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| Volume 49, Number 3, Fall 2000 |
IG NOBEL PRIZES AWARDEDIn a scene replete with pomp, pageantry, paper airplanes and bad puns, the latest batch of Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded for achievements that "cannot or should not be reproduced." The awards were produced by the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)-a science-humor magazine whose editor is NASW member Marc Abrahams-and were presented at a gala ceremony at Harvard University on October 5. Amazingly enough, some of the recipients were actually present to accept their awards. PsychologyDavid Dunning of Cornell University and Justin Kreuger of the University of Illinois, for their modest report, Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments. LiteratureJasmuheen (formerly known as Ellen Greve) of Brisbane, Australia, first lady of Breatharianism, for her book Living on Light, which explains that although some people do eat food, air is all we really need. (The award was accepted by the Australian Consul, who noted, as proof of Jasmuheen's contention, that Marc Abrahams has been living on AIR for years.) BiologyRichard Wassersug of Dalhousie University (Canada), for his first hand report On the Comparative Palatability of Some Dry-Season Tadpoles from Costa Rica. Wassersug attended the ceremony and was explaining that the tadpoles were neither dry nor seasoned when he was interrupted after 30 seconds by the official timer, a little girl in pigtails, who repeatedly whined, "Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored." PhysicsAndre Geim of the University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and Sir Michael Berry of Bristol University, UK, for using magnets to levitate a frog and a sumo wrestler. Andre Geim attended the ceremony and suffered a fate similar to Wassersug's at the hands of the whiny little girl. ChemistryDonatella Marazziti, Alessandra Rossi, and Giovanni B. Cassano of the University of Pisa (Italy), and Hagop S. Akiskal of the University of California, San Diego, for their discovery that, biochemically, romantic love may be indistinguishable from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. EconomicsThe Reverend Sun Myung Moon, for bringing efficiency and steady growth to the mass-marriage industry, with, according to his reports, a 36-couple wedding in 1960, a 430-couple wedding in 1968, an 1800-couple wedding in 1975, a 6,000-couple wedding in 1982, a 30,000-couple wedding in 1992, a 360,000-couple wedding in 1995, and a 36,000,000-couple wedding in 1997. MedicineWillibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, and Eduard Mooyaart of Groningen, (the Netherlands), and Ida Sabelis of Amsterdam, for their illuminating report, Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Male and Female Genitals During Coitus and Female Sexual Arousal. The paper notes that of the eight couples recruited as subjects, only one was able to achieve coitus in the MRI machine without the use of Viagra. The authors write that that couple was "involved in the research right from the beginning because of their scientific curiosity, knowledge of the body, and artistic commitment. And as amateur street acrobats they are trained and used to performing under stress." Pek van Andel attended the ceremony. When he was interrupted mid-speech by the whiny little girl, the audience protested, and Abrahams gently led her off the stage. Computer ScienceChris Niswander of Tucson, AZ, for inventing PawSense (www.bitboost.com/pawsense/), software that detects when a cat is walking across your computer keyboard. The winner attended the ceremony. PeaceThe British Royal Navy, for ordering its sailors to stop using live cannon shells, and to instead just shout "Bang!" The winners could not or would not attend the ceremony. Public HealthJonathan Wyatt, Gordon McNaughton, and William Tullet of Glasgow (Scotland), for their alarming report, The Collapse of Toilets in Glasgow. The winners attended the ceremony and thanked the presenters for honoring research that had previously been regarded as a mere flash in the pan. |