2017年搞笑诺贝尔奖揭晓

诸平

据物理学家组织网（Phys.org）2017年9月14日转载来自《英国医学杂志》（British Medical Journal，BMJ） 的消息，2017年搞笑诺贝尔奖(Ig Nobel Prize)授予了大耳朵和触摸鳄鱼影响赌博的相关研究。

发现老人真的有大耳朵，老大爷的耳朵通常会显得大一些？获“搞笑诺贝尔解剖学奖”的英国医生詹姆斯·希思科特博士（Dr. James Heathcote）发现，男性30岁后，每10年耳朵长约2 cm，女性耳朵也会随着年龄而增长。但因女性耳朵“初始值”小，头发也长，使老大爷们的大耳朵显得更惹眼一些。

猫能否同时处于固态和液态――即使再肥的猫咪也能完全躺进一个很小盒子里，所以猫咪是固态还是液态，还是练了“缩骨功”？来自多国研究者用流体力学分析了猫咪的状态，获得了2017年度的搞笑诺贝尔物理学奖。

演奏迪吉里杜管（didgeridoo）有助于缓解睡眠呼吸暂停（sleep apnea）和触摸鳄鱼可以影响赌博决定——澳大利亚昆士兰大学人口研究实验室主任洛克洛夫和研究助理发现，赌客开赌前，抱封住嘴巴的一米长鳄鱼，能引发兴奋情绪，使有赌瘾的人赌得更大，也输得更惨。他们因为此项研究而成为2017年搞笑诺贝尔奖的获得者,此奖是为荒谬的科学成就而颁发。美国哈佛大学（Harvard University）当地时间周四(2014年9月14日)宣布了第27届搞笑诺贝尔奖的获奖者名单。而这次颁奖典礼以传统的纸飞机作为特色,并有一场全球首映歌剧助兴，还有真正的诺贝尔奖获得者出席，将发放10个奖项。

詹姆斯·希思科特博士（Dr. James Heathcote）特告诉美联社（The Associated Press），“这是一项奇怪的荣誉,但我很兴奋。” 詹姆斯·希思科特博士是一位英国医生,他因为其大耳朵研究解剖学而获得2017年度搞笑诺贝尔奖。

搞笑诺贝尔奖是由科学幽默杂志《不大可能研究年刊》（Annals of Improbable Research）、哈佛-拉德克里夫科幻小说协会（Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association）以及哈佛-拉德克里夫物理系学生会联合赞助的。

今年的搞笑诺贝尔奖得主都将获得10万亿津巴布韦元(ZWD,汇率1 ZWD=0.00276 USD=0.01810 CNY; 2017-09-15 03:06 UTC)。今年的搞笑诺贝尔奖获得者也包括利用流体动力学确定猫究竟是固体或液体研究的科学家; 试图找出为什么有些人对奶酪感到厌恶的原因的研究人员;还有发现许多同卵双胞胎无法从视觉图像上分辨他们与众不同的心理学家等。更多信息请注意浏览原文或者相关报道。

Research on big ears, crocodile gambling wins Ig Nobels                      September 14, 2017                       by Mark Pratt                                    

The 27th annual awards were announced Thursday at Harvard University. The ceremony featured a traditional barrage of paper airplanes, a world premiere opera and real Nobel laureates handing out the 10 prizes.

"It's a strange honor to have, but I am thrilled," Dr. James Heathcote told The Associated Press. A British physician, Heathcote won the Ig Nobel for anatomy for his big-ear research.

The awards are sponsored by the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, the Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association and the Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students.

This year's winners—who each received $10 trillion cash prizes in virtually worthless Zimbabwean money—also included scientists who used fluid dynamics to determine whether cats are solid or liquid; researchers who tried to figure out why some people are disgusted by cheese; and psychologists who found that many identical twins cannot tell themselves apart in visual images.

Heathcote, whose study on ear size was published in the prestigious British Medical Journal in 1995, was inspired when he and several other general practitioners were discussing how they could do more research.

When he asked why old men have such big ears, half his colleagues agreed with his observation; the others scoffed.

For his study, Heathcote measured the ear length of more than 200 patients and discovered not only that old men have big ears but that ears grow about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) per decade after age 30. Women's ears grow with age, too, but their ears are smaller to start with, and men's big ears may be more noticeable because they tend to have less hair, he found.

"There's something magical about measuring the ears," he said.

Dr. Milo Puhan's Ig Nobel peace prize-winning discovery is a godsend for anyone who lives with an unbearably loud snorer. He found that playing the didgeridoo—that tubular Australian aboriginal instrument that emits a deep, rhythmic drone—helps relieve sleep apnea.

Puhan, director of the Institute for Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, studied didgeridoo playing after a patient with mild sleep apnea became convinced that it helped him.

Puhan recruited volunteers who learned to play a roughly 4-foot-long (130 centimeter) plastic didgeridoo.

"Regular playing of a didgeridoo reduces daytime sleepiness and snoring in people with moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and also improves the sleep quality of partners," his study concluded.

Why does it work? Puhan figures playing the didgeridoo helps people learn circular breathing (the technique of blowing out through the mouth while simultaneously inhaling through the nose) and strengthens the throat muscles used in breathing.

The economics prize went to a pair of Australians who found that if you want to limit your gambling losses, don't have a close encounter with a crocodile before hitting the casino.

Matthew Rockloff, head of the Population Research Laboratory at Central Queensland University in Bundaberg, and research assistant Nancy Greer, plunked a 1-meter (3-foot) saltwater crocodile—its mouth safely taped—into the arms of people about to gamble and watched what happened.

The excitement caused by handling a dangerous reptile caused people with pre-existing problems to "gamble higher amounts, which over the long term will lead to greater gambling losses," Rockloff said in an email.

Like many projects that earn Ig Nobels, what seems silly on the surface can have a valid application.

"This was the first study to examine the emotional impact of excitement on gambling choices, which has obvious benefits toward addressing a very serious behavioral and mental health problem," he said.

Rockloff felt so fortunate when he learned of his Ig Nobel, he was tempted to press his own luck.

"I had to stop myself from trying to capitalize on that luck with a slot machine," he said.                                                              

Explore further:Diagnosing sleep apnea

相关专题：2017年诺贝尔奖
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