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There is a good chance that you have not read the instruction manual of the device you are currently reading.
It's not that you're lazy – nobody likes instructional books, according to an Australian study that won this year's Ig Nobel Prize for Literature.
The annual parody of Nobel prizes recognizes the science that makes you laugh, then makes you think.
Thea Blackler, of the Queensland University of Technology, said the study, published in 2014, was the result of a survey of people's emotional and interactive experiences with wearable devices.
Professor Blackler and his colleagues studied how 170 people used manuals for a range of complex products, ranging from dishwashers to universal remote controls.
They found that most people chose not to read textbooks and instead learned to use the product.
Their study showed that people chose to buy a complex product with many features even if they did not need it.
The results also showed that people with higher education were less likely to read textbooks.
"They may be better able to use their knowledge and strategies to select only the essential features they need," said Professor Blackler.
While the team was expecting international interest, she had not considered receiving a Nobel Ig for her work.
The ABC broadcaster Robyn Williams, acting as messenger for the organizers of Ig Nobel, was the one who had announced the news to the team.
"Three of the four authors on paper, including me, are STEM women," said Professor Blackler.
"I am excited and honored and happy to be able to advocate for the interests of technology, design and women users in STEM."
Hannibal was perhaps on something …
A regular steak and high in calories (compared to the man).
(Flickr: cvc_2k CC-BY-NC-2.0)
James Cole of the University of Brighton received the nutrition award. His research? To calculate that a human-cannibalism diet had fewer calories than other meat diets.
Cole used previously published information on the chemical composition of the human body to accurately calculate the calories present in each component.
Do not bet on cannibalism being the next mode of health though – the results showed that we were not anything special, nutritionally speaking, compared to other animals of our size.
Should you use a voodoo doll on your boss?
A team from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada won the Economics Award for its study of whether voodoo dolls could help people deal with abusive bosses.
In short, it can help.
Their research indicated that stabbing a voodoo doll representing his abusive leader was a good way to find a sense of justice that did not involve doing anything that could have real harmful consequences.
The study looked at 352 university students who named a voodoo doll online after a supervisor who had already abused them, that is, verbally abused or did not recognize their work. They then "attacked" this voodoo doll online for the next minute and were asked a series of questions.
From this, the researchers were able to determine if the exercise had helped to alleviate the students' feelings of retaliation.
If you have had a bad experience with someone in a strong position recently, you can try the simulation used in the study yourself.
Surveillance of nocturnal penile tumescence with stamps
The stamps used were similar in size to Christmas seals.
(Flickr: Artbyheather)
It was the very title of the newspaper that won a team of researchers from Oregon, USA, the Nobel Ig for Reproductive Medicine.
In simpler terms, they developed an innovative method to detect if men were powerless.
The instructions given to 22 powerful men and 11 helpless men of different ages were simple:
1. Wear short shorts with a fly
2. Bring your penis on the fly
3. Wrap the pads around the penis shaft and wet them to seal the ring
4. Once the ring is dry, carefully replace your penis inside the shorts and wear shorts in bed
5. When you wake up, check the stamp ring to see if it has been broken along the perforations
6. Repeat
By grouping the results of all these men and if the patches had been broken, the researchers were able to conclude that using this test for three nights could constitute a screening test for impotence.
Complete list of winners of the 2018 Ig Nobel Prize
- Anthropology: Tomas Pesson, Gabriela-Alina Sauciuc and Elainie Madsen, University of Lund
"Spontaneous imitation of crossed species interacting between chimpanzees and zoo visitors" - Biology: Paul Becher, Sebastian Lebreton, Erika Wallin, Erik Hedenstrom, Felipe Borrero-Echeverry, Marie Bengtsson, Volker Jorger and Peter Witzgall
"The perfume of the fly" - Chemistry: Paula Romão, Adília Alarcão and the late Caesar Viana, Regional Government of the Azores
"Human saliva as a cleaner for dirty surfaces" - Economy: Lindie Hanyu Liang, Douglas Brown, Huiwen Lian, Samuel Hanig, Lance Ferris, Lisa Keeping
"To give back: retaliation on a voodoo doll symbolizing an abusive supervisor restores justice" - Literature: Thea Blackler, Rafael Gomez, Vesna Popovic and Helen Thompson, Queensland University of Technology
"Life is too short for RTFM: how users relate to documentation and excess functionality in mainstream products" - Medical Education: Akira Horiuchi, Showa Inan General Hospital
"Colonoscopy in a sitting position: lessons from autocoloscopy" - Drug: Marc Mitchell and David Wartinger, Michigan State University
"Validation of a Functional Pyelocalyceal Renal Model for Evaluation of Renal Calculation Passage by Amounting a Roller Coaster" - Nutrition: James Cole, University of Brighton
"Assessment of the calorific significance of episodes of human cannibalism in the Paleolithic" - Peace: Francisco Alonso, Cristina Esteban, Andrea Serge, Maria-Luisa Ballestar, Jaime Sanmartin, Constanza Calatayud and Beatriz Alamar, University of Valencia
"Shout and curse while driving: frequency, reasons, perceived risk and punishment" - Reproductive Medicine: John Barry, Bruce Blank and Michel Boileau
"Surveillance of nocturnal penile tumescence with stamps"
All prizes were awarded by real Nobel laureates at a Harvard University event.
Last year 's winning research included the effects of keeping a crocodile on the game and how the didgeridoo could cure sleep apnea.
In 2002, Dr. Karl and ABC Science won the Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine for the Great Bellybutton Lint Survey.
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