How much was spent on these "discoveries?"
You’ve probably heard of Nobel prizes, but have you ever heard of Ig Nobel Prizes? They honor “achievements that make people LAUGH, and then THINK.” Some of the noteworthy prizes from 2015 included research into how to unboil an egg, whether body size affects the amount of time you urinate for and whether attaching a weighted stick to the rear end of a chicken makes it walk like a dinosaur.
SEE ALSO: Psychology Studies Questioned, Less Than Half Found Reliable
Although those studies were funny, they could have certain applications. However, sometimes scientists go out of their way to research things that are so obvious that they simply seem pointless.
Cereal tastes better with milk than water
Scientists at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile experimented with mixing water with cornflakes and showed that water makes the cereal soggier than milk does because it doesn’t have the same fat content.
Cats really do ignore you on purpose
A study from the University of Tokyo showed that although cats recognise their owners’ voices, they simply choose not to listen.
Overeating can lead to weight gain
A study from the International Association for the Study of Obesity showed a direct link between overeating and weight gain.
“Weight gain in the American population seems to be virtually all explained by eating more calories,” said the study's leader, Professor Boyd Swinburn.
Calling an ambulance can save your life
Research presented at the Acute Care Cardiac Congress looked at Turkish patients who were having a heart attack and found that only 29 percent of them took an ambulance despite the service being free. Taking cabs or other transportation methods led to longer travel times, which delayed crucial treatment and decreased survival rates.
Objects that are farther away are harder to see
A study entitled “Why is it easier to see someone close than far away?” was published in the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review in 2005. It looked into the fact that faces are blurrier when they are farther away from an observer.
A “case of the Mondays” is a real thing
A study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology showed that weekends and nonworking times are “associated with enhanced well-being.” The day of the week affects “mood, vitality and physical symptoms.”
You shouldn’t swallow more than one magnet
Swallowing one magnet isn’t a great idea, but swallowing two or more at around the same time can be particularly dangerous. A radiologist from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital wrote an urgent alert for Radiology after treating a 12-year-old patient who swallowed multiple magnets causing serious internal injuries.
H/t: Live Science and Popular Science
