If a scientist told you that he was studying how a chicken would walk with a plunger strapped to its back, you might laugh. You might also chuckle if another researcher told you that her work included analyzing whether an ancient Moroccan emperor could in fact have fathered more than 800 children. The Ig Nobel Prizes, awarded each year by the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, honor just such work—that is, science that first makes you laugh, then makes you think. In this special holiday edition of Science Friday, we’re bringing you highlights from the 2015 prize ceremony, the 25th First Annual Ig Nobel Prizes. Hear about pee-time duration, how speed bumps can aid medical diagnostics, the most painful places to receive a bee sting, and more.
