Prizes for humorous scientific research

Well-timed, a few weeks before the serious Nobel Prize winners are announced in Stockholm, an organization in Boston traditionally presents the winners of the Ig Nobel Prizes.

It is an absurd and cheerful parody of the weighty circus in Sweden, with prizes for studies that first (can) make you laugh, and then also provoke deeper thought. The corniness predominates, which is also expressed in this year’s theme: ‘knowledge’. The award ceremony took place online in the night from Thursday to Friday.

Over the years, a remarkable number of Dutch scientists have been awarded Ig Nobel prizes. In 2022, the Dutch ‘medal harvest’ will be very large with no fewer than three laureates. Mariska Kret (Ig Nobel Prize for Applied Cardiology) for researching synchronous heartbeats of people during a blind date, Peter de Smet (Ig Nobel Prize for Art History) for researching the use of enemas in ancient Maya culture and Paul van Lange ( Ig Nobel for Peace), for investigating sincerity and insincerity during gossip.

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