Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate unusual scientific research—this year including lizard pizza preferences and fingernail growth.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Ira Flatow?

  This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Plato. Hope you had a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving. Now, with the big feast in the past, we, of course, begin the long march towards the winter holidays, fueled, hopefully, by some leftover turkey and pie. Well, here at Science Friday, the day after Thanksgiving is our own kind of holiday observance, featuring highlights from the year's Ig Nobel Award ceremony. Now, if you're not familiar with the IGS, they are science awards for scientific research, real stuff, that first makes you laugh and then makes you think. The awards are handed out each year by the editors of the Science Humor magazine, The Annals of Improbable Research.

• 0:47Ira Flatow?

  So here's our post-Thanksgiving tradition as we hop in the Sci-Fry time machine to travel back to mid-September on the campus of Boston University, where the dignitaries and ignitaries are preparing to take the stage.

• 1:08Speaker 01

  There's ammonium, arsenic, aluminum, selenium, and hydrogen and oxygen, and nitrogen and radium, and nickel, leodmium, neptunium, germanium, and iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium, europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium, and lanthanum, and osmium, and astatine, and radium, and gold, protactinium, and indium, and gallium, and iodine, and thorium, and flium, and flallium.

• 1:28Speaker 01

  There's yttrium, eturium, actinium, rubidium, and boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium, and strontium, and silicon, and silver, and samarium, and bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.

• 1:45Speaker 02

  That music may be familiar to many of you. Tom Lehrer wrote those meticulously, ridiculously perfect lyrics and recorded that song way back in 1959. Tom Lehrer was in the audience at the very first Ig Nobel Prize ceremony in 1991. He advised and helped with several of the early Ig ceremonies, especially with the operas. Tom died a few weeks ago at the age of 97. We miss him.

• 2:17Speaker 02

  And now Barry Duncan will give the traditional Ig Nobel welcome, welcome speech.

• 2:26Speaker 03

  Welcome.

• 2:30Speaker 03

  Welcome.

• 2:39Speaker 04

  Tonight, we're going to award the 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes. This year's winners represent many countries and exactly one planet. Now, ladies and gentlemen, literati, glitterati, pseudo-intellectuals, quasi-pseudo-intellectuals, pseudo- quasi-intellectuals, large language models, very stable geniuses, has-beens, hustlers, indigestibles, and the rest of you. May I introduce our Master of Ceremonies, the editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, Chief Airhead Mark Abrams.

• 3:25Speaker 05

  Tonight, we honor some remarkable individuals and groups. Every Ig Nobel Prize winner has done something that first makes people laugh and then makes them think. The Ig Nobel Prize ceremony is produced by the magazine, the Annals of Improbable Research, and produced in collaboration with the Boston University College of Communications. The editors of the Annals of Improbable Research have chosen a theme for this year's ceremony. That theme is digestion.

• 3:58Speaker 05

  The theme may or may not apply to particular prizes. Tonight, 10 prizes will be given. The achievements speak for themselves. The prizes will be presented to the winners by Nobel laureates. Please welcome the Nobel laureates who will hand out the prizes. Let's give each of them a hand. A 2023 Nobel laureate in chemistry, Munghi Bhawendi.

• 4:28Speaker 05

  2007 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Eric Maskin. 2019 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Esther Duflo. 1997 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Robert Merton. 2022 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Svante Pebow.

• 5:08Speaker 05

  2019 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, William K. Lin. 1990 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Jerome Friedman. Is again unable to be here tonight, but here he is via the magic of recorded video.

• 5:33Speaker 06

  Congratulations. I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am.

• 5:40Speaker 05

  Thank you, Professor Friedman. As you know, we used to have a problem in this ceremony. Many of the speakers would exceed their allotted time. Here's how we have traditionally solved that problem. Please welcome the charming, delightful, ever-so-cute, eight-year-old Miss Sweetie Pooh. Sort of. Well, unfortunately, the real Miss Sweetie Pooh was not able to be here tonight.

• 6:20Speaker 05

  And so the role of Miss Sweetie Pooh will be performed by a last-minute, older, larger substitute. Our majordomo, Gary Dreyfus.

