by Xinhua writers Yin Xiaosheng, Zhu Han, and Wang Junlu
HANGZHOU, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- "Which is more disgusting? Finding a dead rat in the kitchen or being forced to sit next to someone smelly with greasy hair on the subway?" These whimsical questions won Val Curtis and Micheal de Barra -- scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Brunel University London -- the Pineapple Science Award for biology given in China on Sunday night.
The two scientists created a "nausea scale" on which participants were asked to rate 72 items on a scale of 0 to 100.
"Our analysis shows there is a clear correlation between distasteful things and the risk of getting infected. This work would play a key role in health policy and is backed by a strong theory of evolutionary biology," said Micheal de Barra.
Apart from their findings, the disappearing cycle of office teaspoons, a hygienic approach to separating couples... a set of interesting and serious scientific studies won the Pineapple Awards.
China's equivalent of the Ig Nobel Prizes, the U.S. parody of the Nobel, the Pineapple Awards honor the spirit of curiosity behind amusing and amazing experiments. It is given in fields including psychology, physics, and biology. All entries must have been published in recognized academic journals or presented at conferences.
These prize-winning studies may seem funny but involve serious scientific pursuits.
An international team of scientists from Norway, Netherlands, and Spain found urea helps set concrete. Therefore, the most economical way to build a base on the moon is to use local materials and use urine to solidify cement. The research won the Fantasy Prize.
"We tried to make a building material with ingredients that could be found on the moon, and I'm glad we succeeded. There is very little water on the moon, and urea is a good plasticizer hiding in the human body," said professor Anna-Lena Kjoniksen of Ostfold University College.
David Carrier, a biologist at the University of Utah in the United States, was among those who took inspiration from Darwin's theory of evolution and won the physics prize for his work on "men with beards are more resistant to beating."
"Our results show beards are not only a way of showing attractiveness, but providing effective protection, weakening blunt strikes and spreading shocks, so men's long beards are more likely to be the result of natural selection," Carrier said.
In addition, researchers from the Burnet Institute in Australia won the mathematics Prize for exploring "the mystery of the disappearing cycle of office teaspoons." Researchers from McGill University in Canada won the psychology prize for its "hygienic approach to breaking up couples."
Founded in 2012, the Pineapple Awards are now in their ninth year. Over the past eight years, the awards were given to dozens of funny studies like "counting money can reduce pain," "how much urine is in a pool," and "why mosquitoes don't get killed in raindrops."
"Being interesting is one of the most important criteria for a Pineapple science prize, but only if the winners are real scientists whose research has been published in a regular journal or at an academic conference," said Li Ruihong, founder of the Pineapple Science Prize. "This award wants to send a message that science is not just about high-tech projects."
"Personally, I appreciate the spirit behind this award," said Zhou Xinyue, professor at Zhejiang University. "Curiosity and passion are the driving forces behind a lot of research."
"Doing science requires innovation and communicating science also requires innovation, and I think the Pineapple Science Award is a good way of stimulating young people's interest in science," said David G. Evans, professor at Beijing University of Chemical Technology and presenter of the 2020 Pineapple Awards. Enditem
