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Ig Nobels Awarded

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the the-nadir-of-achievement dept.

prostoalex writes "The definitive study on bellybutton lint, a dog-to-person translation device and an inquiry into what arouses ostriches were recognized at 2002 Ig Nobel awards. The telecast of the event in RealMedia format is available from Harvard University server, there's also an Associated Press story. Ig Nobel awards typically recognize the most dubious contributions to the world of science and research."

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  1. [Slightly OT] Intelligent Dogs by Boss,+Pointy+Haired · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Don't be fooled into thinking that what appears to be intelligent behaviour is actually something very basic (although the same could be said of course for all levels of intelligence).

    Many years ago here in the UK, and light hearted popular culture TV magazine "That's Life" had a feature about gifted pets.

    This one time, they went to visit a dog that could do maths. His owner would hold up two cards with numbers on them, the dog would add them up, and woof out the answer (3 = 3 woofs etc.) The bloke would then shout out "Well Done!" and the whole nation was amazed.

    The presenter appeared to be completely taken in by it, especially after the dog had done 4 sums correctly on the trot.

    The bloke had basically trained his dog to woof until he said "Well Done!" :)