• 6:45Speaker 05

  Ms. Sweetie Poo, would you demonstrate what you'll do when somebody exceeds his or her allotted time?

• 6:54Speaker 07

  Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored.

• 7:05Speaker 05

  Thank you, thank you, Ms. Sweetie Poo. Now, Ms. Sweetie Poo...

• 7:07Speaker 07

  Please stop, I'm bored.

• 7:08Speaker 05

  Thank you, Ms...

• 7:09Speaker 07

  Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored.

• 7:13Speaker 05

  Thank you, thank you, Ms. Sweetie Poo. Thank you.

• 7:19Speaker 05

  And now get set for the 24/7 lectures. We've invited several of the world's top thinkers to tell us very briefly what they're thinking about. Each 24/7 lecturer will explain their subject twice. First, a complete technical description in 24 seconds. And then, after a brief pause, a clear summary that anyone can understand in seven words. The 24-second time limit will be enforced by the time enforcer. This first 24/7 lecture will be delivered by Ben Smith, director of the Manel Chemical Senses Center and co-winner of the 2005 Ig Nobel Biology Prize.

• 8:03Speaker 05

  He won that prize for painstakingly smelling and cataloguing the peculiar odours produced by 131 different species of frogs when the frogs were feeling stressed. The topic: Taste, Smell, and Digestion.

• 8:30Speaker 05

  First, a complete technical description of the subject in 24 seconds. On your mark, get set, go.

• 8:37Speaker 08

  Smell and taste play cluucal roles in the phallic phase of digestion, initiating salivation and gastric secretions before food even enters the mouth. Olfactory and gastatory stimuli trickle neural pathways that prime the gastrointestinal tract. Interception, the sensing of internal bodily states, regulates digestive feedback, modulating enzyme release, motility, and satiety signals. Together, these systems integrate sensory input with physiological responses to optimize nutrient breakdown and absorption.

• 9:07Speaker 05

  And now, a clear summary that anyone can understand in seven words. On your mark, get set, go.

• 9:19Speaker 08

  Brain to gut, we've got incoming snacks.

• 9:30Speaker 05

  To honor the next 24/7 lecturer, we ask you, everyone in the audience who has one, to reach into your pocket, take your smartphone, and hold it aloft. Everyone here on the stage, you too.

• 9:49Speaker 05

  This 24/7 lecture will be delivered by Tricia Pasricha, gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and co-author of the medical study titled "Smartphone Use on the Toilet and the Risk of Hemorrhoids."

• 10:19Speaker 05

  The topic of this lecture, smartphones and the risk of hemorrhoids. First, a complete technical description of the subject in 24 seconds. On your mark, get set, go.

• 10:33Speaker 09

  We conducted a cross-sectional study of adults undergoing screening colonoscopy and observed that the majority reported employing portable handheld computing devices during defecatory episodes. A multivariate logistic regression model demonstrated that defecation-associated computing device utilization was independently associated with a 46% increased odds of endoscopically verified hemorrhoidal disease.

• 11:02Speaker 05

  And now a clear summary that anyone can understand in seven words. On your mark, get set, go.

• 11:10Speaker 09

  Smartphones are a pain in the butt.

• 11:18Speaker 10

  We have to take a break. Here's a taste of this year's Ig Nobel mini-opera entitled "The Plight of the Gastroenterologist."

• 11:36Speaker 10

  I ask how many bones survive. When they get swallowed, my best guess is 25. But it's a mystery. Maybe just the big bones do.

• 11:56Speaker 10

  They get digested to some degree. I'm gonna test it. No guesswork. Let's really see. To solve the mystery, watch me swallow a shroud.

• 12:15Speaker 10

  We'll be right back with more from the Ig Nobel Awards in just a moment. Stay with us.

• 12:27Speaker 10

  I'm Ira Flatow, and you're listening to Science Friday from WNYC Studios.

• 12:35Ira Flatow?

  This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flatow, and in case you're just joining us, we're playing highlights from this year's Ig Nobel Awards ceremony. Here's Ig Nobel Master of Ceremonies, Mark Agnew.

