Since 1991, the scientific humor magazine “Annals of Improbable Research” has recognized researchers as IgNobel, an award that celebrates “scientific achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.”
The award is a fun parody of the traditional Nobel Prize and recognizes studies with comical or unusual content. In 2023, four notable researches were awarded this honor. Check it out below!
see more
Take a look at the wallet! VERY RARE R$5 note could be worth more than…
Discover the 'trend of the Roman Empire', which went viral on social media…
Research into the habit of licking stones. That's what you read!
Paleontologist Jan Zalasiewicz, from the University of Leicester, was awarded the 2023 IgNobel Prize in the Chemistry/Biology category.
The recognition came after he wrote an essay trying to explain a curious habit of his profession: why do paleontologists often lick rocks?
Zalasiewicz argues that wetting the surface of stones enhances the fossil and mineral textures, which, in turn, otherwise, they could get lost in a tangle of microreflections and microrefractions on the surface dry.
The paleontologist also revealed a personal experience in which he licked a rock on the side of a road and, to his surprise, discovered it to be a well-preserved foraminifera.
“Semantic satiety”? What would that be?
A team of scholars led by Chris Moulin and composed of Nicole Bell, Merita Turunen, Arina Baharin and Akira O’Connor delved into the phenomenon known as “jamais vu,” the opposite of the popular déjà. vu.
Déjà vu is a sensation in which, in an instant, something familiar seems strangely new or unfamiliar to a certain person.
In experiments carried out with student volunteers at the University of Leeds, participants repeated a selection of words several times and subsequently reported the sensations experienced.
The result? The research team coined the term “semantic satiety” to describe the observed effect: after repeating words often, participants often felt that such words lost their meaning or sounded peculiar.
(Image: disclosure)
Believe me, nostril hair has everything to do with alopecia
A group of researchers, led by Christine Pham and made up of Bobak Hedayati, Kiana Hashemi, Ella Csuka, Tiana Mamaghani, Margit Juhasz, Jamie Wikenheiser and Natasha Mesinkovska were awarded the IgNobel for Medicine for a peculiar and intriguing.
The team examined cadavers to determine whether there was an equal number of hairs in both nostrils. The scientific curiosity behind the study was alopecia, a condition that leads to loss of hair, eyelashes, eyebrows and other hair.
The team noted that individuals with alopecia are often more prone to respiratory illnesses. Therefore, they questioned whether the loss of nasal hair could be related to this vulnerability.
Is classroom boredom contagious? It just can, right?
Researchers including Katy Tam and Cyanea Poon won the IgNobel for Education when studying the effects of boredom in classrooms. Their results indicate that when teachers are bored, students tend to feel the same.
Furthermore, in a subsequent study, it was confirmed that the simple expectation of a boring class can actually make it monotonous for students. Such findings highlight the relevance of motivation and engagement in the educational environment.
Let's face it: these researches make a lot of sense, don't they?
Well, as the creators of the IgNobel Prize say, these scientific samples make us laugh, but then they make us think.
