IgBILL

Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony

2012
This Years Theme:

The Universe

About the Ig Nobel Prizes

Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded for achievements that rst make people LAUGH, and then make them THINK. The Igs are intended to spur public curiosity and interest in science and other elds of endeavor. Ten prizes are awarded each year. Winners travel to the ceremony at their own expense. The Ig Nobel Prize winners are, despite possible appearances to the contrary, real. Their achievements are well documented.

What to expect tonight: Imagine every ceremony you have ever

had to endure. Loop them all together, at high speed, upside down. Add ten Ig Nobel Prize winners. Thats the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony.
Paper airplanes are a tradition at the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. Modern flight regulations apply. Listen for the Special Announcement right just before the start of the ceremony proper. There will be two (2) designated paper airplane deluge periods. Prior to each, please ready your aircraft but do not yet launch them. See page 5 for more details.

Paper Airplanes

The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

The Twenty-Second 1st Annual

Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony

Thursday, September 20, 2012, 7:30 pm Sanders Theatre, Harvard University
Reluctantly inicted on you by the international science humor magazine

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)

and co-sponsored by
The Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association The Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students The Harvard Computer Society

The Universe
copyright 2012 Annals of Improbable Research Ig and Improbable Research and the tumbled thinker logo are each reg. U.S. Pat. and Tm. Off.

The theme of this years ceremony is

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association

Narratively Proud Intergalactic Co-Sponsors of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony Since 1996

Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students

Theoretically Proud Experimental Co-Sponsors of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony Since 2000

Harvard Computer Society

Algorithmically Proud Experimental Co-Sponsors of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony Since way Back when

Toscaninis Ice Cream is proud to support the Ig Nobel Awards Because the Best Minds Need the Best Ice Cream

Toscaninis Ice Cream

899 Main Street, Cambridge, MA twitter: @tosci

The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

SchEDULE Of EVEnts
Pointless Preamble
Pre-ceremony Lobby AccordioConcert (6:45, in the lobby) Pre-ceremony Keromin concert (7:10 in the theater) Ceremony begins (7:30, in the theater) Paper Airplane Deluge #1 Entrance of the New Winners Introduction of the Nobel Laureates and other Ignitaries The Traditional Ig Nobel Welcome, Welcome Speech

Everything Else**
Awarding of the 2011 Ig Nobel Prizes* (weather permitting) The Intelligent Designer and the Universe: A Mini-Opera in 4 Acts* The 24/7 Lectures Introduction of Past Winners* Paper Airplane Deluge #2 The Win-a-Date-With-a-Nobel-Laureate Contest Other Things* The Traditional Ig Nobel Goodbye, Goodbye Speech Disappearance of the Audience * scattered throughout the evening ** but maybe in some different order

Paper Airplanes
In the interests of safety and recycling, there will be two (2) special paper-aeronautic moments tonight: one at the ceremonys beginning, the other at the midpoint. Please hold your paper airplanes in readiness. Then fly them only and profusely, to the point of deluge during those two special moments. Please AIM FOR SAFETY! An authority figure will make it very clear when each of those moments arrives.

Roy Glauber, Ig Nobel paper airplane sweeper, and Nobel Laureate.

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

Pre-Ceremony: mini-Concerts
(One in the lobby, then another the theater)
Before the ceremony, watch for two special mini-concerts. At 6:15, in the lobby, the Boston Squeezebox Ensemble will play an AccordioConcert, insinuating strangely familiar tunes into your consciousness. At 7:10, in the theater, the Keromin orchestra, having just arrived from Japan, will play its first-ever North American concert. The performers are led by Yuji Okuyama, inventor of the hybrid theramin/frog instrument known as a keromin.

This Years Theme

The theme of this years ceremony is THE UNIVERSE. The theme applies to various goings-on, though not necessarily (and not necessarily not) to any of the particular achievements being honored with an Ig Nobel Prize.

Internet Viewers
Tonight we will be joined from afar, in spirit and electromechanically, by teeming hordes watching via the Internet. Most gloriously, an audience of 400 is gathered in a beautiful old theater in Leiden, The Netherlands, watching the broadcast augmented by live talks/demos by several past Ig Nobel Prize winners. The event is emceed by 2003 Ig Nobel biology prize winner Kees Moeliker, the scientific discoverer of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck.

