Ig-Nobel Prizes 2 (2004)

     Marc Abrahams. The Ig-Nobel Prizes 2 (2004) The Ig-Nobels began as a lark by Marc Abrahams and his friends: It’s a group of annual prizes for the best examples of research “that first makes you laugh, then makes you think.” That includes both proper research on oddities and quirky questions, complete with experimental and observational data; and fake research by fraudsters, religionists, pseudo-scientists, and the like, featuring more or less batty reasoning about whatever the researcher is investigating. Thus we have both Troy Hurtubise (North Bay, Ontario) who devised, built, and tested a grizzly-proof suit; and Jack and Rexella van Impe, who claim that their research proves that Hell is located in black holes (though they haven’t specified which one or ones).
     Anyone can nominate anyone for an Ig-Nobel. The only ineligible candidates are fictional characters, or people whose actual existence cannot be determined. Go to The Annals of Improbable Research, in which you will find many of the papers whose authors qualify as Ig-Nobel nominees.
     A lovely journey through human folly, wisdom, quirkiness, and delusion. Will be shelved with other reference works. ***