Nutty Research

Time to mention the Ig-Nobels: the alternative to the Nobel awards for... mmm..alternative research:

- 77-year old Japanese inventor NakaMats dutifully photographs all of his dinners, lunches and breakfasts. NakaMats has been taking the pictures for 35 years. They have helped the inventor come up with new theories about longevity.

The photos have also earned NakaMats the 2005 Ig Nobel Prize in nutrition.

- The Ig Nobel Prize in medicine went to Gregg Miller, inventor of Neuticles, artificial testicle replacements for neutered dogs and other animals, which come in different sizes and levels of firmness. In his videotaped acceptance speech, Miller noted the time it took to develop his invention. "It took two years to get the balls rolling," he said.

But the one which I like the most:

- The Ig Nobel Prize in fluid dynamics: Two European researchers calculated the pressure that builds up inside a penguin about to poo, and reported their findings in a paper entitled "Pressures Produced When Penguins Pooh -- Calculations on Avian Defaecation" (.pdf). (A 'must-read' - especially for the penguin diagram!)

The two co-authors could not get visas to attend the ceremony, and delivered a videotaped acceptance speech. The researchers said they hoped the rejection of their visa applications "had nothing to do with the explosive nature of our work."

So - good to know we are safe with such scientific research looking after our world...