In the category of biology, the British Thomas Thwaites, who had spent three days in the skin of a goat. – Michael Dwyer/AP/SIPA
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Each year, the committee of the IgNobel Prizes (say Higuenobel) distributes awards to teams of researchers to work ” that make laugh, then think “, according to the established formula of the event.

The sex of a rat is affected by his pants ? Can a man live like a goat ? The stones have a personality ? These are some of the research topics awarded Thursday at Harvard university by the iconoclastic ” Anti-Nobel “.

The rats in pants

At the 26th ceremony of its kind, held in Cambridge (northeast United States), on the campus of the prestigious university of Harvard, the price of breeding has gone to a researcher from the university of Cairo, Ahmed Shafik, for his work on the sexuality of rats in pants.

The study, whose publication dates back to 1993, concluded that a rat wearing a pair of pants containing the polyester was less sexually active than those made with only wool or cotton. The researcher died in 2007.

The men-animals

Among the ten winners, was also awarded in the category of biology, the British Thomas Thwaites, who had spent three days in the skin of a goat.

Winner of the prize of biology, this designer training had obtained a grant from the Wellcome Trust, a research fund in biology, to finance its project.

He has made dentures for him for a long walk on four legs, with movements comparable to those of a goat, including slope, because he has made his experience in the swiss Alps.

He also ate grass, prepared in the pressure cooker, during the three days that lasted the experience.

>> also read : Thomas Thwaites, the”man-goat” will release a book

Thomas Thwaites shared his award with another man became animal, the British Charles Foster, who has tried to emulate the style of life of a badger, a fox, a deer, an otter and a bird.

The two men were given, as all of the winners present, a trophy in the shape of a large clock as well as a ticket of ten trillion zimbabwean dollars, worth less than a euro cent.

the personality of The stones

As every year, the awards were handed out by real Nobel prize winners, four in number, on Thursday.

In the economy category, the” anti-Nobel ” has been awarded to a team of three researchers, two new Zealanders and a Briton who were interested in the personality of the stones.

thus, They have sought to apply them to pieces of rock the marketing concept of the personality of the brand, which is to assign the trademark traits of the human personality.

The study showed that people placed in contact with the stones could give them the characteristics of the human personality.

The researchers concluded that the concept of the personality of the brands should be treated with great caution.

The price of chemistry at Volkswagen

During the ceremony, embellished by throwing of paper airplanes or by a mini-opera based on the creation of a second, the committee also awarded the prize for chemistry to Volkswagen.

>> also read : investors are calling for 8.2 billion euros to Volkswagen

The German car manufacturer, who was not represented, was rewarded for having ” solved the problem of polluting emissions from excessive automobile by producing ( … ), fewer emissions at every time that their cars were tested “.

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