using this Every year, Nobel Prizes are awarded to the most influential scientists and thinkers of the day. So, the researchers who counted the nose hairs in cadavers never got one. However, they did receive a 2023 Ig Nobel Prize. This goofball version of the Nobels celebrates scientific inquiry at its most ridiculous.
Established in 1991, the Ig Nobels, or Igs, derive their name from Nobel, of course. It's also a play on the word ignoble, meaning "completely lacking in nobility, quality, or purpose." That doesn't mean the Igs are about phony science and cheap laughs. Everything is grounded in real science, and the awards honor achievements that "make people laugh, then think."
For decades, the Igs were awarded at a wacky live ceremony, Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the occasion has become an online event in modified form. Traditionally, the evening features a kooky, science-themed mini-opera with actual Nobel winners playing supporting roles. Prominent scientists are also on hand to deliver lectures on their work. They must do so in under 24 seconds. A strict time limit is also imposed on acceptance speeches. If they exceed one minute, an eight-year-old girl keeps repeating "Please stop; I'm bored" until the speaker relents. Even the prize is a gag. In 2023, the winners received an out-of-circulation Zimbabwe 10-trillion-dollar bill and a carton of Ig Cola Cola, soda not included.
So why would anyone want to count nose hairs? That brings us to some of the more outrageous Ig winners of 2023.
Medical Prize
The nose-hair scientists won in this category. The team was studying alopecia, a disease that causes people to lose their hair, including in their noses. People with alopecia frequently experience respiratory infections and allergies. This led the researchers to think about the connection between these conditions and the loss of nose hairs. That, in turn, led them to a realization: No one had ever actually counted how many nose hairs are in each nostril. Drumroll please…the average person has about 120 hairs in the left nostril and 112 in the right.
Chemistry/Geology Prize
A British scientist won this award for his study on why geologists like to lick rocks. Apparently, that's how they distinguish fossilized bones, which stick to the tongue, from most rocks, which don't. Chewing on rock crumblies also helps geologists determine the composition of rocks.
Public Health Prize
This award went to the creators of a diagnostic "smart" toilet bowl. It monitors your health by analyzing your, um, "output."
Mechanical Engineering Prize
The winners of this award benefitted from a spider's unusual leg anatomy. They used a dead spider's legs in a mechanical gripping tool that lifts small objects.
Psychology Prize
Researchers of group psychology snagged this award for an experiment. They documented how many people on a city street looked up when they saw other people looking up.
Previous winners have made equally questionable contributions. Some scientists studied magnetized cockroaches, both living and dead. They learned the dead ones don't act like live ones. Others estimated how much saliva a 5-year-old produces daily. One team determined that holding a pen in your mouth stretches your lips into a smile, which makes you happier—but it doesn't. And another team gathered evidence that pizza might ward off illness if it's made and eaten in Italy.
These contributions illustrate the biggest takeaway from the Ig Nobels—you never know where scientific inquiry might lead.
Think about and discuss these questions:
Based on each team's research, what do you think was the question that guided the researchers' scientific work?
If you could ask one of these Ig Nobel winners a question, what would it be?
As you read, pause to write down questions you have about the article. Include questions you expect to be answered in the text (such as questions using who, what, when, or where). Also include questions that may not be as easily answered (such as questions using why or how). Take notes here about your questions and any answers you find. You can use your notes later when you respond in the Write step.
Based on each team's research, the question that guided the researchers' scientific work can be inferred as:
1. Nose-hair scientists: How many nose hairs are present in each nostril, and what is the connection between the loss of nose hairs and respiratory infections and allergies?
2. British scientist (Chemistry/Geology Prize): Why do geologists lick rocks, and how does it help them distinguish fossilized bones from regular rocks?
3. Creators of the diagnostic "smart" toilet bowl (Public Health Prize): Can analyzing a person's excreta provide valuable health insights?
4. Winners of the Mechanical Engineering Prize: Can a spider's leg anatomy be replicated to create a mechanical gripping tool for lifting small objects?
5. Researchers of group psychology (Psychology Prize): How do people's behavior change when they observe others looking up?
If I could ask one of these Ig Nobel winners a question, I would ask the creators of the diagnostic "smart" toilet bowl about the challenges they faced in developing the technology and how they envision its potential impact on public health monitoring.
shorten ur answer
Each team's research was guided by the following questions:
1. Nose-hair scientists: How many nose hairs are there in each nostril, and what is the connection between nose hair loss and respiratory infections and allergies?
2. British scientist (Chemistry/Geology Prize): Why do geologists lick rocks and how does it help them differentiate fossilized bones from regular rocks?
3. Creators of the diagnostic "smart" toilet bowl (Public Health Prize): Can analyzing a person's excreta provide valuable health insights?
4. Winners of the Mechanical Engineering Prize: Can a mechanical gripping tool be created using a spider's leg anatomy to lift small objects?
5. Researchers of group psychology (Psychology Prize): How does people's behavior change when they observe others looking up?
If I could ask one of these Ig Nobel winners a question, I would inquire about the challenges faced in developing the diagnostic "smart" toilet bowl technology and its potential impact on public health monitoring.