Celebrity Bacteria
The theme of the 2010 ceremony was Bacteria. Several trillion celebrity bacteria were seated in or on the audience. Many of them are still here. See if you can spot them.

The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

The Intelligent Designer and the Universe

World Premiere mini-opera in four (4) acts
The Intelligent Designer and the Universe, is a mini-opera in four acts scattered throughout the ceremony. It stars Maria Ferrante, Ben Sears, Roberta Gilbert, and Daniel Rosenberg, with pianist Patrick Yacono and accordionist Thomas Michel, MD, PhD., with Marc Andelman as the non-singing ingenue. David Stockton conducts and stage directs the opera. The cast members are all natives of the universe, as is Mr. Stockton.

Cerebral.

From biology to psychology, find topics that satisfy your intellectual curiosity. Check out our thought-provoking coursesonline or on campus.

www.extension.harvard.edu

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

Ig Internet Broadcast
The ceremony is being broadcast live on YouTube. Video highlights of many past ceremonies are at www.improbable.com

NPR Broadcast
On the day after Thanksgiving, listen to the traditional Ig Nobel Broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR)s Talk of the Nation / Science Friday with Ira Flatow. Many of the previous years Ig broadcasts are at www.ScienceFriday.com. You can see video highlights of several past ceremonies at www.improbable.com.

The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

The Ig Informal Lectures!

SATURDAY afternoon, Sept 22,2012, 1:00 pm MIT Building 10, Room 250 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge
(But seating is limited, so get there early)

FREE!

A Saturday Treat
At tonights Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, each winner is allowed just ONE MINUTE to deliver an acceptance speech. But of course youll want to hear more juicy details, and ask them questions, and so. You are invited to come enjoy a lazy, lively half-afternoon of brief (five minutes each, plus questions & answers), high-spirited talks by the 2012 Ig Nobel Prize winners and several past winners.

Produced by the

Annals of Improbable Research

in cooperation with

The MIT Press Bookstore

(mitpress.mit.edu/bookstore)

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

Authority-Like Figures
As always, IgBill had incomplete information at press time. You may not be able to tell the players even with this scorecard.
(NOTE: ** indicates name is misspelled)

Producer/Director: Marc Abrahams Co-Producer and Stage Manager: David Kessler Opera Conductor/Stage Director: David Stockton Internet Broadcast Producer: Joshua Kroll Director of Improbable Engineering: Quentin Smith Writers: Marc Abrahams, Alice Shirrell Kaswell, and friends Ig Nobel Facilitator: Katherine Meusey Ig House Band: Nicholas Carstoiu and Alec Carstoiu Boston Squeezebox Ensemble Maestro: Thomas Michel Keromin Inventor & Maestro: Yuji Okuyama Lurking Presences: Roger Kautz, Robin Abrahams, Mira Wilczek, Stanley Eigen Lighting & Technology: Rob Sanders, Hunter Heinlen, Joshua Kroll, William Richard, Linda Brennan. Special thanks to Holly Gettings Props and Scenery: Eric Workman House Sound: David Nickerson, Bay State Sound Sound Recording: Miles Smith, Frank Barefoot Cunningham Slide Show: Lauren Maurer, Richard Baguley, Geri Sullivan Prize & Props Creation: Eric Workman Green Room Oracles: Maria Eliseeva, Heidi Clark Provisionary Logisticians: Gus Rancatore, Corky White HRSFA Coordinator: Adam Swiatlowski HRSPS Coordinators: Annie Baldwin and Nikko Pomata HCS Coordinator: Carl Jackson Grand Panjandrum of the Delegations: Louise Sacco

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The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

Videography: Seven Generations Video, Bruce Petschek, Shaun Clarke, Don Schechter, Cody Signore, Nick Petschek, Trevor Chamberlain Internet Broadcast Engineer: Quentin Smith Broadcast Artistic Advisor: Frederic Lepage Diplomats: Susan Kany (lead diplomat), Dany Adams, Connie Brichford, Cole Krumbholz, Abby Litton-Jean, Joe Maguire, Dan Meyer, Gus Rancatore, Corky White Enforcers: Jaclyn Friedman, Anna Phillips Press Wranglers: Neil Gussman, Marcia Bartusiak, Lauren Maurer Photographers: Alexey Eliseev, David Holzman, Mike Benveniste Ig Informal Lectures (Saturday) Coordinator: John Jenkins Ig Nobel Webmaster: Julia Lunetta Artwork & Logos: Geri Sullivan, Lois Malone Master Technician emeritus: Dave Feldman IgBill Design and Layout: Geri Sullivan