• 12:48Speaker 05

  And now, let's get it over with. Ladies and gentlemen, the awarding of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes. We're giving out 10 prizes. The winners come from many nations. This year's winners have truly earned their prizes. Karen, tell the winners what they've won.

• 13:07Speaker 04

  This year's winners will each receive an Ig Nobel Prize.

• 13:16Speaker 04

  This year's prize is a model of a human stomach. The two sides of the stomach each resemble a human face. One face is happy, and one face is grumpy.

• 13:30Speaker 05

  Thank you, Karen. This year, 2025, long-distance travel suddenly became more challenging. Some of the prize-winning teams are not able to come to the ceremony. So instead, each of those teams sent an acceptance speech. And those acceptance speeches will be read aloud on their behalf during this ceremony by Nobel laureates. And now, here are the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners. The Literature Prize.

• 14:18Speaker 05

  The winner is from the USA. The Ig Nobel Literature Prize is awarded to the late Dr. William B. Bean for persistently recording and analyzing the rate of growth of one of his fingernails over a period of 35 years.

• 14:42Speaker 05

  Please welcome Dr. Bean's son, Bennett Bean, who will accept the prize on behalf of his father.

• 14:55Speaker 06

  Thank you all. As you can see, I have done nothing to receive this prize. My father, however, did a great deal to receive this prize. For years, he measured the length of his fingernails. He also would use the family to check. So, we all had our fingernails done. And he would file a little mark and then watch carefully as they grew. I am the one of two survivors of his patient pool. Because one of the wonderful things about doing a long-term experiment on yourself is you never lose anybody to do it on.

• 15:37Speaker 06

  As long as you're alive, you have a subject. And there are no legal complications either. It's simple. You're there, your fingernails are there, and you can continue endlessly to measure them. So, I would like to thank you all very much for the honor. Now, in the case of the honor, it seems to me that the committee waited a little too long. Because my father died before he could receive it. But then, you're never sure about what you're going to be remembered for after you're dead. Thank you all.

• 16:21Speaker 05

  The Psychology Prize.

• 16:34Speaker 05

  The winners are from Poland, Australia, and Canada. The Ig Nobel Psychology Prize is awarded to Marcin Zajunkowski and Gilles Niack for investigating what happens when you tell narcissists, or anyone else, that they are intelligent.

• 17:01Speaker 11

  Okay, Gilles, so this is how the Ig Nobel audience looks like.

• 17:12Speaker 12

  It does look like a random sample, but also a lot of randoms.

• 17:18Speaker 11

  Hold on, hold on. I think that this side is very intelligent.

• 17:24Speaker 12

  This side, Marcin, not so intelligent, I must say.

• 17:28Speaker 11

  Okay, okay, let's measure the narcissism. My smart side, on a scale from 1 to 5, how narcissistic do you feel right now? I get the mean of 3.98.

• 17:43Speaker 12

  Okay, now this not-so-side, what's the narcissism level, 1 to 5? Give me some numbers. Okay, some numbers, okay. Marcin, it's coming out to 3.71.

• 17:54Speaker 11

  Okay, okay, let's do some stats. It's P equals 0.04.

• 17:59Speaker 12

  And that is statistically significant.

• 18:03Speaker 11

  See, see, I told you that telling people they are smart increases their narcissism.

• 18:09Speaker 12

  In conclusion, if you're special and you know it, clap your hands. If you're special and you know it, clap your hands. If you're special and you know it, and you really want to show it, if you're special and you know it, clap your hands.

• 18:35Speaker 12

  The Nutrition Prize.

• 18:46Speaker 12

  The winners are from Nigeria, Togo, Italy, and France. The Ig Nobel Nutrition Prize is awarded to Danielle Dendi, Gabriel Senyabeto, Roger Meek, and Luca Luiselli for studying the extent to which a certain kind of lizard chooses to eat certain kinds of pizza.

• 19:20Speaker 05

  The winners could not travel to the USA. Their acceptance speech will be read on their behalf by Nobel laureate Esther Duflo.

