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Science Friday > Archives > 1998 > November > November 27, 1998:

Hour One: Ig Nobel Ceremony

Traditions are important to us here at Science Friday. So while we honestly don't care whether you celebrate Thanksgiving by stuffing yourself with turkey or by nibbling shredded cabbage, we do hope you'll make room in your celebrations for one of OUR traditions - a heaping helping of scientific silliness from the annual Ig Nobel prize ceremony.

The Igs are awarded each year by the Annals of Improbable Research for accomplishments "that cannot or should not be reproduced." In this hour of Science Friday, listen in and you'll hear....

...from Emily Rosa, an 11-year-old whose paper debunking "therapeutic touch" was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this year....
...about the glories and mysteries of duct tape, "the substance that holds the world together" (yet really isn't that good for taping up leaky ducts)....
...a mini-operetta, "La Forza del Duct Tape," including the performances of (real) Nobel-prize winners Dudley Hershbach, Sheldon Glashow, William Lipscomb, and Richard Roberts....
...about a suit of armor that makes the wearer impervious to attack by grizzly bears....
...and much much more - some too mysterious to reveal!

All photos this page by Jon Chase of the Harvard News Office, except bear suit photo (#4) by Eric Workman for the Annals of Improbable Research.

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:

A bunch of very silly people
Sanders Theater
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

Books/Articles Discussed:

If you liked the Igs, may we suggest
"The Best of The Annals of Improbable Research," edited by Marc Abrahams.

Related Links:
The Ig Nobel Prize home page for a list of winners, the operetta libretto, and more
The Annals of Improbable Research (the sponsors of the Igs)

This segment produced by:
Karin Vergoth
Web producer/Writer:
Charles Bergquist