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

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People
Master of Ceremonies Marc Abrahams, editor, Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) Nobel Laureates most of the following: Dudley Herschbach (Chemistry 1986) Rich Roberts (Physiology or Medicine, 1993) Jack Szostak (Physiology or Medicine, 2009) Roy Glauber (Physics, 2005) Eric Maskin (Economics, 2007) Jerome Friedman (Physics, 1990) and perhaps some others Returning Ig Nobel Prize Winners: Dr. Richard Gustafson, Don Featherstone, Dr. Deborah Anderson, Mahadevan, John Senders, Dan Meyer, Dr. Elena Bodnar, Dr. Francis Fesmire Welcome Welcome Speaker: Jean Berko Gleason 24/7 Lecturers: Roy Glauber, Erica Ebbel Angle, Rich Roberts, Dr. Elena Bodnar Opera Soloists: Maria Ferrante, Ben Sears, Roberta Gilbert, Daniel Rosenberg Opera Accordionist: Thomas Michel Opera costumer: Catherine Quick Spingler Opera Non-Soloists: Marc Andelman and everyone else Opera Pianist: Patrick Yacono Opera Narrator: Karen Hopkin Pre-Ceremony Lobby AccordioConcert: Boston Squeezebox Ensemble Pre-Ceremony On-Stage Keromin Concert: The Keromin Orchestra, led by Yuji Okuyama Band: Nicholas Carstoiu and Alec Carstoiu Mike Monkey: Neil Judell Parade and Opera Announcer: Karen Hopkin

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The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

Human Spotlights: Jim Bredt, Katrina Rosenberg Human Curtain Rods: Isabelle Rosenberg, Constance Brichford Human Aerodrome: Eric Workman Referee: Mr. John Barrett V-Chip Monitor: Noted Attorney William J. Maloney Attorney William J. Maloney: Himself Majordomo: Gary Dryfoos Minordomos: Genevieve Reynolds (Major Minordomo), Julia Lunetta, Peaco Todd, Julia Rios, Jenny Gutbezahl, Ben Biggs, Moss Collum Onstage Lurking Presence: Mira Wilczek Performing Chemists: Joost Bonsen, Daniel Rosenberg, et al. Performing Props Master: Eric Workman Miss Sweetie Poo: Mary Margaret Duffy and Sharada Sundaram-Senders Official Sweepers: Sylvia Rosenberg, Roy Glauber, Julia Eliseeva Hecklers: You, the audience Goodbye Goodbye Speaker: Jean Berko Gleason

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

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The 24/7 Lectures

Each 24/7 Lecture will be delivered by one of the worlds great thinkers. Each lecture has two parts:

A complete technical description in 24 SECONDS A clear, accurate summary that anyone can understand in SEVEN WORDS
The time limit and word limit will be strictly enforced by Mr. John Barrett, the Ig Nobel Referee. This years 24/7 lecturers:

Roy Glauber

TOPIC: The Universe TOPIC: Mass Spectrometry

Erika Ebbel Angle

Rich Roberts TOPIC: Arsenic-based Life Dr. Elena Bodnar TOPIC: Electro-muscular incapacitation devices
and perhaps one or two others.
See more bad art in the book Visit our galleries in Somerville, Dedham, or Brookline or click MuseumOfBadArt.org [email protected] The Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks

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The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

Now available in selected portions of the Universe!

The new book, This is Improbable

by Marc Abrahams
Marc Abrahams is a perfectly calibrated filtration system into which all of science is poured and out of which comes pure, giddy goofball delight. This book is a delicious, addictive treat.
Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Packing for Mars

Special Thanks to
Sid and Selma Abrahams, Jackie Baum, Bob Bartosch, Lisa Birk and The Boys, Tina Bowen, The British Science Association, Brown/ Rudnick, Thad Choelemtiarana, Mark Dionne, Tatiana Divens, Eric Engel, Jesse Eppers, Martin Gardner, Holly Getting, Jason Govostes, Jeff Hermes, Holleb & Coff, Tom Lehrer, Jerry and Maggie Lettvin, Jerry Lotto, Ilya Luvish, Lois Malone, Milo, Katherine Meusey and the critters, Kees Moeliker, Regular Noetzli,** The Flying Petscheks, Ruth Polleys, Harriet Provine, Gus and Mimi Rancatore and Toscaninis Ice Cream, The Flying Rosenbergs, Jonathan Salz, Sanders Theatre, Jim Stoll, Geri Sullivan, Al Teich, Ray Traietti, Joe Wrinn and Howard Zaharoff. Very special thanks also to the late Alan Symonds, who for more than a decade helped us solve our technical problems, and the late Bob Dushman, who gallantly defended the Ig against a marauder.
** Name misspelled.

