Wednesday 7 October 2009

Wordy Wednesday - Ig Nobel Prizes 2009


This year's Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony was held last week at Harvard University. These are prizes that are offered for improbable research - things that are quirky, amusing or just baffling.

The Ig Nobel Peace Prize was won by a group of Swiss researchers who conducted experiments to determine whether or not it was better to have an empty or a full beer bottle smashed over your head. The answer was that both can fracture your skull, though the empty bottle requires more force to break it. They're missing the point, which is that using a full bottle is a waste of beer, and therefore more criminal.

Meanwhile, at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, they've been looking into producing diamonds from tequilla. Presumably this process involves not drinking the tequilla. Isn't that illegal in Mexico?

My favourite, though, was an invention from Chicago. This is a bra that in an emergency can be converted into a pair of face masks. I'm not quite sure what kind of emergency this would be, but it would be interesting to see one. The picture below shows one of the inventors demonstrating it at the award ceremony:


This idea isn't just a potential life saver. It would solve the age old problem men always have with hooks and fasteners. Now you'd just have to shout "gas leak!". Definitely a worthy winner.

12 comments:

Jean Knee said...

ha, love these. It's still Wednesday here so I didn't miss it.



and.................

FIRST!!!!!

Does this mean men will be wearing bras just in case?

Bee said...

Damn! I missed it! Although, there may be a few kinks cuz I mean, some of us are more uh fortunate? than others so what happens with those poor chicks with the little boobies?

Jean Knee said...

watch out Bee, you are treading on thin ice here

maybe we small boobed women could put the two cups together to make a whole mask


what do you think, Brian?

Anndi said...

Be, think of the small faced children... someone has to save THEM! Us small boobied women will!

Brian o vretanos said...

Jean Knee:

The patent application mentions that other garments might be able to be similarly adapted, though it doesn't specify what. Presumably baseball caps would be a candidate.

Bee:

It's the size of the garment that matters - the small-but-perfectly-formed brigade might need to wear some padding.

Anndi:

That's a very good point.

Jean Knee said...

I don't look good in baseball caps.

However, your answer to Bee deserves an A plus- I can't believe you're divorced

fool

Bee said...

ha ha aha haaaa!!

Word Imp said...

Great stuff Brian and very funny. Just popped by to say hi and let you know I'm back to doing my Word Imperfect blog at last. Hope to see you there.

Dan said...

Only in Chicago. Did Barack Obama invent those ? I heard on the news he won the Nobal and he is a Chicagoan.

Dan said...

Only in Chicago. Did Barack Obama invent those ? I heard on the news he won the Nobal and he is a Chicagoan.

Jean Knee said...

I think he won the ig nobel and they made a mistake

Unknown said...

Bra and beer research? I knew I should've been a scientist ...