Ig Nobel prizes 2009

The nation can hold its head up high. Once more again, Britons have
been honoured in the annual Ig Nobel awards ceremony. It was first
held out in 1991 to honour scientific work “that cannot or should not
be reproduced”, but has since that gained a higher purpose:
acknowledging work that “first makes people laugh, and then makes
them think.” This year's winners were allowed no any more than 60
seconds as to deliver their acceptance speech, a time limit enforced
by an eight-year-old girl. Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson
from Newcastle University need share the prize for Veterinary
Medicine for the groundbreaking discovery that by giving cows
names such as Daisy increases their milk yield. “It's got the highlight
of my career,” said Douglas. “The work amused the public, and, at all
the same time, addressed a serious animal welfare issue.” The Public
Health prize that was awarded to Elena Bodnar of Hinsdale, Illinois,
for a bra that, in case an emergency, can be converted into a pair of
gas masks, one for the owner and one for a needy bystander.