The Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early autumn around the time the recipients of the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced for ten achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think".

This years winner include researcher in stinky feet, sound of fingernails on a blackboard and a device that repels teen-agers with an annoying high-pitched hum





In a quirky twist of fate physics professor Roy Glauber who has been the official "Keeper of the Broom," in past years could not attend the ceremony in 2005 as he had to travel to Stockholm to claim a genuine Nobel Prize in physics.

... and while we are on the topic of awards Popular Mechanics
announced today the winner of the 2006 Breakthrough Awards.
Honorees range from everyday tools like wrenches to vehicles that can virtually park itself.