The winners of the 2024 Ig Nobel Prizes are a diverse and accomplished group of individuals who have made significant contributions to their respective fields. The first prize goes to Dr. Jane Smith, a renowned expert in the field of quantum physics, for her groundbreaking research on the behavior of subatomic particles.

The insatiable curiosity that fuels scientific inquiry often leads researchers to pursue unconventional avenues of investigation, prompting them to venture into uncharted territories and challenge prevailing notions. During World War II, British scientists developed a unique plan to utilize homing pigeons as makeshift missile guidance systems. Researchers conducted studies on the swimming abilities of deceased rainbow trout and attempted to provoke cows by suddenly releasing paper bags near their ears. Unveiled online was the coveted list of winners for the prestigious 2024 Ig Nobel Prizes, recognizing pioneering work in unconventional fields during a virtual ceremony. As the veil of sanity lifts and the reckless and the brilliant intersect – for the pursuit of scientific discovery.

Established in 1991, the Ig Nobel Prizes are a tongue-in-cheek alternative to the Nobel Prizes, recognizing “achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.” The ceremony features campy performances, including miniature operas, scientific demonstrations, and lectures where experts must explain their work twice: once in 24 seconds and again in just seven words. Time constraints for acceptance speeches are typically limited to 60 seconds. While the motto initially suggests a seemingly absurd analysis, its underlying significance cannot be dismissed as devoid of scientific value.

Audiences are invited to join us for our regular 24/7 programming, as well as the exclusive debut of a unique “non-opera” production, featuring an eclectic mix of songs inspired by the evening’s aquatic theme. In the weeks that follow the award ceremony, recipients are often invited to deliver free public lectures, which will be made available on the Unbelievable Analysis website.

Without further ceremony, the winners of the 2023 Ig Nobel Prizes were announced.

Peace

Quotation: B.F. Can pigeons housed inside missiles provide real-time data on missile trajectories?

This seminal 1960 paper by renowned American psychologist B.F. Skinner Skinner is a private memoir that chronicles the historical development of an unconventional idea, born from an intellectually misguided perspective yet ultimately vindicated through middle-class respectability. It was a World War II research project at the Naval Research Laboratory aimed at developing missile guidance systems. During the early 1940s, the technology necessary to guide Pelican missiles was cumbersome, leaving little space for precision explosives – thus earning its name, likened to a pelican whose beak exceeds its capacity.

Skinner’s hypothesis posited that pigeons could serve as an economical and space-efficient alternative due to their exceptional ability to recognize and respond to patterns. During World War II, he brushed aside moral concerns as a “peacetime luxury,” given the catastrophic global stakes. His team created an innovative harnessing system for the birds, suspending them vertically above a translucent plastic plate (display) and training them to “peck” at a projected image of a target along the New Jersey coast on the screen, effectively replicating a camera obscura effect. “The guiding signal was derived from the interaction between the display screen’s purpose and the pecking behavior,” Skinner rewrote. To mitigate any potential errors, they developed a robust system featuring three pigeons, allowing for added security against the possibility of a bird being momentarily distracted at a critical moment.

Despite initial skepticism, the feasibility of harnessing pigeons for missile guidance was met with understandable reluctance; as Skinner quipped, his team observed that “a pigeon is easier to handle than a physical scientist on a committee.” Undeterred, they persisted and in 1944, finally got the opportunity to demonstrate Project Pigeon to a panel of prominent scientists, showcasing the birds’ behavior could be managed. The pattern pigeon behaved completely. As the committee gazed upon the pigeon’s triumphant conclusion, their initial enthusiasm gave way to incredulousness regarding the feasibility of their own proposal.

Despite being impervious to jamming, the novel homing system’s ability to respond to diverse target observations, its self-sufficiency in terms of resources, and ease of production allowing for a rapid start-up within just 30 days, the committee remained unconvinced. By this stage, it was evident that army focus had shifted to the Manhattan Project. Skinner was left with “a loft full of curiously ineffective tools” and approximately a dozen pigeons exhibiting an unusual curiosity about a characteristic of the New Jersey coast. Nevertheless, vindication arrived in the early 1950s when the challenge was briefly revitalized as Project ORCON at the Naval Research Laboratory, which refined the overall concept and led to the development of a Decide-off Show Converter for radar operators. Despite his reputation for unconventional thinking, Skinner did not dismiss the notion of a higher power.