"Ig" Nobel Awards and Darwin Awards
Today morning I was at my university bookstore looking for a present for a friend and while browsing through the books in the "humor" category, I bumped into one whose title was The Ig Nobel Prizes: The Annals of Improbable Research. I had heard about these awards but never delved into the details of it. So I bought the book after reading the preface. Following that I looked up Wikipedia for the Ig Nobel prize.
Wikipedia:
"The Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early autumn — around the time the recipients of the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced — for ten achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name is a play on the words ignoble and Nobel. Sponsored by the scientific humor journal Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), they are presented by genuine Nobel Laureates, formerly at a ceremony in a lecture hall at MIT, but more recently at a ceremony in Harvard University's Sanders Theatre each fall. "
Examples (sources- Wikipedia and the referred book):
- The discovery that the presence of humans tends to sexually arouse ostriches.
- The statement that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements to be the location of Hell.
- To research on the "five-second rule," a tongue-in-cheek belief that food dropped on the floor won't become contaminated if it is picked up within five seconds.
- Conducting and publishing scientific study to establish that imcompetent people are completely unaware of their incompetence and others' competence.
- Fart stink absorbing underwear (this product has a US patent on it).
For more details refer to the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ig_Nobel_Prize
I also came across another award called the Darwin awards. The awards are based on Charles' Darwin's idea of evolution - survival of the fittest. So, the organisms/species of organisms which are not fit eventually phase out or become extinct.
Wikipedia:
"A Darwin Award is a tongue-in-cheek honor given to people who improve the human gene pool by removing themselves from it in a spectacularly stupid manner. The prizes, named after pioneering evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, are awarded over the Internet. There is no monetary prize, only (necessarily) posthumous recognition."
Some of the recipients of these awards had died (or rendered themselves incapable of reproducing) in the following ways (source- Wikipedia):
- Juggling hand grenades (Croatia, 2001).
- Jumping out of a plane to film skydivers while forgetting to wear a parachute oneself (USA, 1987).
- Trying to get enough light to look down a gun barrel using a cigarette lighter (USA, 1996).
- Cutting off one's own head with a chainsaw in a macho-contest (Poland, 1996).
- Using a lighter to illuminate a fuel tank to make sure it contains nothing flammable (Brazil, 2003).
- Heating a lava lamp on a gas stove (USA, 2004).
- Having sexual intercourse with a vacuum cleaner (USA, 2000).
For more details refer to the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards
-QT
Today morning I was at my university bookstore looking for a present for a friend and while browsing through the books in the "humor" category, I bumped into one whose title was The Ig Nobel Prizes: The Annals of Improbable Research. I had heard about these awards but never delved into the details of it. So I bought the book after reading the preface. Following that I looked up Wikipedia for the Ig Nobel prize.
Wikipedia:
"The Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early autumn — around the time the recipients of the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced — for ten achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name is a play on the words ignoble and Nobel. Sponsored by the scientific humor journal Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), they are presented by genuine Nobel Laureates, formerly at a ceremony in a lecture hall at MIT, but more recently at a ceremony in Harvard University's Sanders Theatre each fall. "
Examples (sources- Wikipedia and the referred book):
- The discovery that the presence of humans tends to sexually arouse ostriches.
- The statement that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements to be the location of Hell.
- To research on the "five-second rule," a tongue-in-cheek belief that food dropped on the floor won't become contaminated if it is picked up within five seconds.
- Conducting and publishing scientific study to establish that imcompetent people are completely unaware of their incompetence and others' competence.
- Fart stink absorbing underwear (this product has a US patent on it).
For more details refer to the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ig_Nobel_Prize
I also came across another award called the Darwin awards. The awards are based on Charles' Darwin's idea of evolution - survival of the fittest. So, the organisms/species of organisms which are not fit eventually phase out or become extinct.
Wikipedia:
"A Darwin Award is a tongue-in-cheek honor given to people who improve the human gene pool by removing themselves from it in a spectacularly stupid manner. The prizes, named after pioneering evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, are awarded over the Internet. There is no monetary prize, only (necessarily) posthumous recognition."
Some of the recipients of these awards had died (or rendered themselves incapable of reproducing) in the following ways (source- Wikipedia):
- Juggling hand grenades (Croatia, 2001).
- Jumping out of a plane to film skydivers while forgetting to wear a parachute oneself (USA, 1987).
- Trying to get enough light to look down a gun barrel using a cigarette lighter (USA, 1996).
- Cutting off one's own head with a chainsaw in a macho-contest (Poland, 1996).
- Using a lighter to illuminate a fuel tank to make sure it contains nothing flammable (Brazil, 2003).
- Heating a lava lamp on a gas stove (USA, 2004).
- Having sexual intercourse with a vacuum cleaner (USA, 2000).
For more details refer to the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards
-QT
posted by Quantum Teleporter @ 10:54 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home