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Upside-down rhino experiment wins Ig Nobel Prize

Ig Nobel Prize - Level 4

Everyone knows the Nobel Peace Prize. This is for the person who contributed "the greatest benefit to humankind". Fewer people know about the Ig Nobel Prize. This is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think". This year's Ig Nobel award for transportation is for an experiment on the effects on rhinoceroses of hanging them upside down. Researchers wanted to know the healthiest way to move rhinoceroses by helicopter.

Wikipedia says: "The Ig Nobel Prize is a satirical prize awarded…to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research." It added: "The name of the award is a pun on the Nobel Prize." Other winners this year studied bacteria in chewing gum, cat communication, and whether humans grow beards to protect themselves from punches to the face. All winners win an old Zimbabwean $10 trillion note.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Ig Nobel Prize - Level 5

Everyone knows the Nobel Prizes for medicine, literature, and peace. These are for those who contributed "the greatest benefit to humankind". Fewer people are aware of the Ig Nobel Prize. This is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think". One of this year's Ig Nobel awards is for an experiment on the effects on rhinoceroses of hanging them upside down. The study won the award for transportation research. Researchers were trying to find out the healthiest way to relocate rhinoceroses by helicopter.

The Ig Nobel prizes are organized by a science humor magazine. Wikipedia says: "The Ig Nobel Prize is a satirical prize awarded…to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research." It added: "The name of the award is a pun on the Nobel Prize…and on the word ignoble (not noble)." Other recipients of this year's award studied the bacteria in chewing gum, conducted tests on cat communication, and carried out research on whether humans grow beards to protect themselves from punches to the face. All winners receive a now-defunct Zimbabwean $10 trillion note.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Ig Nobel Prize - Level 6

Everyone is familiar with the Nobel Prizes, which are awarded for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. These are given to those who have contributed "the greatest benefit to humankind". However, fewer people are aware of the Ig Nobel Prize. This is bestowed to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think". One of this year's Ig Nobel awards has been given to scientists who experimented on the effects on rhinoceroses of hanging them upside down. The rhino study won the award for transportation research. Researchers from Cornell University were trying to ascertain the healthiest way to relocate the animals by helicopter.

The Ig Nobel prizes are organized by the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Wikipedia says: "The Ig Nobel Prize is a satirical prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research." It added: "The name of the award is a pun on the Nobel Prize, which it parodies, and on the word ignoble (not noble)." Other recipients of this year's award studied the bacteria in chewing gum stuck to pavements, conducted tests on forms of cat communication, and carried out research on whether humans evolved to grow beards to protect themselves from punches to the face. All award winners receive a now-defunct Zimbabwean $10 trillion note.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson