Ig Nobel Prize

The Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early fall — a week or two before the recipients of the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced — for ten achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think." Sponsored by the scientific humor journal Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), they are presented by genuine Nobel Laureates at a ceremony in Harvard University's Sanders Theatre.

Related Topics:
Parody - Nobel Prize - Humor - Annals of Improbable Research - Harvard University - Sanders Theatre

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The awards are sometimes veiled criticism — as in the two awards given for homeopathy research — but more often they draw attention to scientific articles that have some funny or unexpected aspect. Examples range from the discovery that the presence of humans tends to sexually arouse ostriches, to the statement that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements to be the location of Hell, to research on the "five-second rule," a tongue-in-cheek belief that food dropped on the floor won't become contaminated if it is picked up within five seconds.

Related Topics:
Homeopathy - Humans - Ostrich - Black holes - Hell - Five-second rule

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The first Ig Nobels were awarded in 1991, when they were described as discoveries "that cannot, or should not, be reproduced." The name is a pun on the word "" and the name Nobel Prize. The official pronunciation used during the ceremony is "ig no-BELL", not "ig-noble", but this distinction eludes many people.

Related Topics:
1991 - Nobel Prize

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The ceremony is followed a few days later by the Ig Informal Lectures at MIT, in which laureates have opportunity to explain their achievements and their relevance to the general public.

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The annual ceremony is co-sponsored by the Harvard Computer Society, the Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students.

Related Topics:
Harvard Computer Society - Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association - Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students

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With the exception of three prizes in the first year (see Administratium, Josiah Carberry, and Paul DeFanti), all Ig Nobel Prizes have been for genuine achievements.

Related Topics:
Administratium - Josiah Carberry - Paul DeFanti

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