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."

Comments

bra that converts gas masks could be useful

[Chrisq]

"I'm sorry miss, I thought the phone was an alarm warning of a gas attack. Let me help you get back in again". .....

Re:bra that converts gas masks could be useful

[BadAnalogyGuy]

in some places like Seoul where a gas attack can be feared at any moment (they have racks of gas mask for emergency use in every subway station for instance)

Why don't they just stop making kimchee?

kekekekeke

Re:bra that converts gas masks could be useful

[fhuglegads]

in some places like Seoul where a gas attack can be feared at any moment (they have racks of gas mask for emergency use in every subway station for instance)

This is just another way of keeping the gas masks on the rack

Re:bra that converts gas masks could be useful

[Anonymous Coward]

"Bras don't have the greatest odor either. All day's worth of sweat - ick."
    Score:1, Flamebait

"Yeah, but it's booby sweat!"
    Score:3, Insightful

Only on Slashdot...

Re:Ouch

[BadAnalogyGuy]

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.

Re:Ouch

[dals_rule]

Hark! Do I smell an episode of 'Myth Busters'????

Allo Allo

[Lord Lode]

The bra that quickly converts into two gas masks would really fit in the comical series "Allo Allo", if you know it.

Re:Ouch

[bitt3n]

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.)