Funny Science

The Ig Nobel Prizes "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think". It happens every year at Harvard University, and there are prizes for several areas such as economics, physics, chemistry, nutrition, and peace. This year's ceremony happened yesterday, and some of the winning research are really hilarious! I wish I could attend to one of those. My this-year favourites:

NUTRITION PRIZE. Oxford University, UK, for electronically modifying the sound of a potato chip to make the person chewing the chip believe it to be crisper and fresher than it really is.

PEACE PRIZE. The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity.

ECONOMICS PRIZE. University of New Mexico, USA, for discovering that a professional lap dancer's ovulatory cycle affects her tip earnings.

Last year's ceremony had some very unusual ones too:

MEDICINE: Tennessee, USA, for their penetrating medical report "Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects."

Can't figure out what the hell they were thinking about when they came up with such ideas, or if the initial idea was good and then it deviated "a bit"... :) well well, the important thing is that some scientists have sense of humor!

Is it time to say "it's time"?

I've been house hunting for the past three weeks, and I can't help thinking what kind of place should I be looking for really. Should I go for a shared flat or a flat for myself only? ... Should I go for the pretty expensive ones, or for the older and cheaper ones?

After 4 years living in student shared houses in England, and with a Ph.D. on my shoulders, I wonder if isn't now the time for comfort. On the other hand, being in a strange city doesn't give me enough certainty of whether I'll live here long enough -- and thus the expensive renting investment might not be worthwhile.

Leaving the specifics aside, when do you know when it's time to say "it's time!" .. time for starting things you've been delaying for a number of reasons; time to give yourself some special treatment; time to take some time off... ?

I don't expect any answers from you reader -- this is just something I felt like sharing with you, since it is one of those questions that people face many times in their lives (if you haven't yet!). Another (yet selfish) reason for this post is that writing helps me think in some way :)

Anyhow, when you're sure that the time is right, saying "it's time!" must be a wonderful feeling!