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Chuck and I did a podcast a while back on the Ig Nobel Prizes, which were hosted at Harvard on October 1. The podcast was based on a fine article by the fine writer Robert Lamb and he apparently keeps tabs on this sort of thing, because he bullied us into writing posts on some of the winners. Of course Robert’s all like, “I get the best ones,” because it was his idea to write about them. Here’s his fine, fine post.
Ig Nobel Prizes 2009: Bar Fights and Tequila Diamonds
by Robert Lamb | October 6, 2009
Granted, I’m not actually the kind of guy to ever wind up in a bar fight. But if I WERE to find myself fighting for my life in an East Texas roadhouse, which bottle should I choose to smash over the head of my attacker? An empty or an unopened brew? Leave it to science to nail down an answer for us.
Each year, the Ig Nobel Prize is awarded to researchers for unusual — and generally humorous — contributions to science. Tune in as Josh and Chuck discuss the highlights of this unique awards ceremony in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
The sound of nails on a chalkboard elicits an almost universal reaction: The spine is electrified, the shoulders tighten, the eyes squeeze shut. Why does this sound affect us so? Despite the nefarious study of three men (and 24 hapless test subjects), the answer is … we don’t really know.
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