The OTHER Nobel Prize

Earlier last month, the 2014 Ig Nobel prize awards were given out to scientists pushing their respective fields in unimaginable directions. You're probably more familiar with the Nobel Prize, which is presented to individuals who have significantly increased our understanding of the world around us. What then, are the Ig Nobels, you may wonder?

Figure 1: Alfred Nobel, chillin' like a villain (who just invented dynamite)

The Ig Nobel Prizes were established in 1991 to highlight research that "makes people laugh, then think". These awards are usually pretty hilarious; you'll understand what I mean when you see some of the winning projects for this year!

Biology: "...documenting that when dogs defecate and urinate, they prefer to align their body axis with Earth's north-south geomagnetic field lines." Public Health: "for investigating whether it is mentally hazardous for a human being to own a cat." Art: "for measuring the relative pain people suffer while looking at an ugly painting, rather than a pretty painting, while being shot [in the hand] by a powerful laser beam. " Arctic science: "For testing how reindeer react to seeing humans who are disguised as polar bears."

For the full list of the winners, check out the Ig Nobel's website at http://www.improbable.com/. I've always wanted to win a Noble prize, but I think that I'd settle for an Ig!

For those of you who are curious, the actual Nobel prizes should be awarded within the next few weeks, with the prize in medicine or physiology coming in on the 6th. Expect a post an explanation of the winning science!