Beard more than warmth for the face
Beards aren't just cool and trendy — they might also be an evolutionary development to help protect a man's delicate facial bones from a punch to the face. That's one winner from this year's Ig Nobels, recognising strange scientific discoveries. No faces were
punched for the beard study. Instead, researchers used a fiber epoxy composite to simulate human bone, and sheepskin to act as the human skin — sometimes with the fleece still on, sometimes sheared. They then dropped weights on them. The sample with the fleece still attached absorbed more energy than the sheared samples. The Transportation Prize went to the scientists who discovered that dangling rhinoceroses upside down from a helicopter is the safest way to transport rhinos and the medical prize was scooped by the team that discovered orgasms can be as effective as decongestant medicines at improving nasal breathing. Pavlo Blavatskyy won the Economics prize for his study on how the obesity of a country's politicians may be a good indicator of that country's corruption. It turns out a fat belly may be a good way to spot a fat-cat politician. A study that looks at the different species of bacteria that live on wads of discarded chewing gum stuck to the sidewalk scooped the Ecology Prize.
Death may not be the last word
Davina writes: "Twenty years ago we lived at Norman Lesser Drive with a huge and somewhat aggressive cat called Tango. Initially named Black Sabbath until he started to "Tango" our dear little dog Flash. Discovered dead, we put him in a bag and attached it to the rafters for safe keeping. Arrived home later to Tango swaggering in demanding attention. Retrieved the unknown cat and had to place a stiff banana-shaped cat back on the verge as we couldn't find the owners."
Trunk with a hat on
