The Ig Nobel Prize spoof awards took on some rather daunting questions of what is the effect of holding a crocodile during gambling, or if playing the didgeridoo could be a potential cure for snoring, or if cats were actually liquid and not solid.
Marc Abraham is the conceiver of the prizes who intends not bring up the best and brightest of science, but to focus on research that forces people to develop unusual ways of thinking.
Abrahams reveals that they hope to take people back to their childhood habit of taking notice of odd things and giving it a moment of thought before they decide if they’re good or bad at it.
The Ig Nobel’s winner in Physics used math to prove that young and active cats are able to maintain physical shape for longer as compared to older or lazier cats.
Other pitches on the list also show a potential for application in the real world.
Nancy Greer and Matthew Rocklof, the Economics winners, conducted a study where problem and non-problem gamblers were made to handle a 1 meter crocodile before they played the slot machine.
The Australian study concluded that problem gamblers leaned toward placing high bets upon handling the crocodiles, since their brand were misinterpreting the excitement of handling a wild animal as a cue that they were in luck today.
The awards are now in the 27th year, and will be handed by real-life Nobel Prize winners at an event that will take place at the prestigious Harvard University.
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