'The "Correct Way to Blow Your Nose" and "What Is a Kiss?"... Rib-Tickling Ig Nobel Prize Studies'

Japan Garners Attention with 20 Consecutive Years of Ig Nobel Winners

Prize Money Equivalent to 50 Won: 10 Trillion Zimbabwe Dollars

The Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, which celebrates amusing and unconventional research, was held in Zurich, Switzerland.

Professor Miki Takahara of Asahikawa Medical University, who gave a speech at the award ceremony on behalf of the late Professor Tokuji Umino of Asahikawa Medical University, who won this year's Ig Nobel Prize for "The Correct Way to Blow Your Nose," is greeting people dressed in banana costumes. Photo by AP Yonhap News

On September 3 (local time), at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony—which honors research that makes people laugh and think—the late Professor Tokuji Unno of Asahikawa Medical University and his team received the medicine prize for their 1977 study on "the correct way to blow your nose." Following last year's award for research showing that painting white stripes on black cows like zebras reduces fly attacks, a Japanese researcher has been named as a winner of the Ig Nobel Prize for the 20th consecutive year.

Previously, Professor Unno’s team measured how different nose-blowing methods affected nasal breathing and the amount of pressure exerted on the ears. They found that blowing one nostril at a time and exhaling slowly was more effective for clearing nasal discharge than blowing both nostrils simultaneously. Additionally, lightly inhaling before blowing the nose can reduce the negative effects on the ears, even when blowing forcefully.

Professor Miki Takahara of Asahikawa Medical University, who attended the ceremony on behalf of the late Professor Unno who passed away in 2022, said, "This research was recognized for seriously and scientifically studying a behavior everyone takes for granted in daily life," adding, "It once again demonstrates the universality of science."

The event organizer, the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), commented on the nearly 50-year-old paper's selection this year by saying, "It was discovered by chance."

Another Japanese research project also received an award this year. The chemistry prize was given for a study jointly conducted by the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization and overseas research institutes on "milk from cockroaches at the embryonic stage." The researchers used an X-ray free electron laser to analyze the crystals formed by cockroach milk and determined that it contains about three times more energy than cow's milk.

The research team led by Pan Zhao from the University of Waterloo, Canada, received the Ig Nobel Prize in Physics for their study on a urinal that reduces urine splash. Screenshot from the Ig Nobel Prize broadcast video

The biomechanics prize went to research that defined "kissing" as "the act of two members of the same species pressing their mouths together and moving lips or oral organs, in a non-hostile context, without transferring food." The physics prize was awarded to the research team led by Zhao Pan at the University of Waterloo in Canada for developing a "urinal that reduces urine splash." The olfaction prize went to research that found parents like the smell of their babies, but do not feel the same about the smell of their teenage children.

The award categories vary each year, and this year, winners were named in 10 areas: biomechanics, economics, chemistry, medicine, biology, physics, engineering, olfaction, peace, and soil science.

Marking its 36th year, the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony was held outside the United States for the first time this year. The organizers explained that stricter U.S. visa and immigration policies had increased the burden on overseas winners and journalists wishing to attend.

Nevertheless, this year's ceremony maintained its signature atmosphere. At the opening and closing, attendees launched paper airplanes, and during award speeches, if recipients exceeded 60 seconds, hosts dressed in banana costumes would step in to cut off the speech. Even Professor Takahara, who attended in place of Professor Unno, was unable to demonstrate the "correct way to blow your nose" on stage due to the time limit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.