This is Gary Dryfoos demonstrating one of the 2014 Ig Noble prizes: Use bacon “to stop uncontrollable, life-threatening nosebleeds”. Seriously, it’s a real research paper and it has already saved lives. Watch the ceremony to see the most ridiculous — but sometimes crucial and enlightening — scientific research of 2014.
Here’s a list, linking to the original peer-reviewed research papers:
- Bacon to stop uncontrollable nosebleeds (it works.)
- Calculation of the friction coefficient under a banana peel (bananas can kill Godzilla.)
- The dangers of having cats for your mental health (crazy cat lady is not a myth.)
- Dogs are sensitive to the variations on Earth’s magnetic fields (woof!)
- How reindeers react to polar bears (the scientists actually dressed as polar bears to try this.)
- How to use bacteria from baby poop to cure meat (this is actually delicious.)
- Economy Ig Nobel went to Italy and how they included prostitution, illegal drug sales, contraband and other illegal transactions to increase their GDP (Berlusconi’s bunga-bunga parties are probably included too.)
The Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine last Thursday at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Picture: Charles Krupa/AP