Ig Nobel Prizes

The 2006 Ig Nobel Prize Winners have been announced. Highlights include:

• Acoustics: for conducting experiments to learn why people dislike the sound of fingernails scraping on a blackboard.
• Mathematics: for a trivial calculation on the number of photographs must be taken to ensure that nobody in a group photo will have their eyes closed.
• Physics: for research on why bent dry spaghetti breaks into more than two pieces. Experiments in spaghetti can be easily reproduced in your own home.
• Chemistry and Biology: for research involving cheddar and limburger cheese, respectively.
• Economics: no prize this year.