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

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22 Improbable Years
Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony First Annual 2nd First Annual 3rd First Annual 4th First Annual 5th First Annual 6th First Annual 7th First Annual 8th First Annual 9th First Annual 10th First Annual 11th First Annual 12th First Annual 13th First Annual 14th First Annual 15th First Annual 16th First Annual 17th First Annual 18th First Annual 19th First Annual 20th First Annual 21st First Annual 22nd First Annual year 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 The Elements DNA Biodiversity The Big Bang Duct Tape Heredity Intelligence Complexity Jargon Nano Diet Infinity Inertia Chicken Redundancy Risk Bacteria Chemistry The Universe theme

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The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

A list of the new Ig Nobel Prize winners will be posted at WWW.IMPROBABLE.COM

Last Years (2011) Ig Nobel Prize Winners

PHYSIOLOGY PRIZE: Anna Wilkinson (of the UK), Natalie Sebanz (of THE NETHERLANDS, HUNGARY, and AUSTRIA), Isabella Mandl (of AUSTRIA) and Ludwig Huber (of AUSTRIA) for their study No Evidence of Contagious Yawning in the Red-Footed Tortoise. CHEMISTRY PRIZE: Makoto Imai, Naoki Urushihata, Hideki Tanemura, Yukinobu Tajima, Hideaki Goto, Koichiro Mizoguchi and Junichi Murakami of JAPAN, for determining the ideal density of airborne wasabi (pungent horseradish) to awaken sleeping people in case of a fire or other emergency, and for applying this knowledge to invent the wasabi alarm. MEDICINE PRIZE: Mirjam Tuk (of THE NETHERLANDS and the UK), Debra Trampe (of THE NETHERLANDS) and Luk Warlop (of BELGIUM). and jointly to Matthew Lewis, Peter Snyder and Robert Feldman (of the USA), Robert Pietrzak, David Darby, and Paul Maruff (of AUSTRALIA) for demonstrating that people make better decisions about some kinds of things but worse decisions about other kinds of things when they have a strong urge to urinate. PSYCHOLOGY PRIZE: Karl Halvor Teigen of the University of Oslo, NORWAY, for trying to understand why, in everyday life, people sigh. LITERATURE PRIZE: John Perry of Stanford University, USA, for his Theory of Structured Procrastination, which says: To be a high achiever, always work on something important, using it as a way to avoid doing something thats even more important. BIOLOGY PRIZE: Darryl Gwynne (of CANADA and AUSTRALIA and the UK and the USA) and David Rentz (of AUSTRALIA and the USA) for discovering that a certain kind of beetle mates with a certain kind of Australian beer bottle. PHYSICS PRIZE: Philippe Perrin, Cyril Perrot, Dominique Deviterne and Bruno Ragaru (of FRANCE), and Herman Kingma (of THE NETHERLANDS), for determining why discus throwers become dizzy, and why hammer throwers dont. MATHEMATICS PRIZE: Dorothy Martin of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1954), Pat Robertson of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1982), Elizabeth Clare Prophet of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1990), Lee Jang Rim of KOREA (who predicted the world would end in 1992), Credonia Mwerinde of UGANDA (who predicted the world would end in 1999), and Harold Camping of the USA (who predicted the world would end on September 6, 1994 and later predicted that the world will end on October 21, 2011), for teaching the world to be careful when making mathematical assumptions and calculations. PEACE PRIZE: Arturas Zuokas, the mayor of Vilnius, LITHUANIA, for demonstrating that the problem of illegally parked luxury cars can be solved by running them over with an armored tank. PUBLIC SAFETY PRIZE: John Senders of the University of Toronto, CANADA, for conducting a series of safety experiments in which a person drives an automobile on a major highway while a visor repeatedly flaps down over his face, blinding him.

