The Nobel Prizes have been awarded so it was only a matter of time before the Ig Nobel Prizes were announced at Harvard. According to the news this morning one of the awards went to the person who did research as to why Woodpeckers don’t have headaches. The other prize went to the person who discovered a sound – it’s one that many stores now play – the one only young people can hear that is supposed to discourage loitering, shop-lifting, pre-marital sex, iPod usage, Goth-ism (it’s an AMAZING sound!).

Until 6:30 this morning, I had never heard of these awards but I applaud the person who came up with the idea. See, for the past couple of months I’ve been jotting down studies that have made me snort in hopes that I could think of a way to write about them. These are studies that make me wish I could be part of a think tank that sat around all day imagining ridiculous things to study and issuing research grants. I’m absolutely certain I would enjoy this as much as the job I keep begging for at work – the one where I get to create pointless and cumbersome spreadsheets to have people review frequently. Hey, we all have a dream and it did make my supervisor laugh. Little does she know that I’m completely serious.

Some of the findings from studies that have caught my attention (incidentally all mentioned on NPR):
– 20% of male left-handers who graduated from college are more successful than right-handers. Although, it’s not true for left-handed women.
– People in a free economy prefer zippers and Velcro as opposed to people in a closed economy who prefer buttons
– Eating fish on a regular basis will help you remember your grocery list
– People who never vary what toppings they order on their pizza are prone to procrastination. Whereas, people who order vegetables make better parents.

How the researchers involved in these studies did not receive the accolades they deserve escapes me and I can only hope that their work will be considered next year.