Every fall, the world honors not only Nobel laureates, but also people who are awarded the so-called Shnobel Prize ( Ig Nobel Prize ) – a parody of a prestigious international award awarded to outstanding scientists.
The Shnobel Prize – it is also called Ignobel ( the English word ignoble translates as « shameful », « shameful » ) and Anti-Belian – was established in 1991. Her ideological inspirer was the humorous magazine « Annals of incredible research », led by its creator Mark Abrahams.
Every year, ten people – « become the owners of this prize for achievements that make you laugh first and then think ». That is, the prize is awarded for unusual and witty research in order to attract attention and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology. True, the original wording sounded somewhat different: « for achievements that cannot be reproduced by – or it makes no sense to do this ». With the exception of the three prizes awarded in the first year, the Shnobel Prize is awarded for real work. Candidates for the prize can be nominated by anyone who wishes, self-nomination is also allowed.
The first presentation ceremonies took place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, later the action moved to Harvard University ( Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA ).
The presentation of the Shnobelev Prize has already grown its funny traditions. So, the « Shovel » award is presented to laureates by their « Nobel » colleagues wearing fake glasses, false noses and fesks ( red wool caps with silk twisted brush ) on this occasion. Until 2006, during the presentation ceremony, paper planes flew over the entire majestic lecture hall with a capacity of more than a thousand people. They were later banned by – for fire safety reasons.
The award itself is also original: in addition to the certificate certifying the receipt of the prize and signed by the three Nobel Prize winners, the winners are awarded with foil medals or knocking jaws on the stand. The time for laureates to speak is limited to 60 seconds. Those who speak longer are stopped by little Miss Sweet Pu – girl who exclaims in a moody voice: « Please stop, I'm bored! ».
Who and for what is awarded such a dubious reward? In some cases, the Schnobelev Prize awards veiled criticism. For example, it was with the rewarding of the education departments of the states of Kansas and Colorado for their position on the teaching of evolution. In most cases, awards are designed to draw attention to scientific work, the title or theme of which contains elements of the funny. In different years of the prize, the following works were awarded: a study that showed that the presence of people sexually excites ostriches; the conclusion that black holes are suitable for the location of hell in their parameters; work, dedicated to the study of whether food that has fallen to the floor and has been lying there for less than five seconds will be infected…
Among those who were awarded the Shnobel Prize are Russian citizens. For example, in 1992, Yuri Struchkov, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was awarded this prize in the field of literature – for publishing 948 scientific papers from 1981 to 1990, that is, on average, one article every four days. In 2002, the Shnobel Prize in Economics was shared with several other Gazprom – for applying the mathematical concept of imaginary numbers in the business sector.
And two years before that, in 2000, together with Sir Michael Berry of the University of Bristol, the prize was received by a native of the USSR Andrei Game – for a levying frog. By the way, Game later rehabilitated himself: in 2010, he, together with his colleague Konstantin Novoselov, already received the – Nobel Prize in Physics for receiving new graphen material. Thus, he became the first person in history to receive both prizes.
In 2020, the prize for achievements in medical education was given to a group of state leaders: Zhair Bolsonar ( Brazil ), Narendre Modi ( India ), Vladimir Putin ( Russia ), Donald Trump ( USA ), Boris Johnson ( Great Britain ), Alexander Lukashenko ( Belarus ), Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ( Mexico ), Recep Tayyip Erdogan ( Turkey ) Turkey ( and Gurbanguly Berdy. According to the Shnobel Committee, all of them, using the example of the COVID-19 epidemic, have shown the world that political decisions affect the life of ( and the death of ) people faster than scientists and doctors.