Ig Nobel prizes go to scientists studying cockroach milk, nose-blowing, buried underwear, more

Updated on: September 4, 2026 / 6:28 AM EDT / AP

Ten research teams were honored Thursday at a satirical science awards ceremony that was hosted outside the U.S. for the first time due to travel concerns.

Researchers who studied milk from cockroaches and analyzed soil health using underwear received Ig Nobel prizes celebrating unusual and imaginative contributions to science.

The awards, organized by a digital magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research, shifted to Europe after 35 years in the United States over concerns about attendees being able to get visas.

At a convention center in Zurich, Switzerland, research teams received a custom trophy resembling a cross between a mushroom and a human foot. Among them were Matilda Brindle and Stuart West from the University of Oxford and the Florida Institute of Technology's Catherine F. Talbot, who reconstructed the evolutionary history of kissing, and the late Dr. Tokuji Unno, who investigated the science of blowing one's nose.

Another research team buried 1,000 pairs of underwear in more than 25 countries to study how critters in the soil helped them decompose.

For future ceremonies, organizers plan to alternate between Zurich and other European countries. The 2027 ceremony will be held…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/