Honoring the Obvious

When I learned of these two awards, I almost went into a “Duh” coma. I mean, aren’t these things kind of obvious?

First, New Zealand university people won the 2010 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics for proving that people lose their grip on icy sidewalks less often if they wear socks over their shoes.

They even wrote a paper about it that was published (imagine that) in the New England Medical Journal: “Preventing Winter Falls: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Novel Intervention.”

Then, three men in the Industrial Health and Safety Office, Fort Detrick, Maryland, won the Ig Nobel Prize in Public Health for proving that microbes cling to bearded scientists.

Their paper: “Microbiological Laboratory Hazard of Bearded Men” (Applied Microbiology).

I bet these two research teams wouldn’t win anything in the Hawaii State Science Fair.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements and improbable research that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” Even actual Nobel Prize winners participate in the ceremonies.

I kid you not!