Ig Nobel Award Winners Include Gas Mask Bra, Panda Poo

Some research is just so strange, so goofy, that according to Harvard University, it just shouldn’t be repeated. Harvard-based journal Annals of Improbable Research hands out the ‘Ig Nobel’ awards every year, timed to coincide with the real Nobel awards.

This year’s Ig Nobels included a couple of green concepts that may or may not deserve the dubious distinction – a bra made of two gas masks, and a panda poop-based trash additive.

From The Guardian:

Public health prize

Awarded to Elena Bodnar of Hinsdale, Illinois, for patenting a bra that, in an emergency, can be converted into a pair of gas masks, one for the owner and one for a needy bystander. “It was inspired by the Chernobyl nuclear accident,” said Bodnar, who is originally from Ukraine. “This way, the mask is always readily available.”

Biology prize

Fumiaki Taguchi, Song Guofu and Zhang Guanglei of Kitasato University graduate school of medical sciences in Japan share the prize for demonstrating that kitchen waste can be reduced by more than 90% by using bacteria extracted from giant panda excrement. Taguchi suspected panda faeces must contain bacteria capable of breaking down even the hardiest of foods because of the bear’s vast consumption of bamboo.

Is it just us, or does the panda poop concept actually sound like a great idea? People need to get over this fear of poop, because damned if it hasn’t proven to be incredibly versatile for a range of eco-friendly products and technology lately. And hey, at least the gas mask bra is dual purpose.

The whole list of Ig Nobel prizes is worth a look – for example, the Literature Prize was awarded to the entire police force of Ireland for repeatedly issuing citations to “Mr. Prawo Jazdy”, a ‘name’ that is actually the words “driver’s license” in Polish.

Link [The Guardian]

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