Ig Nobel prize: 'Goat man' wins silly science award
Studies into trouser-wearing rats, people living as animals and coloured rocks all honoured in annual list
A man who spent three days in the Swiss Alps living as a mountain goat has received an Ig Nobel prize for the silliest scientific research.
Thomas Thwaites, 35, from London, strapped himself into prosthetic legs that enabled him to move like a goat for the project, which he described as "a holiday from being human".
While he recalled his time as a goat fondly, particularly bonding with a "goat buddy", he conceded that the whole idea was "bizarre."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Thwaites shared his biology prize with another Brit with a penchant for animal role-play. Charles Foster, a fellow at the University of Oxford, spent months living like as a variety of animals and was even chased by bloodhounds while mimicking a deer, according to Phys.org.
The Ig Nobel awards were inspired by the US science humour magazine, the Annals of Improbable Research, and have been handed out annually in a ceremony at Harvard University for 26 years. Winners receive $10trn – unfortunately, that's Zimbabwean dollars, which are currently almost worthless.
Although the experiments might sound ridiculous – and, in the case of the "goat man", look ridiculous too - "a lot of it - when examined closely - is actually intended to tackle real-world problems", the BBC reports.
How do you find out who wears in the trousers in a family of rats? Egyptian urologist Dr Ahmed Shafik set out to answer the question, managing to wrangle rodents into cotton, wool and cotton-polyester blend trousers "in order to study the garments' effects on their sex lives", the Daily Telegraph reports.
His conclusion – that the rats wearing polyester were less sexually active – is unlikely to alter the face of science, but it did earn Shafik an Ig Nobel prize.
Other winners at Thursday night's ceremony were a team of economists who studied the personality traits volunteers ascribed to different coloured rocks and a Swedish man who penned three novels about his passion for collecting hoverflies.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - May 4, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - reflections in the pond, riding shotgun, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 high-caliber cartoons about Kristi Noem shooting her puppy
Cartoons Artists take on the rainbow bridge, a farm upstate, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why is the world running low on blood?
Podcast Scientists believe universal donor blood is within reach – plus, the row over an immersive D-Day simulation, and an Ozempic faux pas
By The Week Staff Published
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How happy is Finland really?
Today's Big Question Nordic nation tops global happiness survey for seventh year in a row with 'focus on contentment over joy'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How Tehran became the world's nose job capital
Under the radar Iranian doctors raise alarm over low costs, weak regulation and online influence of 'Western beauty standards'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Africa's renewed battle against female genital mutilation
Under the radar Campaigners call for ban in Sierra Leone after deaths of three girls as coast-to-coast convoy prepares to depart
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Argentina: the therapy capital of the world
Under the radar Buenos Aires natives go hungry to pay for psychoanalysis, amid growing instability, anxiety – and societal acceptance
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Does declining birth rate spell doom for Britain?
Today's Big Question Ageing population puts pressure on welfare state, economy and fabric of society, while fertility is rising on populist agendas
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How a new blood test could revolutionise sepsis diagnosis
The Explainer Early results from ongoing trial suggest faster identification of deadly condition is possible
By The Week Staff Published