Recognizing the Randos of Science

Even random research projects deserve recognition. Last week’s Ig Nobel Prize ceremony in Sanders Theatre did just that, celebrating the most improbable research done this past year.

This class of winners canvassed everything from vanilla fragrance via cow poop to a “gay bomb” that made enemy soldiers mind-numbingly sexy to each other. (Sounds dangerous—and fabulous!)

War-time orgies aside, the awards also mentioned a study on the effects of Viagra on jet-lagged hamsters. Diego A. Golombek, who conducted the study, flew in from Argentina to accept the Ig Nobel Aviation Prize. Why hamsters? Golombek explains, “We also tried it with worms...it didn’t work.”

Ig Nobel Laureate and former Leverett House resident Francis M. Fesmire ’81 was also present. Fesmire won an award in 2006 for a medical study on “digital rectal massage for intractable hiccups.” Standing with a “Dr. Fran’s Anti-hiccup Kit” in hand, Fesmire makes a less-than-stellar sales pitch for his own product. “I have no desire to ever try it again” says Fesmire. The kit includes a tube of K-Y Jelly and a latex surgical glove.

Cornell professor Brian Wansink, winner of the Ig Nobel Nutrition Prize, studied the effect of rigged, bottomless soup bowls on the human appetite. “We hooked up soup bowls with six quarts of tomato soup,” says Wansink, a food psychologist. According to his study, “the typical person ate around 15 ounces, but others ate more than a quart.”

With sexy bombs and horny hamsters, it’s anyone’s guess as to what kind of projects will be honored in next year’s Ig Nobel Awards. And, if you’re interested in “Dr. Fran’s Anti-Hiccup Kit,” don’t worry: it comes with user-friendly directions.