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2007 Ig Nobel Awards Announced

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the best-of-the-worst dept.

prostoalex writes "The annual Ig Noble awards by Annals of Improbable Research were announced tonight. The winners included the scientists who discovered that impotence drugs help with jet lag recovery, "a Dutch researcher who conducted a census of all the creepy-crawlies that share our beds, Spanish scientists who found that rats sometimes could not distinguish between Japanese spoken backwards and Dutch spoken backwards, an Australian woman who documented the indexing problems caused by the word "the", a Japanese researcher who extracted vanilla flavoring from cow dung, and a Taiwanese man who patented a Batman-like device that drops a net over bank robbers," MSNBC says."

21 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Summary forgot the best part! by SamP2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Gay Bomb which induces enemies to engage in homosexual behavior.

    I wonder how long before it becomes a political weapon of mass discreditation?

    1. Re:Summary forgot the best part! by User+956 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I wonder how long before it becomes a political weapon of mass discreditation?

      Given the way things are going in the GOP, I'm guessing it will become more of an excuse.

      --
      The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    2. Re:Summary forgot the best part! by retro128 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm not sure if it's possible to get our government to screw each other and the public more than they are already.

      --
      -R
    3. Re:Summary forgot the best part! by Atario · · Score: 2, Funny

      Clearly, someone already set it off at some Republican convention.

      --
      "A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
    4. Re:Summary forgot the best part! by Dragonslicer · · Score: 4, Funny

      Then again, I seem to recall reading a study where it was found that monkeys who engage in sex often are less aggressive than those who don't. So maybe it should be mandated that politicians get laid at least thrice per week (once per day if they have nukes) ? I guess that does explain quite a bit about Bill Clinton...
  2. just subtract the expenses from revenue by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    a Taiwanese man who patented a Batman-like device that drops a net over bank robbers

    Yes, well, he only developed it because he was interested in the net profit.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    1. Re:just subtract the expenses from revenue by clarkkent09 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, and the guy extracted vanilla flavor from cow dung because he was interested in gross profit

      --
      Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
    2. Re:just subtract the expenses from revenue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      He just wanted to make a shitload of money.

    3. Re:just subtract the expenses from revenue by WED+Fan · · Score: 3, Funny

      So the plan goes:
      1. Patent comic book style device
      2. Subtract expenses from revenue
      3. Profit

      Hmmm.

      You F O O L !!!! You actually named step 2. Do you realize the consequences of such an action? The Universe could end. Entropy could accelerate. Look, it's already begun. Why? Why did you do such a thing? Were you not thinking of the children?

      Great, that and global warming.

      --
      Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
  3. Mice Commissioned Earth by RuBLed · · Score: 3, Funny

    Spanish scientists who found that rats sometimes could not distinguish between Japanese spoken backwards and Dutch spoken backwards.
    I don't believe that's the case...
    1. Re:Mice Commissioned Earth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      !keeeuqs ,keeeuqS

  4. Why don't we see Climate Science in here..? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I understand Bush has just announced a "War on Weather".......

    1. Re:Why don't we see Climate Science in here..? by KGIII · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes and weather is 14 to 7 but it is still the first half so he's maintaining hope.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  5. Re:Well... by KGIII · · Score: 2, Funny

    Be grateful they can't breed. But, well, the family could accept the award on their behalf or we could just mock them from the stands or at home while drinking. Okay. I'd do that. Other people might say that I'm politically correct or something. (I'd then call them Pinko Fags just to prove a point but they'd likely not get it.)

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  6. Professor Frink? by ideonode · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just noticed that the Ig Nobel mantra is "Research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK". I wonder whether Professor Frink deliberately echoed that in his little ditty: " Professor Frink, Professor Frink, He'll make you laugh, he'll make you think". After all, Professor Frink certainly deserves a few Ig Nobel Awards...

  7. Re:Gay bomb - who tested this? by WilliamSChips · · Score: 4, Funny

    And more importantly, when will this show up on Torchwood?

    --
    Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
  8. From the bank robber Batman net device patent by Dachannien · · Score: 2, Funny

    27. The device according to claim 26 wherein said device goes "WHAM", "POW", or "BIFF" when used.

    1. Re:From the bank robber Batman net device patent by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

      The device according to claim 26 wherein said device goes "WHAM", "POW", or "BIFF" when used.

      No, those are the names soldiers give each other after exposure to the Gay Bomb mentioned above.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  9. Re:Ahhh... America bashing by Whiteox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Australia.

    --
    Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
  10. Whither "The The"? by whyde · · Score: 3, Funny

    Simple. It goes under "The, The."

  11. Re:The indexing thing by Deadstick · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, ummm, what will those guys call themselves if they get a gig in Russia?

    rj