Ignoble Biology Prize for proving that dog fleas jump higher than cat fleas

Ahead of the 2008 Nobel Prize announcements that will begin today, eight groups of scientists have received the 2008 Ignobel Prizes for the most far-fetched studies

Once a year, at the beginning of October, ten studies are selected that make people smile first, then think. It's not such a bad idea. As any polished lecturer knows, if you make your audience laugh, you've already made them listen to you. This was the way of thinking of the organizers of the Ig-Nobel competition, who try to select the most ridiculous studies that were published that year in the scientific literature, thus making them the most read and well-known studies among the general public. According to the best tradition of the Ig-Nobel, some of the studies were specially chosen to raise important issues to public awareness, such as the time when the 'Science Education' award was given to the boards of education of Kansas and Colorado for their insistence that evolution not be taught as a scientific theory.

The Ig-Nobel Prize in Nutritional Sciences was awarded this year for a study during which the researchers electronically changed the cracking sound made by American French fries, with the aim of making the person who bites into them believe that they are crispier and fresher than they really are. The researchers were able to significantly change the examinees' perception of the freshness of the chips, thus proving that sound impressions from the environment have a significant effect on our impressions of the foods we eat. Restaurateurs, take note.

In the Ig-Nobel Peace Prize, the Swiss Ethics Committee was awarded, together with all Swiss citizens, for adopting the legal principle that states that Plants have their own dignity, which cannot be aborted. But before you rush to give your cucumber the love it has always lacked, remember that the tomato next to it may hurt its feelings if you don't share it in a hug as well.

The Ig-Nobel prize for archeology was awarded to the study documenting by experimental means how history changes according to the decisions of living organisms in general, and armadillos in particular. It turns out that when researchers try to decipher the timeline of history, they rely on layers of soil that have accumulated on top of each other. If an ancient artifact was discovered in a certain layer, then the most logical explanation is that it belongs to that time layer. But this theory does not take into account the naked armadillos, which tend to dig burrows and divert ancient objects to other time layers. The researchers were able to measure the influence of the armadillos on the dating of time, and determined that samples from different dates in history can rise or fall up to twenty centimeters in the ground - distances that may determine differences of hundreds or even thousands of years in dating.

The winners of the Ig-Nobel Prize in Biology were able to prove that fleas living on dogs can jump to greater heights than fleas living on cats. Another study, which also dealt with tiny creatures, proved that common mold is able to find the shortest way to the food, and solve complicated mazes quickly and efficiently. For this important and decisive achievement (which was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature), the researchers were awarded the Ig-Nobel Prize for Cognitive Sciences.

The winners of the Ig-Nobel prize for medicine have proven that there is a good reason why homeopathic medicines and other preparations whose effectiveness science denies are often sold at exorbitant prices. The researchers proved that expensive fake drugs are also more effective than cheap fake drugs. This study is consistent with many others in the field of comparison between products, and repeatedly testifies to the great involvement of our expectations and their influence on the world we experience and feel.

The Ig-Nobel Prize for Physical Sciences was awarded to the research which mathematically showed that piles of hair or threads will inevitably tangle with each other and form knots. And no, Natural Formula will not help here.

The Ig-Nobel Prize for Chemical Sciences was awarded to the research that proved that Coca-Cola is not only a rust remover, but can also be used as a particularly effective spermicide. Will a fizzy bottle of Coca-Cola become an alternative to the morning-after pill?

The Ig-Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to David Sims from the London Business School, for his study - "A Piece of Bastard: Exploring the Experience of Displeasure in Organizations."

Last but not least, it is good to know that during the current crisis, good economists still find time for important research. The winners of the Ig-Nobel Prize for Economics proved that professional strippers earn money according to their ovulation times, when during the menstrual cycle they receive almost half the amount of money they would receive during ovulation. It is interesting to note that strippers who use birth control pills do not reach the highest incomes that are the share of strippers who do not use pills at that time of the month.

For information on the Ignoval website