• 19:38Speaker 13

  This is the acceptance speech for the 2025 Ig Nobel Nutrition Prize. It was written by one of the co-winner, Luca Luisielli. I am delivering the speech on his behalf as well as on the behalf of the French person. Which I can... Dear organizers, dear all, thank you, thank you so much. I am deeply honored and slightly confused to receive the Ig Nobel Prize. When we began studying urban agamas, snacking on discarded pizza in seaside resorts in Togo,

• 20:23Speaker 13

  we never dreamed it would lead to international recognition. Of course, as every good Italian, I knew that for cheese pizza is irresistible. But honestly, our lizard did really well, better than any Italian lizard. My colleagues, Professor Gabrielle Senigat Beto and Dr. Roger Meek and Danielle Dandy and I, simply wanted to answer the age-old scientific question. What happens when a lizard discovers cheese and carbs? Now we know, and the answer is, they behave like Italians.

• 21:10Speaker 13

  I want to thank my dedicated team of researchers who endured sunburns, pizza cravings, and one particularly aggressive seagull. A special thank to the Agamas themselves for their bold dietary choices and um apologetic love of cheeses.

• 21:32Speaker 13

  This work proves that adaptation, like science, can be strange, surprising, and occasionally delicious. May we all continue to pursue questions that first make us laugh and then make us think. Thank you very much for the appreciation.

• 21:58Speaker 05

  The Pediatrics Prize.

• 22:11Speaker 05

  The winners are from the USA. The Ig Nobel Pediatrics Prize is awarded to Julie Manella and Gary Beecham for studying what a nursing baby experiences when the baby's mother eats garlic.

• 22:42Speaker 14

  Thank you for celebrating our work that what a mother eats flavors of milk and we later went on to show also amniotic fluid. At the time, mothers were advised to eat a bland diet for fear the baby would reject her milk. On the contrary, infants savored the flavor of garlic and other flavors in which she ate. In other words, don't dismiss mothers and don't dismiss garlic. Gary?

• 23:12Speaker 15

  So, when I started my research career, I got a call from NSF where I had a grant, and told me he had some bad news for me. I had just been a finalist in something called the Golden Fleece Awards. Some of you maybe know what those are. They're nothing you want to be, because they're for the stupidest, dumbest, biggest waste of money for the government for science. And I said, "Well, why did I get it?" And he said, "Well, your title in your grant was about guinea pigs, sex, and smell." And that was sufficient. So luckily, I didn't get the final award, thank goodness.

• 23:53Speaker 15

  But this is sort of the culmination of that, where I've given up on the sex and the guinea pigs, but stuck with the smell. And it is really smelly.

• 24:04Speaker 07

  Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored. Please stop, I'm bored.

• 24:10Speaker 15

  Thank you.

• 24:20Speaker 05

  The Biology Prize.

• 24:30Speaker 05

  The winners are from Japan. The Igno Bell Biology Prize is awarded to Moki Kojima, Kazato Owishi, Yasushi Samatsubara, Yuki Uchiyama, Yosehiko Fukushima, Naito Ayoki Sei Sato, Tatsuaki Masuda, Junichi Ueda, Hiroki Hiroka, sorry, Hiroyuki Hiroka, and Katutoshi Kino for their experiments to learn whether cows painted with zebra-like striping can avoid being bitten by flies.

• 25:23Speaker 16

  Ladies and gentlemen, we are deeply honored to receive this award. And we are grateful to our colleagues, friends, and families. And we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to organizers and esteemed panel of judges. Stripes, discouraged biting flies from landing using cow petticoat like stripes, like this. Thank you very much.

• 26:03Speaker 05

  The Chemistry Prize.

• 26:11Speaker 05

  The Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize is awarded to Rotam Naftalovich, Daniel Naftalovich, and Frank Greenway for experiments to test whether eating Teflon, a form of plastic more formally called polytetrafluoroethylene, is a good way to increase food volume and hence satiety without increasing calorie content.

• 26:44Speaker 05

  The winners could not travel to the ceremony. Their acceptance speech will be read on their behalf by Nobel laureate Mungy Bowendi.

• 27:01Speaker 05

  This is the acceptance speech for the 2025 Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize. It was written by co-winner Rotam Naftalovich. I am delivering the speech on his behalf.

