Ig Nobel gala moves to Europe and honours unusual research

ERR reported that this year’s Ig Nobel awards ceremony was held outside the United States for the first time, with the University of Zurich in Switzerland hosting the event. The move was largely prompted by stricter US visa requirements, which would have prevented many scientists from attending.

Established in 1991, the Ig Nobel prizes recognise research that makes people laugh first and think afterwards. Awards once viewed as insulting are now seen by many scientists as a strong career boost that brings their work to a wider audience.

The ceremony retained its familiar format in its new location. Audience members threw paper aeroplanes, while Nobel laureates presented the winners with mushroom-shaped trophies.

Practical considerations drove the change of venue. Last year, almost half of the recognised research groups failed to attend because of US border policies and visa restrictions. As the migration crisis worsened, organisers decided in March to hold the gala in a more welcoming environment.

Marc Abrahams, the prize’s founder and master of ceremonies, said the move was the only possible solution. He told Nature’s online news service that foreign scientists could no longer visit the United States safely.

The University of Zurich seized the opportunity and offered institutional funding for the event, something previous US hosts had not done. Winners from around the world welcomed the change, saying it reflected the borderless nature of science.

German neuroscientist Ilona Croy, for example, would probably not have travelled to the ceremony otherwise. Brazilian zoologist João Miguel Alves Nunes made his first trip abroad and flew on an aeroplane for the first time because the event had moved to Europe.

The Ig Nobels will remain in Europe for several years. The scientific community will gather in Antwerp, Belgium, next year, before the gala returns to Zurich in 2028. Abrahams said the ceremony would then rotate between Zurich and other European cities, comparing the arrangement with the Eurovision Song Contest, which has a secure base in Europe.

2026 Ig Nobel winners

The 10 awards covered subjects including everyday human habits, the behaviour of exotic animals and toilet hygiene.

Matilda Brindle, a biologist at the University of Oxford, and her colleagues won the biomechanics prize for studying the evolutionary origins of kissing. The researchers defined a kiss as peaceful mouth-to-mouth contact that does not involve transferring food.

The biologists observed similar behaviour among ants, polar bears and great apes. They estimated that the distant ancestors of humans probably kissed Neanderthals as well.

Social psychologist Paul Piff, who won the economics prize, found in a series of experiments that people with higher incomes were more likely than others to ignore rules. Wealthier participants behaved more aggressively in traffic and lied more often at work.