Nah, not the prestigious prizes in Switzerland, but the scientific equivalent of the Razzies, the Ig Nobels at Hahvahd. Here’s the list of 2005 winners, if “winner” is the appropriate term.

Some of them are just the sort of fluffy things one expects in rich societies, such as replacement dog testacles so Poochie doesn’t feel so bad about his trip to the vet. Others puzzle me–just how crowded is the avian biology field that you need to work out the physics of penguin poop in order to get a novel research topic?

Now, if only religion would join movies and science in ridiculing the stupid among you, we might get a “message from god” prize for idiots who start wars based on voices in their heads or morons who simultaneously accept that science is more valid than religion while attempting to deny scientific conclusions that don’t fit your creation myths.