Ig Nobel Prizes showcase surprising science

The Ig Nobel Prizes, the satirical awards that celebrate the quirky side of science, were held outside the US for the first time this year due to travel concerns. Researchers from around the world, many in costume, travelled to collect their awards from actual Nobel laureates, for research ranging from cockroaches worn on heads to nose-blowing, kissing cavemen and buried underwear.

Social psychologist Paul Piff's team won for finding that wealth makes people more self-interested, entitled and greedy, after discovering that rich people took twice as much candy from a bowl meant for children. Another team was honoured for solving the problem of splash-back from urinals, proving that even the strangest questions can lead to useful answers.

Nobel economics laureate Esther Duflo, who helped present the awards, said the point of the ceremony is science that makes people laugh first, and think afterwards. As these researchers show, sometimes the silliest ideas turn out to be the brightest.

Al Jazeera's Cara Legg reports.

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