A side-splitting compendium that pays tribute to those individuals whose achievements cannot or should not be reproduced. Everyone knows about the Nobel Prizes, those prestigious awards that recognize the world"s most talented and innovative minds. Unfortunately, not all of the hopeful thinkers and academics around the globe can become Nobel Laureates, but some are lucky enough to win the esteemed Ig Nobel Prize instead. Their unbelievable accomplishments are now documented in glorious detail in The Ig Nobel Prizes: The Annals of Improbable Research. Drawn from the world"s wackiest actual achievements in science, economics, and peace, The Ig Nobel Prizes demonstrates the extreme measures people will take in the quest for knowledge. Read about the professor who proved that toast falls buttered-side-down more often than not, and the Southern Baptist Church of Alabama, which devised a formula to determine how many Alabamans will go to Hell. This hilarious book features these endeavors and many more, along with photographs from the annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremonies at Harvard University. An entertaining exhibition of brains and determination, The Ig Nobel Prizes is ideal for anyone who first wants to laugh and then wants to think.