Can't get milk from a cow? Try calling her Bessie or Buttercup. A pair of British researchers who found that dairy cows with names yield more milk than unnamed cows are among this year's winners of the Ig Nobel awards, the annual tribute to scientific research that on the surface seems goofy but is often surprisingly practical.
Other winners honored Thursday at Harvard University's Sanders Theater included scientists who found that empty beer bottles are much better weapons in a bar brawl than full bottles; researchers who used bacteria in panda poop to reduce kitchen waste; and in homage to the worldwide financial meltdown, the executives of four Icelandic banks who contributed to the island nation's economic collapse.
The 19th annual event with the theme "Risk," sponsored by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, featured real Nobel laureates handing out the prizes.
No comments:
Post a Comment