Announcing the 2010 Ig Nobel Prizes

It's that time of year again, the 2010Ig Nobel prizes were awarded last weekend at a gala ceremony at MIT. The Ig Nobels celebrate the stranger side of science, research that may seem strange, might make you laugh, but can have surprising implications.

Some of the prizes were awarded for

• Engineering: Using a remote control helicopter to collect whale snot.
• Medicine: Discovering that some forms of asthma can be treated by riding roller coasters.
• Physics: For showing that people slip on ice less in winter if they wear socks outside their shoes (this could be a dual prize in the fashion category).
• Peace: For proving that swearing relieves pain.
• Economics: I must quote this exactly: "The executives and directors of Goldman Sachs, AIG, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Magnetar for creating and promoting new ways to invest money — ways that maximize financial gain and minimize financial risk for the world economy, or for a portion thereof."

There are other prizes of course. The ceremony includes a little girl who keeps acceptance speeches from boring anyone (most of all her), the Welcome Welcome speech, A Bacterial Opera, the 24/7 lectures, and the ever popular Win a Date With a Nobel Laureate. Video of the ceremony is usually posted online a few weeks later. Science Friday airs highlights of the ceremony the Friday after Thanksgiving. Truly a can't miss show for geeks and nerds!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.