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2009 Ig Nobels Awarded, For Gas-Mask Bras and More
alphadogg notes that the 2009 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded yesterday evening in Cambridge, MA. (You may find that site has been pre-Slashdotted; and improbable.com's video feeds of the ceremony don't work at the moment either.) News.com.au has coverage of the bra that converts quickly to two gas masks, a study of why pregnant women don't tip over, the award for literature, and other gems. "Ireland's police won the literature prize from writing more than 50 traffic tickets to a frequent visitor and speeder named Prawo Jazdy. In Polish, this means 'driver's license.' Pathologist Stephan Bolliger and colleagues at the University of Bern in Switzerland won for a study they did to determine whether an empty beer bottle does more or less damage to the human skull than a full one in a bar fight."
"I'm sorry miss, I thought the phone was an alarm warning of a gas attack. Let me help you get back in again". .....
The lowly beer bottle has had a much greater impact on the world's institutions of higher learning than all other academic topics combined.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
A full beer bottle is prone to break at the neck due to the air bubble retracting into the cap area during swinging (assuming you are holding it by the neck, which you should if you have any sense at all). If it breaks at the neck when you hit, you end up with shards of glass on yourself rather than on your opponent.
I'm interested in why pregnant women don't tip over. I'm trying hard to avoid bringing bovines into the comparison.
One might have to wonder if heavy breathing might change the effectiveness of such a gas mask.
Apart from *ouch*, this actually sets a great example - a simple yet elegant experiment that anyone (who happened to have a spare 60 years) could do, yet it still contributes something to science.
You can learn a lot about a person if you just take the time to inject them with sodium pentathol
I know everytime I get into a bar fight I make sure to finish drinking the beer first.
Come to think of it, I've usually finished a few bottles by that time.
Hark! Do I smell an episode of 'Myth Busters'????
bra that converts quickly to two gas masks,
They neglected to mention the more impressive part: they did a live demonstration for six people, all using bras she was wearing, and she removed them without taking off any other clothing.
She was also decently endowed, and I'm not referring to the size of her...grants.
Please help metamoderate.
The bra that quickly converts into two gas masks would really fit in the comical series "Allo Allo", if you know it.
I had not heard about the Zimbabwean Dollar before. The Wikipedia article has a great picture of the $100 billion note and the three eggs it bought when it was released. Their financial software can't even handle the $trillion numbers involved in people's bank accounts. The countries money supply was 900 quadrillion dollars in 2008! Words can't even express how insane this is.
"She's beautiful, she's rich, she's got huge... tracts of land."
Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
For the same reason why my 8th grade social studies teacher didn't tip-over, even though he had a beer belly the size of a Michelin Radial X.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
According to Bas Rutten, who was a bouncer before he got into MMA, the same thing happens to an empty bottle.
Hold my beer and watch this!
TFA has no pictures. You can all go home now.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
I always heard bras converted to yarmulkes with chin straps....
Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
imagine the hero status of the guy who throws a smoke bomb into the Hooters restaurant.
rip, rip, rip, ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
...when I had the opportunity to travel back in time. I gleefully grabbed the once in a lifetime chance and travelled back to 1970. Once in 1970 I participated in a question and answer session with the great minds of the time.
"Have you abolished war?", "Have you cured cancer?", "Do you have flying cars?", I was asked.
"No, no and no.", I replied, "but we have pigs that glow under UV light, remote-control cyborg African beetles, bras that double as gas masks and iPhones. Oh, and we know why pregnant women don't fall over!"
I thought they took the news rather well. Considering.
How the Ig Nobels compare with the Nobels: http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2009/092809-ignobel.html
This shows one of the very good reasons why the IgNobels are a valuable thing. I would have thought the same as you; more mass->more inertia->more hurt. Then these guys come along and show us that the world isn't quite as intuitive as all that. On the surface it looks useless, but there may just be some application for this in structural engineering that will make bridges cheaper to build in the future. All science leads us forward, even if we have to take very small steps.
Is 1563649 a prime number?
