Every year the good, bad and downright stupid inventions in science are celebrated by the Ig Nobel Prize Awards.
And last night, researchers who tirelessly pursued the science of un-boiling an egg and pain thresholds, by letting bees sting their penises, were among those who were honoured. The world is grateful.
At Harvard University, physicists, chemists and inventors were among those gathered to applaud the achievements that "make people laugh, then make them think..."
The awards, a parody of the Nobel Prizes, covered ten main categories including chemistry, physics, literature, management, economics, medicine, maths, biology, medicine, diagnostic medicine as well as a physiology and entomology prize.
Perhaps the most adventurous (and possibly stupid) achievement involved a duo who were researching just how much pain our bodies can take.
Michael L. Smith, who won the physiology and entomology prize with Justin Schmidt, carefully arranged honey bees to sting him repeatedly on 25 different locations on his body to find out which parts of our bodies are the most painful.
Unsurprisingly, the nostril, upper lip, and penis shaft hurt the most.
Kissing also featured on the prize list with two groups winning an award for studying "the biomedical benefits or biomedical consequences of intense kissing (and other intimate, interpersonal activities)." Again, we are grateful.
In the physics category, a group of researchers from the US and Taiwan gained recognition for studying the principles behind peeing.
They tested a theory stating "that nearly all mammals empty their bladders in about 21 seconds (plus or minus 13 seconds)." Something to think about, next time you approach the white throne.