• 27:24Speaker 17

  Esteemed colleagues, confused relatives, and curious bystanders. Thank you. I am deeply honored to receive the Ig Nobel Prize for research that makes people laugh, that makes them think, and occasionally makes them question my judgment. Science is a journey paved with strange questions and, sometimes, stranger answers. May we never run out of either. Thank you.

• 27:59Speaker 05

  It's time for more 24/7 lectures. This 24/7 lecture will be delivered by Deborah Anderson, professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and virology, immunology, and microbiology at Boston University's Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, and co-winner of the 2008 Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize. She won that prize for discovering that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide under some conditions. The topic: cola.

• 28:40Speaker 05

  First, a complete technical description of the subject in 24 seconds. On your mark, get set, go.

• 28:47Speaker 18

  When Coca-Cola was invented in 1888, it contained a potent mix of cocaine and caffeine and was marketed as a medicinal syrup for the treatment of morphine addiction and an array of neurologic and digestive disorders. The cocaine was removed in 1906 and carbonated water was added, transforming it into the iconic drink we know today. Over 1.8 billion drinks are sold each day on Earth.

• 29:10Speaker 05

  And now, a clear summary that anyone can understand in seven words. On your mark, get set, go.

• 29:20Speaker 18

  Coca-Cola: Refreshing spritzer or mysterious elixir?

• 29:31Ira Flatow?

  The awards are presented by the editors of the Science Humor magazine, Annals of Improbable Research. You can find out more about them at improbable.com. Coming up, more highlights from this year's 35th First Annual Ig Nobel Awards. Stay with us. I'm Ira Flatow, and you're listening to Science Friday from WNYC Studios.

• 30:00Ira Flatow?

  This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flatow, and we now return you to highlights from this year's Ig Nobel Awards ceremony. Research that first makes you laugh and then makes you think. Recorded in September of this year at Boston University. Here's Ig Nobel Master of Ceremonies Mark Abrams.

• 30:20Speaker 05

  The Peace Prize.

• 30:28Speaker 05

  The winners are from the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany. The Ig Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Fritz Renner, Inga Kersbergen, Matt Field, and Jessica Werthman for showing that drinking alcohol sometimes improves a person's ability to speak in a foreign language.

• 30:58Speaker 05

  The winners could not travel to the USA. Their acceptance speech will be read on their behalf by Nobel laureates Svante Paebo and Robert Merton.

• 31:15Speaker 19

  This is the acceptance speech for the 2027 Nobel, Ig Nobel Peace Prize. I'm delivering the speech on their behalf, as you understand. We made an important discovery. Drunken Germans usually pronounce Dutch better than sober Germans.

• 31:39Speaker 19

  And it's not just that the drinkers thought their Dutch was better. Independent raters judged their pronunciation as clearer. Like many great scientific ideas, the idea of this study actually came up at an international conference in the evening at a bar. It started with colleagues from different countries speaking different languages and sometimes yoking. I swear I speak better Dutch after a glass of wine. Rather than leaving it at that, we decided to test it properly.

• 32:18Speaker 20

  What we found was fascinating.

• 32:23Speaker 20

  A low dose, a dose of alcohol, less than a pint of beer, did make people think they spoke Dutch better.

• 32:34Speaker 20

  But independent raters actually judged their pronunciation to be clearer. In short, a small sip seemed to boost confidence without making the words fall apart.

• 32:52Speaker 20

  Now, before anyone rushes to claim language lessons as tax-deductible bar bills, let us stress: we do not recommend alcohol as a tool to learn a new language.

• 33:10Speaker 20

  At higher doses, it seriously impairs memory, attention, and behavior. The very skills you need to learn a language, and frankly, to function in everyday life.

• 33:27Speaker 20

  So, thank you again for this recognition. We take the science seriously, even if we started with a laugh over a drink.

• 33:38Speaker 20

  We want to thank our co-authors, Inge Kersberg and Matt Field, as well as everyone who supported this research, most of all, the students who were involved in the study and data collection. Thank you.

• 34:05Speaker 05

  The Engineering Design Prize.

