Quirky Science Honored

Quirky Studies on Nose Blowing and Candy Stealing Honored at Ig Nobel Awards

Research into nose blowing, candy stealing and splash-free urinals were among the 10 pieces of research honored at the 2026 Ig Nobel awards in Zurich, Switzerland. The awards, designed as a spoof of the Nobel Prizes, aim to highlight scientific achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think. The winners included a study that found evidence that upper-class people are more likely to snatch from candy, and another that discovered that cockroach milk contains three times as much energy as cow’s milk. Other winners included "How to Blow the Nose," a study about the evolutionary history of kissing, and a study using mosquito proboscises as 3D printing nozzles for 3D printed nozzle. The Ig Nobels are known for highlighting research that makes people "laugh, and then think."