that “makes people laugh, then think.” Winners received a humorous prize — a transparent box with items related to Murphy’s Law and a nearly worthless $10 trillion Zimbabwean bill.
This year’s ceremony, themed around Murphy’s Law, featured actual Nobel laureates presenting awards to the winners. The event was filled with quirky interruptions, including a girl repeatedly yelling, “Please stop. I’m bored,” and an international song competition about Murphy’s Law.
Among the 10 categories of winners were studies that demonstrated a vine from Chile imitating the shapes of nearby artificial plants and research on whether hair swirled in the same direction on people’s heads depending on their hemisphere. Another winning study showed that fake medicine with side effects is more effective than placebo medicine without side effects, and research revealed that some mammals can breathe through their anus.
Julie Skinner Vargas, daughter of B.F. Skinner, accepted the peace prize on behalf of her late father for his study on pigeon-guided missiles. She humorously thanked the Ig Nobels for acknowledging his “most important contribution.”
James Liao, a biology professor at the University of Florida, accepted the physics prize for his research demonstrating that dead fish can swim in water currents. Liao explained that, while live fish move more than dead ones, a dead trout still flaps its tail in swirling eddies, mimicking live fish behavior.
The 34th annual Ig Nobel ceremony continues to spotlight the lighter side of science, offering insight into curious and often surprising discoveries.
