The 31st First Annual
Ig Nobel Ceremony

September 9, 2021

The 31st First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony happened entirely online on Thursday, September 9, 2021. Ten new Ig Nobel prizes were awarded for things that make people LAUGH, then THINK.

Watch a recording of it right here. And dip into some of the press reports, which even include an editorial or two.

[VIDEO NOTE: YouTube’s notorious takedown algorithms blocked the original recording of the ceremony recording. We were unable to find a human at YouTube who could fix that. So we made a slightly new version, which you see here, above. The new version is identical to the original, except that we substituted in a new, special performance of the old song “Funiculi Funicula”, and made a few small tweaks to some captions and other bits. Here, below, is the earlier version, which lives on Vimeo.]

 

What Languages?   |   Ceremony Details
Support The Igs   |    Ig Informal Lectures

WHAT LANGUAGES?
In addition to the usual English-language stream, there was a separate stream in Japanese, on Nico Nico. (And you can go visit the special Ig Nobel exhibition in Fukuoka, Japan, which runs from September 9 through November 3, 2021)


THE CEREMONY
The ceremony itself included these traditional elements:



WE ASK FOR YOUR HELP
Normally, we fund the ceremony almost entirely from ticket revenues, plus a few small amounts from generous donors. But in the Covid-19 pandemic years 2020 and 2021 there are no theater tickets, and so no ticket revenues. Our expenses were lower (no theater rental!), but still substantial. If you or your organization would like to help, please donate to the Ig.



THE IG INFORMAL LECTURES

In the Ig Informal Lectures, the new winners explain, if they can, what they did and why they did it.

Normally the lectures happen at MIT, two days after the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. But in this pandemic year, they will happen online only, one at a time, on http://www.improbablecom.wpcomstaging.com and on YouTube.

SCHEDULE:

  • Thurs, Sept 16, 2021.  Peace Prize Ig Informal Lecture
  • Thurs, Sept 23, 2021.  Biology Ig Informal Lecture
  • Thurs, Sept 30, 2021.  Transportation Prize Ig Informal Lecture
  • Thurs, Oct 21, 2021. Economics Prize Ig Informal Lecture
  • Thurs, Oct 28, 2021. Ecology Prize Ig Informal Lecture
  • Thurs, Nov 4, 2021. Physics Prize Ig Informal Lecture
  • Thurs, Nov 11, 2021. Kinetics Prize Ig Informal Lecture

Here are the lectures:

Ig Informal Lecture for the Peace Prize:

Ig Informal Lecture for the Biology Prize:

Ig Informal Lecture for the Transportation Prize:

Ig Informal Lecture for the Economics Prize:

Ig Informal Lecture for the Ecology Prize:

Ig Informal Lecture for the Physics Prize:

Ig Informal Lecture for the Kinetics Prize: