The 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes have been given out. For those of you that don’t know: the Ig Nobel Prize is given for research that is done in various areas on subjects that are somewhat irrelevant. Past winners included the scientific testing of the ‘five-second rule’ and for ‘exploring and explaining why woodpeckers don’t get headaches.’
Some of this year’s winning topics include:
ECONOMICS PRIZE. Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur and Brent Jordan of the University of New Mexico, USA, for discovering that a professional lap dancer’s ovulatory cycle affects her tip earnings.
PEACE PRIZE. The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity.
BIOLOGY PRIZE. Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert,, and Michel Franc of Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse, France for discovering that the fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than the fleas that live on a cat.
You can read all about those prizes and more by going here.