I’m sure you’ve heard of the Nobel Prize, but have you heard of the Ig Nobel Prize? Every year, this prize celebrates unusual areas of research that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The founder of the awards says: “The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honour the imaginative, and spur people’s interest in science, medicine and technology”. In this brilliantly funny, fully illustrated non-fiction book, we celebrate 50 of the funniest, silliest and most interesting winners of the Ig Nobel Prize, including:

•    the discovery that herrings communicate by farting (and why that almost caused a world war!)
•    research into the chemical compounds responsible for smelly feet
•    a rigorous analysis of soggy breakfast cereal
•    an automatic dog-to-human language translation device
•    the invention of fart-proof underwear
•    a method of collecting whale snot using remote-control helicopters.

Each entry includes a Top Trumps-style card with ratings such as “silliness factor”, “usefulness”, “gross factor”, and more. Kids and grown-ups alike will love sharing the amazing facts they’ve discovered.

6..... Introduction
7..... Paper plane game
8..... Finding answers

Animal Antics
10..... Farting fish
12..... Ear mite experiments
13..... Bear-proof armor
14..... Reindeer reactions
15..... Collecting whale snot
16. ... . Dog vs cat fleas
17..... Canine translator
18. .... Dung beetles and the Milky Way
20..... Arty pigeons
21 ... .. Cat-proof keyboards
22..... Ducklings swim in a line
23.. ... Wombat poop cubes
24..... Levitating frogs
26..... Quiz time!

Odd Bob
28..... Cheesy feet and mosquitoes
30.. ... Stinky feet awareness
31..... Fart-proof underpants
32..... Anti-gas giant
3 4.. ... Old men’s big ears
35..... Teenage nose picking
36..... Green hair mystery
37..... Wet underwear
38..... Diaper-changing machine
39..... Genius toilet
40..... Hula hooping
41..... Belly button fluff
42..... Quiz time!

All in Good Taste
44..... Cookie dunking
46.... . Yummy-sounding food
47..... Chewing-gum bacteria
48..... Luwak poop coffee
49..... Cows with names
50..... Licking rocks
52..... Swimming in syrup
53..... Snapping spaghetti
54..... Soggy cereal
55..... Tumbling toast
56..... Five-second rule
57..... Slipping on a banana peel
58..... Quiz time!

Do You Mind?
60..... The invisible gorilla
62..... Sound rage
63..... Itch-scratching pleasure
64..... Needlessly long words
65..... The power of "huh? "
66..... Mirror itches
68..... Shrinking the Eiffel Tower
69..... Looking through your legs
70..... Telling twins apart
71..... Look up!
72..... Annoying alarm clock
73..... Word-repeating weirdness
74..... Puzzle-solving slime molds
76..... Quiz time!

77..... Conclusion
78..... Glossary
80..... Answers