use this article to answer teh questions:
Every year, Nobel Prizes are awarded to the greatest scientists and thinkers of the day. So, the researchers who counted the nose hairs in corpses never got one. However, they did receive a 2023 Ig Nobel. This goofball prize celebrates science at its wackiest.
The Ig Nobels, or Igs, started in 1991. They get their name from Nobel, of course. It's also a play on the word ignoble. It means "without good qualities or purpose." But the Igs aren't about fake science and big laughs. Everything is based in real science. And the awards honor studies that "make people laugh, then think."
Traditionally, the Igs are awarded at a wacky live ceremony. Singers perform a short, goofy musical play about science. And famous scientists are there to explain their work. But they must do so in under 24 seconds. The winners must thank everyone quickly, too. If they go over one minute, an eight-year-old girl keeps repeating "Please stop" until the speaker does so. Even the prizes are silly. In 2023, the winners received a box of Ig Cola Cola. The soda was not included.
And that brings us to some of the more outrageous Ig winners of 2023.
The nose-hair scientists started out by studying alopecia. This disease causes people to lose their hair, including in their noses. Then the scientists realized something: No one had ever counted how many nose hairs people have. So they did. Here's what they found: The average person has about 120 hairs in the left nostril and 112 in the right.
One of the winners received an Ig for his study on why rock scientists like to lick rocks. Apparently, that's how they tell if they're rocks, and not old bones. Chewing on rock crumblies also helps them determine what the rocks are made of.
The creators of a "smart" toilet bowl also won an Ig. The toilet checks your health by studying your, um, "output."
One winning team used a dead spider's legs to make a gripping tool. It was able to lift small objects.
Researchers of human behavior won a prize for an experiment. They recorded how many people on a city street looked up when they saw other people looking up.
Past winners have done equally questionable research. Some compared dead roaches to living ones. They learned dead roaches don't act like live ones. Others measured how much spit a 5-year-old makes every day. One team had people hold a pen in their mouths. This stretched their lips into a smile. But smiling didn't make anyone happier. Another team gathered proof that pizza might keep people from getting sick. But it must be made and eaten in Italy.
These winners show the biggest takeaway from the Ig Nobels: You never know where science might lead.
Think about and discuss these questions:
Based on each team's research, what do you think was the question that guided the researchers' scientific work?
If you could ask one of these Ig Nobel winners a question, what would it be?
Video credit: Faye Yap/Rice University
Think about the two questions you asked before reading. Did you find answers? If so, use facts from the article to explain what you learned. If not, where might you find answers?
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