For a complete list of all Ig Nobel Prize winners (1991-now) see the Improbable Research web site WWW.IMPROBABLE.COM
Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

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SANDERS THEATRE
Sanders Theatre in Memorial Hall is operated by the Office for the Arts at Harvard. All inquiries should be addressed to: Memorial Hall/Lowell Hall Complex, 45 Quincy Street, Room 027, Cambridge, MA 02138-3003. Phone: 617.496.4595 Fax: 617.495.2420. CALENDAR OF EVENTS Available at the Harvard Box Office web site: www.boxoffice.harvard.edu SMOKING There is no smoking allowed in Memorial Hall. RESTROOMS, PUBLIC TELEPHONE, & ATM Located on the Lower Level. PARKING THERE IS NO PARKING AT SANDERS THEATRE. Free parking for Sanders Theatre events is available at the Broadway Garage, corner of Broadway and Felton Streets, from one hour pre-performance to one hour post-performance. For some student events, patrons will be asked to park at 38 Oxford Street. LOST AND FOUND Call 617.496.4595 or visit the Administrative Offices, Memorial Hall room 027. Memorial Hall and Harvard University are not responsible for lost or stolen property. LATECOMERS Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the management. PHOTOGRAPHY AND RECORDING Use of cameras and audio, video, or digital recording equipment of any kind, including cell phones, is prohibited. Equipment will be confiscated. ACCESS FOR PATRONS WITH DISABILITIES Wheelchair accessible seating is available through the Harvard Box Office by telephone at 617.496.2222, TTY 617.495.1642, or in person. Sanders Theatre is equipped with Sennheiser Infraport RI 100 J headset receivers and EZT induction neck loop Assistive Listening Devices, available at the Box Office one-half hour before performance time. For information about parking for disabled patrons, call Marie Trottier, University Disability Coordinator, at 617.495.1859, TTY 617.495.4801, Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. Please call at least two business days in advance.

THE HARVARD BOX OFFICE

Ticketing Sanders Theatre events and more. Phone: 617.496.2222; TTY: 617.495.1642 Advance Sales: Holyoke Center Arcade, Harvard Square, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue. Open Tuesday-Sunday 12 noon to 6pm. Closed Mondays, some holidays and has limited summer hours. Pre-Performance Sales: Sanders Theatre at Memorial Hall Open performance days only, at 12 noon for matinees and 5pm for evening performances. Open until one-half hour after curtain. USHERING To inquire about ushering opportunities, contact the Production Office at 617.495.5595. MEMORIAL HALL/LOWELL HALL COMPLEX STAFF Director: Eric C. Engel / Program Manager: Ruth A. Polleys / Assistant Director: Raymond C. Traietti / Production Manager: Tina Bowen / Production Associate: Jonathan Salz / Production Services Coordinator: Ilya Luvish / Staff Assistant: Adam Kassim HARVARD BOX OFFICE STAFF Box Office Manager: Tina L. Smith / Manager of Student Ticketing Services and Associate Box Office Manager: Jason Govostes / Senior Box Office Associate: Bob Bartosch / Box Office Associates: Amy LeBrun Stepsis and Michael Van Devere / Box Office Assistant: Vic Yambao

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The Twenty-Second 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony September 20, 2012

Andre Geim receiving his Ig Nobel Prize in 2000. Several of the people in this photo will participate in the 2012 Ig Nobel Prize ceremony.

Geims Twin Honors

Six days after the 2010 ceremony came the news: Andre Geim was chosen to receive a 2010 Nobel Prize in physics, for his discoveries about graphene (the two-dimentional form of carbon). Ten years earlier Geim and Michael Berry were awarded the 2000 Ig Nobel Prize in physics, for using magnets to levitate a frog.

Upcoming Events
Upcoming Ig Nobel / Improbable Research events include: the annual Improbable Research session at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the annual U.K. tour of the UK; etc. There have also been tours or events in Australia, The Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Denmark, with more to come. For details, see:
September 22, 2012 The Ig Informal Lectures Sept/Oct  Book-related events in the UK and North America February 2013  AAAS Annual Meeting March 2013 Ig Nobel Tour of the UK March 2013  Ig Nobel Tour of Scandinavia ALSO:   Our monthly appearance on the NPR Science Friday radio program

www.improbable.com

Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) www.improbable.com

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