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This Year's Not-So-Nobel Prizes

Spoof kudos for 'mad' scientist projects

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 3, 2008 8:06 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Researchers who proved Diet Coke is an effective spermicide, a nation's declaration that plants have rights, and a study that proved dog fleas can jump higher than cat fleas have won Harvard University's annual Ig Nobel Prizes. The spoof awards recognize projects that "first make people laugh, and then make them think," reports the Boston Globe.

Among the top prizes:

  • Peace: The citizens of Switzerland take the cake for adopting the principle that plants have dignity.
  • Medicine: Behavioral economist Dan Ariely discovered that expensive placebos work better than cheap placebos.
  • Economics: The honorees discovered that exotic dancers make more money at the peak of their fertility cycles.
  • Nutrition: The winners' study asserts that food tastes better if its name is appealing.

Opera soloists Ben Sears and Maria Ferrante perform an opera about redundancy at the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard.
Opera soloists Ben Sears and Maria Ferrante perform an opera about redundancy at the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard.   (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Ig Nobel Prize Winner Dan Meyer reiterates his findings on Sword Swallowing and its Side Effects at the Ig Nobel prize ceremony at Harvard.
Ig Nobel Prize Winner Dan Meyer reiterates his findings on "Sword Swallowing and its Side Effects" at the Ig Nobel prize ceremony at Harvard.   (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Toshiyuki Nakagaki and fellow researchers sing their Ig Nobel prize acceptance speech in three-part harmony.
Toshiyuki Nakagaki and fellow researchers sing their Ig Nobel prize acceptance speech in three-part harmony.   (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
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Double win for Brits
Guardian (UK)

'Coca-Cola douches' grab the prize
New Scientist

 
Switzerland • Harvard • Diet Coke • Boston University • Ig Nobel Prizes • exotic dancers

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