Scientists hold parody Nobel Prize award show and it's judged by actual Nobel laureates
From how bats fly when drunk to the physics behind cacio e pepe, the awards honor studies that are funny, strange, and surprisingly insightful.
We’ve all heard of the Nobel Prize, where the world’s most brilliant minds are honored for groundbreaking achievements in science, literature, and peace. But not every scientific breakthrough needs to be serious to be smart, and that's exactly what the Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate. The long-running parody event honors real research that's funny, strange, and surprisingly insightful. In a video shared by Scientific American on their Instagram page @scientific_american that has 1.3 million views and 158k likes so far, science creator Tom Lum (@tomlumperson), takes viewers inside the tidbits of the 35th "First Annual" Ig Nobel ceremony, a night where Nobel Prize winners hand out awards for studies that, as organizers put it, "make you laugh... then think."
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As Lum highlights in the video, "The Ig Nobel Prizes honor the weirdest, wackiest, and most wonderful science out there — like studying how bats fly when drunk, how painting stripes on cows helps keep flies away, and the physics behind cacio e pepe. It's all real research, and it's all hilariously brilliant. Because sometimes science makes you laugh… then think." The Ig Nobel Prizes were founded in 1991 by Marc Abrahams, editor of Improbable Research. The first ceremony was held at Harvard University and quickly became a cult favorite within the scientific community.
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Now hosted at Boston University, the annual event hands out ten awards in fields that mirror the Nobels, including Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace. Hosted by Improbable Research, the Ig Nobels have become a global favorite among scientists and fans alike. The full ceremony, streamed on YouTube, includes interviews with winners and plenty of playful traditions. Past winners have explored why toast lands butter-side down, whether cats behave like liquids, and how reindeer react to humans disguised as polar bears. The best part is that the awards are presented by real Nobel laureates themselves. This year, one of them was Bill Kaelin, who won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. When Lum jokingly asked if he was an Ig Nobel winner, Kaelin said, "Alas, it's just the Nobel."
Lum also asks one of the Ig winners, Julia Mennella, what it is about "science and comedy that is so important," and she says, "Well, it's that 'Aha!'. Sometimes the best discoveries are the ones that make you laugh, because that means others haven't thought of it that way before." That addition of an "Aha" moment or humorous tone apparently makes science communication more effective. A 2025 study published in the Journal of Science Communication found that audiences perceive scientists who use humor as more trustworthy and credible. In their experiment, social-media posts about artificial intelligence that included satire or playful language were rated higher for likability and legitimacy than those that used a strictly formal tone.
The post drew hundreds of comments from fans sharing their favorite moments. @monedameow added, "My favorite is the one where colored cells won an Ig Nobel and then went on to win the Nobel for Medicine as well." @purple.dragoness said, "I'm still in love with the Ig Nobel winner that argued cats are non-Newtonian fluids." @a.staunch.woman commented, "I love that they also have a little girl who, if she thinks the thank-you speech goes too long, walks up and says, 'Please stop, I'm bored' until they finish." @hellokels0 chimed in, "Nerds doing nerdy things professionally for fun is my favorite level of shenanigans."
You can follow Scientific American (@scientific_american) and Tom Lum (@tomlumperson) on Instagram for more fun Science videos.
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