• 34:17Speaker 05

  The winners are from India. The Ig Nobel Engineering Design Prize is awarded to Vikash Kumar and Sarthak Mittal for analyzing, from an engineering design perspective, how foul-smelling shoes affect the good experience of using a shoe rack.

• 34:40Speaker 05

  The winners could not travel to the United States.

• 34:47Speaker 05

  And so, we've arranged that their acceptance speech will be read on their behalf by Nobel laureates Eric Maskin and William Kalin.

• 35:07Speaker 21

  So, this is the acceptance speech for the 2025 Ig Nobel Engineering Design Prize. It was written by co-winner Vikash Kumar, and I am delivering this speech on behalf of Vikash Kumar. Namaste. It took a few emails from Mark and even a video call to convince us that it was not a prank. So, thank you, Mark, the review members, and Susan Canny, who thoughtfully ordered lavender sachets for our shoe rack. We'll collect them when we meet you. Beyond the fun and laughter tonight, let us briefly paint a picture to show the seriousness of the problem.

• 35:49Speaker 21

  Imagine you're on a plane or a bus, and your fellow passenger decides to get a little more comfortable by removing their shoes. If they're smelly, a part of you experiences hell. No perfume can mask it. Sometimes, it makes a worse cocktail. This project began as a student assignment by my co-author Sarthak, who noticed shoes kept outside hostel rooms. At first, we thought it was simply due to a lack of shoe racks, but soon, we discovered the real reason: the smell. One student even joked, "Either the shoe stays in the room, or we do."

• 36:30Speaker 22

  The funniest part? Testing the smell levels. Sensors failed us, so we recruited brave human noses. Special thanks to Karen Veer and Sand Joy for lending them to science. By now, I suspect that the bananas are growing restless, so let us conclude. This journey taught us two things: Design doesn't always start glamorous. It often begins with noticing the ordinary and refusing to ignore it. And solving real problems takes more than disciplinary knowledge, from engineering to design to life sciences.

• 37:15Speaker 22

  Thank you for celebrating our work. We hope it made you laugh first and then think. Have a wonderful evening. Namaste.

• 37:24Speaker 05

  This next 24/7 lecture will be delivered by Gus Rancatori, proprietor of Toscanini's Ice Cream Shop. The topic: Ice Cream. First, a complete technical description of the subject in 24 seconds. On your mark, get set, go.

• 37:55Speaker 23

  Yum. Yum, yum, yum, yum. Mmm. Yummy, yummy, yum. Mmm. Yum. Yum. Yum, yum, yum.

• 38:27Speaker 05

  And now, a clear summary that anyone can understand in seven words. On your mark, get set, go.

• 38:37Speaker 23

  Yum.

• 38:41Speaker 23

  Yum yum yum.

• 38:54Speaker 23

  Yum.

• 38:58Speaker 05

  The Aviation Prize. The winners are from Colombia, Israel, Argentina, Germany, the UK, Italy, the USA, Portugal, and Spain. The Ig Nobel Aviation Prize is awarded to Francisco Sanchez, Mariana Melkon, Carmy Corine, and Barry Pincho for studying whether ingesting alcohol can impair bats' ability to fly and also their ability to echolocate.

• 39:46Speaker 24

  Okay, and this is a big honor, thank you very much. Our research was about making some parties for bats, and we had to provide them some ethanol. The problem is that the bats didn't like it.

• 40:00Speaker 24

  Thanks very much for those people who thought our research was enlightening and mightily ridiculous.

• 40:08Speaker 24

  And of course, to our families that have been supporting these nocturnal obsessions. Robert Dabby inspired most of the research we did at that moment, and Bert Cotler helped us with some forging theory. And of course, Unija was helping getting here, so that's really important. And, what's that? Oh, Mr. Bat, are you okay? Well, yes, I think I am.

• 40:37Speaker 24

  You look a bit strange. You are flying kind of funny and you are speaking kind of gibberish. Really?

• 40:45Speaker 24

  Yeah, you look nervous too. But what happened to you? What were you doing? Well, I was eating just some interesting figs, so...

• 40:56Speaker 24

  Well, Mr. Batt, it's good I found you, because if we were found by some of those souls over there, you would be part of the prodigal channel.

• 41:05Speaker 07

  Please stop on board!

