A very brief post, just to alert y’all that the IgNobels are starting in less than 45 minutes.  And you can watch them live in the video below!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnprpYZYiC8[/youtube]

Also, Scientific  American blogger Scicurious will be live tweeting from the awards.  Look for the hashtag #ignobel :)

For those who’re not sure why I’m so excited, the IgNobels are an annual ceremony which sees itself as the foil, or complement, or something, to the Nobel Prizes. Their aim is to

honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology.

Previous winners have included a bra the cups of which can be turned into a protective facemask, a wasabi-based alarm, discovering that australian stubbies (beer bottles) make a certain type of beetle horny, and more!

There’s also a magazine you can subscribe to, called the Annals of Improbable Research, and it’s free in its PDF form!.

Enjoy!