I must confess, I’ve never known if there is a hard and fast rule about how to insert symbols such as @,#,$ or % when one wants to write a particular word but doesn’t really want to go on record as having actually spelled it out. As a result, I’ve rarely tried it. But a story about the Ig Nobel prizes, in today’s Guardian, containing the following nugget

The medicine prize went to Greg Miller of Missouri for his invention of Neuticles – artificial replacement testicles for dogs which come in a range of sizes. Neuticles allow your pet to “retain his natural look, self-esteem and aids in the trauma associated with neutering”, says the company’s website.

is just flat out begging for this title.

The “Igs”, according to the official website, are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology. This all sounds very positive, but it’s also worth pointing out that the awards, given out in Harvard’s Sanders Theatre, are also given for research that “cannot or should not be reproduced”.

The first paragraph of the Guardian article is another one of those priceless British newspaper wordings that, in terms both graphic and humorous, summarizes what this year’s Igs are all about

Ever wondered how far a penguin can fire waste from its anus? Or whether humans can swim faster in water or in sugar syrup? Perhaps even what frogs smell like when they are stressed?

It’s funnier to think about these topics knowing that the prizes are handed out by real Nobel Prize winners including, this year, physicists Shelly Glashow and Robert Wilson. You can find a complete list of the 2005 winners at the end of the Guardian article. But lest you think I’ve given you all the good stuff up front, here’s one last teaser

Agricultural history: James Watson of Massey University, New Zealand, for his scholarly study, The Significance of Mr Richard Buckley’s Exploding Trousers.