• 41:07Speaker 24

  That man is scary.

• 41:08Speaker 07

  Please stop!

• 41:09Speaker 24

  Thank you. Bye-bye.

• 41:17Speaker 05

  The Physics Prize.

• 41:25Speaker 05

  The winners are from Italy, Spain, Germany, and Austria. The Ignoval Physics Prize is awarded to Giacomo Bartolucci, Daniel Maria Busiello, Matteo Ciarchi, Alberto Cotricelli, Ivan Di Terlizzi, Fabrizio Omeda, Davida Ravignas, and Vincenzo Maria Shimenti for discoveries about the physics of pasta sauce, especially the phase transition that can lead to clumping, which can be a cause of unpleasantness.

• 42:13Speaker 24

  We know, you all may think that this work confirms all the stereotypes about Italians, like that we only think about food. But this is not true. In this work, we studied the phase behavior of protein mixtures. But first, let me say a few words. Ciao mamma!

• 42:36Speaker 24

  Ciao Anna! Ciao!

• 42:42Speaker 25

  Una cacio e pepe perfetta è caratterizzata da una salsa silente e cremosa che rende questo piatto delizioso e iconico. Tuttavia, ottenere quella salsa perfetta è difficile. A high temperatures, le proteine di uovo aggregano, formano clump e finiscono in una grande, gigantesca e non piacevole clump: la faccia di mozzarella.

• 43:07Speaker 25

  Penso che abbiamo scoperto che l'italiana mozzarella è una brutta cosa. Tuttavia, c'è una maniera di evitarlo: aggiungere straccio alla salsa.

• 43:22Speaker 25

  La straccio in proteine aggregata è considerata molto importante in diversi campi: l'origine della vita, la formazione di fibre amloidissime in Alzheimer. Oggi è anche molto importante creare una cacio e pepe perfetta.

• 43:57Speaker 05

  Vogliamo che tutti i vincitori, tutti i laureati Nobel, gli oratori 24/7 e gli altri partecipanti della cerimonia si aspettino qui, ora, sul palco per una opportunità di foto senza scopo. Per favore, aspettate qui.

• 44:12Speaker 05

  Sentitevi liberi di applaudire, se scegliete.

• 44:29Speaker 05

  Quando uscirete dall'oratorio, per favore, aiutateci a pulire. Ci sono un paio di aerei di carta qui. Se vede uno aereo di carta strano, per favore, aspettatelo e forse chiedete a un vincitore dell'Ig Nobel a firmare l'aereo di carta, trasformandolo in un oggetto storico. Ora Barry Duncan darà il saluto tradizionale dell'Ig Nobel.

• 44:58Speaker 05

  Buon...

• 45:06Speaker 05

  ...buon...

• 45:12Ira Flatow?

  Goodbye.

• 45:23Speaker 05

  Thank you for joining us at the 35th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. We estimate that next year's ceremony will be the 36th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. Now, on behalf of Improbable Research and on behalf of the Boston University College of Communication, please remember this final thought: If you didn't win an Ig Nobel Prize this year, and especially if you did, better luck next year. Thank you.

• 46:10Ira Flatow?

  And that about wraps it up for us. Thanks to Mark Abrams and everyone at the Annals of Improbable Research. You can find out more about them at improbable.com. We're going to leave you with a sampling from this year's Ig Nobel mini-opera entitled "The Plight of the Gastroenterologist." Here's a little taste of the opera.

• 46:34Speaker 10

  Well, my first grateful patient has brought a gift to me: A pizza with pepperoni.

• 46:46Speaker 26

  Well, my second grateful patient has brought a gift to me: Two chili dogs and a pizza with pepperoni.

• 46:56Ira Flatow?

  And of course, if you've missed any part of the program, or you would like to hear it again, subscribe to our podcasts, or point your device to our website at sciencefriday.com. You can join us on social media all week, and check out all our great newsletters, too. And you can email us the old-fashioned classic way: [email protected]. Have a great holiday weekend. I'm Ira Flatow.

• 47:41Ira Flatow?

  This episode was produced by Charles Berquist. I'm Ira Flatow. Thanks for listening.