Combover engineers win Ig Prize

A patent for the world's perfect "combover" is not something that you'd expect to win a Nobel prize.

It is, however, just the sort of imaginative and inspired project that is awarded something only slightly less prestigious -- an "Ig Nobel".

The Ig Nobel Awards, given out by an organization appropriately called The Annals of Improbable Research, have been in existence since 1991.

They are meant to honor scientists who carry out unusual but particularly imaginative research.

The research projects that are honored are the kind that make you stop and think, and for this reason they often interest non-scientists.

This years "Igs" were given out at a ceremony last week at Harvard University and the prizes themselves were presented by none other than a group of real Nobel prize winners.

However, these presenters had to first overcome an unusual challenge. They had to present their own (very technical and confusing) research in 24 seconds ... and then in seven words.

The goal of this was to distill their Nobel prize winning research into understandable English.

Some of the top Ig prizes went to research projects entitled "The Effect of Country Music on Suicide" and "Coordination Modes in the Multisegmental Dynamics of Hula Hooping."

Prizes also went to the inventor of karaoke and The American Nudist Research Library, among others.

The prize in engineering is certainly getting the most laughs, and if that's what the Ig Nobels are after, then this research is among the best.

Donald J. Smith and his late father Frank J. Smith of Orlando, Florida won the engineering prize for their patented technique in hiding baldness, the combover.

The father and son team's patent, number 4,022,227 at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, includes detailed descriptions of how to pull off a combover as well as images showing you just what they mean.

Their method includes dividing the hair into three even sections so that each part may overlap the other.

Their patent, originally filed in 1975, notes that the usual methods of hiding bald spots, namely hair transplants, hair weaving, and hairpieces, are inferior to their easy technique.

If you are planning on attempting the Smith's combover style, be sure to note that the hair must be three to four inches long for the combover to be successful.

Though the combover patent may top the list, another inspired Ig Nobel prize was given to Illinois high school student Jillian Clarke for her report which investigated the scientific validity of the five second rule.

Clarke found that the five second rule, which states that any food which has only been on the ground for five seconds can be eaten, is in fact true.

She found, surprisingly, that most floors are clean enough that they will not infect the eater of fallen food with any diseases.

She also found that women are more likely to eat fallen food than men. Additionally she found people are more apt to pick up candy than broccoli.

Last week's Ig Nobel ceremony ended on as light a note as it had started, with a "Win a Date with a Nobel Laureate Contest."

According to the Annals of Improbable Research Web site, at http://www.ignobel.com, the ceremony was brief and fun for all who attended.