Every year in Norway, Nobel Prizes are awarded to scientists who have made outstanding contributions to human knowledge. Also every year, but at a far less formal ceremony in Cambridge, Mass., "Ig Nobel" Prizes are given to scientists who have made outstanding, but also hilarious, contributions to various scientific fields.
On Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m., the 2011 Ig Nobel Prizes were announced. Drumroll, please!
Biology Prize
Twenty years ago, Australian biologists Darryl Gwynne and David Rentz noticed a preponderance of male beetles trying to mate with beer bottles of a certain brand, which were often scattered on the side of the road. The beetles were so desperate to mate with the bottles that they would often end up getting killed by ants, which killed the beetles as they went after the drops of beer left in the bottles. But even partial carcasses of dead beetles lying around didn't put off future suitors.
Gwynne and Rentz realized that the beer bottles were exactly the same brown color as female beetles of the species, and ridges that circled the bottom of the bottles cast shadows that resembled a pattern found on the females. These two coincidences were enough to attract the males, who have been programmed by evolution to seek the biggest female they could find — even if that meant beer-bottle-sized. The biologists surmised that males can afford to make sexual mistakes, because they have a great deal of sperm, whereas females (of any species) make few sexual mistakes, as they have limited eggs.
The researchers wrote a letter to the beer company in question and told them of his finding. There was no response. Finally, 20 years down the road, they have gotten the recognition they deserve in the form of the Ig Nobel Prize for Biology.
more
http://www.livescience.com/16312-ig-nobel-prize-winners-hilarious-contributions-science.html
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