The Ig Nobel was primarily devised by Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, a journal celebrating scientific "achievements that cannot, or should not, be reproduced".

Reported in AIR are such bizarre studies as those by the micropalaeontologist Chonosuke Okamara, who claims to distinguish tiny fossil men, women & dragons in his rocks. Then there’s the tongue in cheek: "Apples and Oranges, a comparison"…. Another paper is The Taxonomy of Barney… Apparently, the authors’ specimen of Barney preserved in formaldehyde fascinates small visitors to the National Academy of Sciences….

The AIR also promotes new & meaningless phrases, such as "cogno-intellectual", to replace any, such as "paradigm", that fall out of fashion. They also poke fun at privatised health schemes by promoting their own managed health organisation (HMO) – the American model of privatised health we are heading toward. Their HMO mission statement states that "traditional health care placed too much emphasis on ‘best outcomes’ – our managed health care providers are encouraged to shift the emphasis to ‘good outcomes’" One of the HMO’s options is the Patient’s Choice Plan, "Under which patients who specify their illness in advance may be eligible for special discounts."

But the pinnacle of the AIR is the Ig Nobel Prizes, some awarded for actual science, some for other reasons..

Award winners include: in ’92, for archaeology, the Eclaireurs de France, a Protestant youth group whose name means "those who show the way". In cleaning up their part of the world they tackled graffiti, scrubbing off ancient and priceless paintings from the walls of Meyrieres Cave.

The ’93 prize for visionary technology was given jointly to Jay Schiffman, for inventing a system allowing car drivers to watch television, and the Michigan state legislature for making it legal.

In ’94, veterinarian Robert Lopez was awarded the prize for entomology, above and beyond the call. Putting cats’ ear mites in his own ears, he endured pain, infection and sleeplessness in a chillingly controlled and repeated study, the reading of which is guaranteed to turn the stomach. The chemistry prize went to Texas Senator Bob Glasgow, for sponsoring legislation designed to curb drug use, making it illegal to purchase beakers, test tubes or any lab gear without a permit.

In ’95 the prize for physics went to English researchers for their report entitled "A Study of the Effects of Water Content on the Compaction Behaviour of Breakfast Cereal Flakes". For psychology, the prize went to Japanese researchers who successfully trained pigeons to discriminate between the paintings of Picasso & Monet. For nutrition, the prize went to the makers of Luak Coffee, the world’s most expensive coffee, made from beans ingested and excreted by the luak, or palm civet – an Indonesian jungle cat. For public health, the award went to Scandinavia for the groundbreaking "Impact of Wet Underwear on Thermoregulatory responses and Thermal Comfort in the Cold."

Last year the biology prize went to researchers who measured people’s brainwaves as they chewed differently flavoured gum. Entomology went to a zoologist who published a field guide to insects commonly splattered across windscreens. Astronomy went to the study which claimed to have identified many new features on Mars… including 16km-high buildings. Literature went to the authors of "The Bible Code", medicine went to the study linking muzak and the immune system and economics to the makers of Tamagotchi, for diverting millions of human work hours to the husbandry of virtual pets.

Abrahams points out that many Ig winners are thrilled and overjoyed. Dr Harold Moi, for example, cheerfully flew from Oslo to receive the Public Health Prize for co-authoring a report, "Transmission of Gonorrhoea Through an Inflatable Doll".