For the 35th time, the Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded last night in Boston. These satirical “Nobel Prizes” honor research that first makes you laugh—and then makes you think.

In their article Dutch Courage?, the Maastricht winners (Fritz Renner, Inge Kersbergen, Matt Field, and Jessica Werthmann) describe a study involving fifty German students who had only recently started learning Dutch. Twenty-five of them were given a small amount of alcohol, while the rest received none. They were then asked to hold a conversation in Dutch.

Observers who didn’t know which participants had drunk noted clear improvements in pronunciation. Interestingly, the slightly tipsy Germans themselves didn’t feel they were performing any better.

Bar

The idea for the study came up at a bar during a scientific conference. The researchers caution, however, that higher doses of alcohol impair memory—so don’t rely on it if you actually want to learn a language.

The Ig Nobel ceremony is always playful and over-the-top. The audience throws paper airplanes, opera singers perform scientific-themed pieces, and the presenters wear silly hats. Winners often attend in person—but the Maastricht team did not. Their acceptance speech was read by Nobel laureates Robert Merton and Svante Pääbo.

Nails

Alcohol also played a role in this year’s Ig Nobel Prize for Aviation, awarded to scientists who investigated whether bats can still fly and navigate after a little alcohol. The result: they cannot.

Another winner tracked the growth of his own fingernails for 35 years and documented it, earning the Ig Nobel Prize in Literature. The Food Science award went to researchers who discovered that a certain colorful lizard strongly prefers quattro formaggi pizza (with four kinds of cheese).

Other intriguing findings included that painting cows black-and-white like zebras can reduce their exposure to biting flies.

The Ig Nobel ceremony always takes place in September, a month before the official Nobel Prizes are awarded.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.