Page "Ig Nobel Prize" Paragraph 4

The awards are sometimes veiled criticism ( or gentle satire ), as in the two awards given for homeopathy research, prizes in " science education " to the Kansas and Colorado state boards of education for their stance regarding the teaching of evolution, and the prize awarded to Social Text after the Sokal Affair.

Most often, however, they draw attention to scientific articles that have some humorous or unexpected aspect.

Examples range from the discovery that the presence of humans tends to sexually arouse ostriches, to the statement that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements to be the location of Hell, to research on the " five-second rule ", a tongue-in-cheek belief that food dropped on the floor will not become contaminated if it is picked up within five seconds.