2023-09-19 18:03:06
You know the Nobel Prizes, but do you know the Ig Nobels? No ? Well too bad, because it’s a lot more fun! Launched in 1991, the ceremony rewards somewhat bizarre scientific research protocols. Those who make you laugh before triggering real questions. To get an idea of what it is, here is the 2023 vintage! Or should I say… The GRAND vintage 2023!
Toilets that analyze stools and know how to recognize your asshole among a thousand
We are talking here about toilets which, by analyzing the wastewater following your little morning poop, are able to monitor your health. The craziest thing: the bowl has an “anal print sensor capable of recognizing which individual the examined orifice belongs to”. A kind of Face ID but from the anus. Mad ! Frankly, if it can save some people from having to go to the lab to urinate or more in little plastic pots and get their fingers full of it, I say yes! A small step for toilets, but a big step for human dignity.
Finally a concise answer to the question “why do geologists like to lick rocks?” !
Researcher Jan Zalasiewicz asked himself a question that not everyone would ask: “Why do so many geologists lick stones? “. Well, listen, obviously, there really is an explanation for that! According to the researcher, “Wetting the surface allows fossil and mineral textures to stand out clearly.” Additionally, according to writings found from the 18th century, taste is a geological tool that helps define whether the stone is burned, boiled, dissolved, or what have you. Not sure if this info changes the course of time, but it’s interesting.
People capable of speaking fluent verlan finally recognized
Researchers have focused on the neural activity of neurons that can be seen in verlan. They gnega the Ig Belno from nicationcommu. Peaucha. Irecr this sephra has already lifted me in 1 year of rancidity of life.
(For the verlan dummies: “Researchers were interested in the neural activity of people who know how to speak backwards. They won the Ig-Nobel for communication. Hat. Writing this sentence has already taken 1 year off my life expectancy. »)
To improve the taste of your drinks, drink them with an electrified straw
Homei Miyashita is a professor at Meiji University in Japan. Contrary to what this intro might lead you to believe: he did not stand out in the education category, but in that of nutrition. His invention ? Electrified chopsticks and straws that enhance the taste of food or drinks. You won’t blame me, but I’ll stick to my good old salt shaker. I know it clogs my arteries, but I think I prefer that rather than risking a shock on my tongue. Ewwww that can’t be nice.
Dead spiders transformed into robots
Researchers from Rice University (Houston, USA) won the mechanical engineering prize for this rather unusual demonstration. They simply reanimated dead tarantulas and used their legs as pincers. We speak of “necrobotics” when we use animal parts in robots. The real question remains: Do we really want/need to transform spiders into robots? Personally, the idea makes me dizzy with uneasiness. When they are dead, let them rest in peace, far away from me. Please.
We finally know if there are that many hairs in each nostril of a dead person?
Yes, researchers have really asked this question. According to their count on 20 cadaver noses: we found on average 120 hairs in the left nostril compared to 112 in the right. That’s how we advance medicine, you see! Looking forward to discovering the armpit hair version, aren’t you?
What happens if we repeat the same word a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot many times?
Well, thanks to the researchers who received the Ig Nobel for Literature, we know that this excessive repetition of the same word creates a feeling of “never before seen” in the person who pronounces/hears it. Repetition makes what was familiar singular. I’m sure you’ve ever found a common word weird when you paid closer attention? Well, it’s the same! So do the test by repeating the name of the thing closest to you 25 times, you’ll see. Come on, I’ll try: “Asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole,…”
Is it boring to see someone bored?
And more precisely: what effect does it have on a student to see a teacher doing well? Not surprisingly, the researchers “discovered that if students thought their teachers were bored while teaching, then they were even more bored.” What a surprise.
Did you know that if you look at the sky, others will do so with you?
To win the Ig-Nobel in psychology 2023, it was enough to notice that if someone looks towards the sky in the street, passers-by will tend to imitate them. It’s curiosity, really. My favorite joke, when I was little, was to yell “watch out for the dead pigeon!!!” » pointing to the sky, and seeing people protect their heads. Test it, it works really well. People are stupid.
Does the sexuality of anchovies have an impact on the ocean?
Those who received the Ig-Nobel in physics wanted to measure whether “the mixing of ocean waters is affected by the sexual activity of anchovies”. Besides the fact that this question doesn’t make sense, the answer is even more disappointing: “I think there is a consensus that it doesn’t matter.” I think I would have liked someone to tell me “yes, it’s true” and to explain why.
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