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Ig Noble Prize Awards 2015 Recognises Research On Un-Boiling Eggs And Bee Stings To The Penis

A Scientist Who Let A Bee Sting His Penis Has Won A Rather Wonderful Prize
Nitya Rajan
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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.

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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.

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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.

Ig Nobel Prize Awards 2015
Ig Nobels Harvard(01 of10)
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Biologist Elisabeth Oberzaucher, of the University of Vienna, accepts the prize for mathematics while being honored during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Oberzaucher and a group of researchers won for using mathematical techniques to determine how the emperor of Morroco could have bore 888 children during his lifetime. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(02 of10)
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With a toilet plunger attached to the seat of his pants, Bruno Grossi, a researcher from Chile, shows how a chicken would walk like a dinosaur with a weighted stick attached to its tail, while being honored during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Grossi and researchers from the University of Chile-Santiago won the biology prize. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(03 of10)
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Gregory Weiss, of the University of California-Irvine, holds up two eggs in plastic bags while being honored during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Weiss and a team of researchers won the prize for chemistry after inventing a chemical recipe to partially un-boil an egg. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(04 of10)
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While wearing a toilet seat on his head, David Hu accepts the Physics Prize, for his research on the principle that all mammals empty their bladders of urine in about 21 seconds, while being honored during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(05 of10)
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Nobel Laureates Carol Greider, left, and Jack Szostak embrace an audience member, who won a double-date with the two Nobel winners, during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(06 of10)
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Nobel Laureates, from left, Dudley Herschbach, Eric Maskin and Carol Greider wear hologram viewing glasses during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(07 of10)
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Michael Smith, left, accepts his trophy from Dudley Herschbach, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, while being honored during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Smith's research concluded that the nostril, the upper lip and the male sex organ feel the most pain from a bee sting. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(08 of10)
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The Ig Nobel trophy, made from an empty flower pot and letters from the element charts, is hoisted up during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(09 of10)
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Audience members launch paper airplanes during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ig Nobels Harvard(10 of10)
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Michael Smith, a Cornell University graduate student who allowed himself to be stung about 200 times by bees to determine where you feel the most pain on the body from a sting, makes an acceptance speech while being honored during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. Smith research concluded that the nostril, the upper lip and the male sex organ feel the most pain. The Ig Nobel prize is an award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine at Harvard University for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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