Ig Nobel Prize founder says humor is more important than ever in science

Marc Abrahams, founder of the Ig Nobel Prize , which is awarded to 'research that makes people laugh and think,' said, 'At a time when scientific research is increasingly under attack, it is more important than ever to use humor to spark interest in science.'

Laughing about science more important than ever: Ig Nobel founder
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-science-important-ig-nobel-founder.html

The Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the Nobel Prizes that began in 1991. They are awarded to original research that may seem silly at first glance, but that makes people laugh and think, and are sometimes given satirically to politicians or unscientific, occult-like research.

You can find out more about the research that was awarded in 2025 and the award ceremony by reading the article below.

Summary of all categories of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize (35th) that recognizes 'unique research that makes you laugh and think,' Japanese people have won for 19 consecutive years - GIGAZINE

The Ig Nobel Prize was initially criticized by some scientists for 'making fun of science,' but now it is highly regarded by scientists as a humorous award. Original Nobel Prize winners always attend the award ceremony, and Roy Glauber, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics, once served as the person responsible for cleaning up the large number of paper airplanes that are always flown at the venue.

Although thousands of nominations for the Ig Nobel Prizes are submitted each year, and the number of researchers self-nominating is also increasing, Abrahams says that self-nominations rarely lead to winning the prize, and that researchers often only realize how interesting their research is when they receive a phone call informing them they have won an Ig Nobel Prize.

The Ig Nobel Prize ceremony is held around September each year, while the Nobel Prize ceremony is held on December 10th, the anniversary of the death of its founder, Alfred Nobel. Around the same time as the Nobel Prize ceremony, a lecture by the Ig Nobel Prize winners was held in Paris, France.

'When people laugh at something, they pay attention to it,' Abrahams said during the lecture. 'The aim of the Ig Nobel is to grab someone's attention, even if it's just for three seconds, so that later, when they're talking about it with their friends, they might realise that the research was really interesting.'

At the same time, Abrahams also said, 'These days, it sometimes feels like scientific research is being threatened and actively destroyed.' This is a message in response to President Trump's cuts to funding for scientific research. In fact, many scientists have jointly published an open letter warning the Trump administration.

Scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, warn in an open letter that the Trump administration's cuts to scientific research funding will deal a devastating blow to America's accumulated scientific and technological achievements.

Furthermore, several laureates reportedly decided not to attend the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held in the United States in September 2025, due to concerns about traveling to the United States under the Trump administration.

'The more science comes under attack, the more important it is to use humor to draw people into scientific research,' Abrahams said, adding that people around him have told him that what they're doing is now more important than ever.

Also speaking at the event was C.W. Moulica, winner of the 2003 Ig Nobel Prize in Biology for 'the first scientific record of homosexual necrophilia among wild mallards.' Moulica, who is currently researching pubic lice, said, 'In recent years, the widespread practice of trimming pubic hair has led to the loss of pubic lice habitat and a decline in their population. While we have already received samples of pubic lice attached to postcards, we need more samples to continue our research.'