The doctorElena N. Bodnarand colleagues in Illinois received the IgNobel Public Health Award last night for designing and patentinga bra that can transform into a pair of gas masks, one for the user and one for someone in need.
The awardsIgNobelThey are a parody of the prestigious Nobel prizes that each year at this time is awarded by the humorous magazine of Harvard Annals of Improbable Research. In this edition, the award ofEconomyfell to the managers of banks Kaupthing, Landsbanki, Glitnir and the Central Bank of Iceland “for showing that small banks can quickly become huge and vice versa.”
Among the winners were also thepathologist Stephan Bolligerand their colleagues from the University of Bern (Switzerland), who were awarded for a study carried out to determineif an empty beer bottle does more or less damage to the human skull than a full one during a bar fight. “Both are enough to break the skull. However, the empty ones are more solid,” explained Bolliger in an email.
Donald Unger, an 83-year-old Californian allergist, was recognized with the IgNobel ofMedicinefor carrying more than60 years cracking the knuckles of his left handAnd never those on your right to prove that this habitdoes not cause arthritis, a conclusion that he published in 1998 in the magazineArthritis and Rheumatism. The most absurd research award inchemistryfell on theMexican scientists who turned tequila into diamonds. In the veterinary field, the British have been awardedCatherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson, from Newcastle University, for showing thatnaming cows makes them produce more milk. And physicists Katherine K. Whitcome (University of Cincinnati), Daniel E. Lieberman (Harvard University), and Liza J. Shapiro (University of Texas) were awarded for studyingwhy pregnant women do not fall.
In the VERY Interesting of November (nº 342) we will publish an in-depth report on the IgNobel awards, signed by Patricia Luna.
