Since 1901, the Nobel Prize committee has recognized the best in intellectual excellence. Since 1990, the Ig Nobel Prize committee has recognized a less illustrious bunch-researchers whose accomplishments are, shall we say, not quite so distinguished. The 2004 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded on Sept. 30 at the 14th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony in Boston, Mass.
According to its Web site at www.improb.com, \Every Ig Nobel Prize winner has done something that first makes people LAUGH, then makes them THINK. ... The Igs are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative-and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology.""
The ceremony is organized by the Annals of Improbable Research and is co-sponsored by the Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association (HRSFA), the Harvard Computer Society (HCS) and the Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students (SPS).
Without further ado, the Daily Cardinal celebrates the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize winners.
Public Health
Awarded for: Investigation of the scientific validity of the Five-Second Rule [which states it is okay to eat food dropped on the floor as long as you pick it up within five seconds].
Published in: University of Illinois press release.
By: High school senior Jillian Clarke, Chicago High School, for her internship.
Medicine
Awarded for: ""The Effect of Country Music on Suicide.""
Physics
Awarded for: ""Coordination Modes in the Multisegmental Dynamics of Hula Hooping"" [exploring the physics of working a hula hoop].
Economics
Awarded to: The Vatican, for outsourcing its prayers to India.
Chemistry
Awarded to: The Coca-Cola Company of Great Britain. It was found to be converting water from the River Thames into Dasani, its bottled water brand, via a ""purification"" process that left Dasani with twice the legally acceptable bromate level. The brand has been pulled from shelves.
Psychology
Awarded for: A study that concludes ""when people pay close attention to something, it's all too easy to overlook anything else-even a man in a gorilla suit.""
Engineering
Awarded for: A patent for the comb-over: ""A method of styling hair to cover partial baldness using only the hair on a person's head. The hair styling requires dividing a person's hair into three sections and carefully folding one section over another.""
""Inventors"": Donald J. and Frank J. Smith, of Orlando, Fla.
U.S. Patent #4,022,227
Literature
Awarded for: The creation of the American Nudist Research Library in Kissimmee, Fla., for ""preserving nudist history so that everyone can see it.""
Peace
Awarded for: Inventing karaoke, hence improving people's abilities to tolerate each other under challenging conditions.
Biology
Awarded for: ""Sounds Produced by Herring (Clupea harengus) Bubble Release"" [demonstrating that herrings communicate by flatulence].
