Harvard gave out Shnobels

The 22nd annual ceremony of presenting the Anti-Nobel Prize (Ignobel or Shnobel) for discoveries that “first make you laugh and then think” was traditionally held at the Sanders Theater at Harvard University in the USA.

To applause and laughter, the Ignobel of the World was awarded to the Chelyabinsk company SKN for its technology of turning old ammunition into diamonds. “Ladies, if you need diamonds, we’ll meet you after the ceremony. But don’t forget to bring your explosives,” joked Igor Petrov, who accepted the award on behalf of the company at the ceremony . As reported on the SKN website , the research team has been developing technology for creating nanodiamonds since 1994. The research was sponsored by both the Russian government and the American Foundation for Civilian Research and Development. The technology has been patented and is now being mastered by the Kopeysk Plastics Plant and another Czech enterprise. Subsequently, the invention of scientists will significantly reduce the cost of producing nanodiamonds.

1996 Ignobel Art Laureates Don and Nancy Featherston show off their award-winning lawn ornament to 2012 ceremony attendees

Ruslan Krechetnikov was awarded in the field of fluid dynamics for his joint research with the American scientist Hans Mayer on the vibrations of coffee in a cup while walking.

Tulio Guadalupe, who represented Russia, Peru and the Netherlands, and his Dutch colleagues Anita Ireland and Rolf Zwaan (their wedding is scheduled for September 23) were awarded a psychology award for the discovery of the effect of the Eiffel Tower shrinking when the head is tilted to the left.

From left to right: Nobel laureate in economics (2007) Eric Maskin, Nobel laureate in medicine (1993) Richard Roberts, Nobel laureate in chemistry (1986) Dudley Hershbach, honorary speaker Robert Kirchner, Nobel laureate in physics (2005) Roy Glauber repeat the experiment with Eiffel Tower

Russians have received Ig Nobel before. For example, Andrei Geim received an award for his experience with diamagnetic levitation of a frog. However, 10 years after the “flying frog”, Geim, together with his Manchester University colleague Konstantin Novoselov, received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of graphene, becoming the first winner of both Nobel and Ignobel.

Chemical Ignobel went to Johan Petterson (Sweden and Rwanda) for solving the mystery of why people's hair turns green in some houses in the Swedish town of Anderslöv.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1986) Dudley Herschbach

The Japanese Katsutaka Kurihara and Koschi Tsukada were awarded for creating a “voice jammer” (SpeechJammer), which distorts a person’s voice: the speaker hears his words with a delay.

The Government Accountability Office received a literary award "for using a report on reports about other reports to recommend the preparation of a report on a report on other reports that are about other reports."

Nobel laureate in economics (2007) Eric Maskin - the main prize in the competition "Win a date with a Nobel laureate"

In the field of neuroscience, the Schnobel also went to the Americans for research “using sophisticated instruments and simple statistics” proving that the brain is active even in dead salmon.

The second Ignobel in his scientific career was awarded to the American Joseph Keller and his colleagues from Great Britain for mathematical calculations of the balance of forces that determine the shape and movement of hair collected in a ponytail.

Raymond Goldstein with his ponytail, which brought him Ignobel in physics

For the discovery of the fact that chimpanzees recognize each other from behind, the anatomical Ignobel was awarded to Frans de Waal (Netherlands, USA) and Jennifer Pokorny (USA).

Frenchmen Emanuel Ben-Soussan and Michael Antonietti were awarded for using colonoscopy (probing of the cecum) to “minimize the risk of the patient exploding.”

Paper airplane target man

According to tradition, Nobel laureates handed out Ignobels. However, the award ceremony itself was only a small part of the ceremony. Scientists were entertained this year by the Keromin , an electronic musical instrument shaped like a stuffed frog that produces sounds reminiscent of bagpipes. At the beginning and middle of the evening, the hall was suddenly filled with flying paper airplanes.

Ignobel laureates in medicine Francis Fesmire (2006) and Richard Gustafson (1996) used a woman's bra as a gas mask

The scientific part consisted of lectures in a 24/7 format: a description of a complex technical part in 24 seconds and a summary “for everyone” in seven words. Thus, 2005 Nobel laureate in physics Roy Glauber told the audience about the structure of the Universe, and 1993 Nobel winner in the field of physiology and medicine Richard Roberts spoke about life based on arsenic.

The Anti-Nobel Prize has been awarded by the humorous popular science magazine Annals of Improbable Research since 1991.