A full beer bottle is prone to break at the neck due to the air bubble retracting into the cap area during swinging (assuming you are holding it by the neck, which you should if you have any sense at all). If it breaks at the neck when you hit, you end up with shards of glass on yourself rather than on your opponent.
I'm interested in why pregnant women don't tip over. I'm trying hard to avoid bringing bovines into the comparison.
I'd be interested in seeing the combined study, determining whether it is easier to knock over a pregnant woman with an empty or full beer bottle. (This may depend on whether it is the pregnant woman who did the emptying.)
how many pairs of boxer shorts should you own?
From the actual issue of Arthritis and Ruhmitism where Ig Nobel Prise winner Dr. Donald L. Unger, published the results of his investigation into a possible cause of arthritis of the fingers. - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/86510619/PDFSTART
Read the reply... I love it when serious people let loose!
Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers?
To the Editor:
During the author's childhood, various renowned authorities (his mother, several aunts, and, later, his mother-in law [personal communication]) informed him that cracking his knuckles would lead to arthritis of the fingers. To test the accuracy of this hypothesis, the following study was undertaken. For 50 years, the author cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice a day, leaving those on the right as a control. Thus, the knuckles on the left were cracked at least 36,500 times, while those on the right cracked rarely and spontaneously. At the end of the 50 years, the hands were compared for the presence of arthritis. There was no arthritis in either hand, and no apparent differences between the two hands. Knuckle cracking did not lead to arthritis after a 50-year controlled study by the one participant. While a larger group would be necessary to confirm this result, this preliminary investigation suggests a lack of correlation between knuckle cracking and the development of arthritis of the fingers. A search of the literature revealed only one previous paper on this subject, and the authors came to the same conclusion (Swezey RL. Swezey SE. The consequences of habitual knuckle cracking. West J Med 1973;122:377-9.).
This result calls into question whether other parental beliefs, e.g., the importance of eating spinach, are also flawed. Further investigation is likely warranted. In conclusion, there is no apparent relationship between knuckle cracking and the subsequent development of arthritis of the fingers. This study was done entirely at the author's expense, with no grants from any governmental or pharmaceutical source.
Donald L. Unger, MD
Thousand Oaks, CA
Reply
To the Editor:
I appreciate the opportunity to review Dr. Unger's report. His "self-controlled" study adds considerable credence
to our 1973 study findings. Dr. Unger exercised amazing self control by performing 50 years of knuckle cracking (KC) on his left hand at least twice daily, "while those on the right cracked only rarely and spontaneously.'' No evidence of arthritis in either hand was found at the end of 50 years. I have taken the liberty of consulting Dr. John Adams, PhD, at the Rand Corporation. who has generously provided me with the following statistical analysis.
The basic study designed by Dr. Unger is a two-arm trial without randomization. Although it is not clear, it appears
that the study was not blinded. Blinding would only be possible if the investigator didn't know left from right. This is not likely since studies indicate that only 31% of primary care physicians don't know left from right. (The figure is reportedly somcwhat higher for most specialists.) The lack of randomization suggests the need for a multivariate analysis to reduce bias. Controlling for knuckle-to-knuckle variation in race, sex, socioeconomic status, initial severity, comorbidities, and Ecuadorian
barometric pressure at the time of measurement would be advisable. The sample size appears too small to support accurate inference. Typically, sample sizes of roughly twice the available research budget are required for valid inference. Restrictive
eligibility criteria and convenience sampling limit generalization of the results to knuckle-cracking physicians
with a lot of time on their hands.
I should note that SES, the co-author of our 1973 investigation, was 12 years old at the time of the study and that
the study was stimulated because of his grandmother's co
Sometimes the best solution is to stop wasting time looking for an easy solution.
Pathologist Stephan Bolliger and colleagues at the University of Bern in Switzerland won for a study they did to determine whether an empty beer bottle does more or less damage to the human skull than a full one in a bar fight
Hey now, this one is actually useful information! You now know which bottle to pick, based on how much (or little) damage you actually want to do.
Admittedly, I don't think I'd willingly go out drinking with Dr. Bolliger...