Ig Nobel wins for roller coaster

Rolling on some types of roller coaster is an effective way to eliminate kidney stones.

This is the conclusion of a research that won the Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine this year.

US researchers who have done the work recommend that people with the disease use the attractions of the theme park regularly.

Ig Nobels are parody prizes that recognize achievements that make people laugh, but think for a moment.

Many of the topics recognized in the awards have a serious interest in them.

The inspiration for the roller coaster research began several years ago when one of Dr. David Wartinger's patients at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University returned from a trip from vacation in Walt Disney World Florida.

The patient reported that one of his kidney stones had been dislodged after a hike on Big Thunder Mountain.

Wondering if this was caused by the race or by coincidence, the patient continued to climb several times and each time a stone came out.

Intrigued by the story, Professor Wartinger built a silicone model of his patient's kidney system, including artificial kidney stones, and took him with him on numerous hikes.

He discovered that Big Thunder Mountain was indeed effective – more than the scariest attractions such as Space Mountain or Rock and Rollercoaster that involve prolonged falls.

Prof Wartinger concluded that it was because Big Thunder Mountain involved more moves up and down and side by side that made the runner vibrate.

The Medicine Award is one of 10 Ig Nobels awarded each year for a fun and amazing science. These are all authentic studies and almost all have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

At the awards ceremony held at Harvard University in Cambridge, USA, each winner has 60 seconds to deliver an acceptance speech. The time limit is strictly enforced by an eight-year-old girl who says "please, stop boring" several times until the speaker finishes.

Medical Education: Scientists are sometimes rudely portrayed as being "backwards" – they are considered too obsessed with their research.

However, this is literally the case with a Japanese researcher, Dr. Akira Horiuchi, who won the Medical Education Award for designing a self-colonoscopy technique using a small endoscope.

"Fortunately, I did not find polyps or cancer," he told BBC News.

"This trial may be funny, but I inserted an endoscope into my colon for a serious purpose.

"People, especially in Japan, are afraid of colonoscopy and do not want to have colonoscopy, and the number of people who are dying of colorectal cancer is increasing, so I'm doing this research to make colonoscopy easier and more comfortable."

Literature: This year's Literature Award was for a survey of instruction manuals provided with consumer products. The search was called, life is too short for RTFM: how users relate to documentation and excess functionality.

"RTFM" is an acronym for "read the field manual", although, according to researchers, it has gained new meaning by consumers who are often frustrated by the complexity of the operation of their product.

Nutrition: A British researcher won the nutrition prize for calculating this pound per pound, it is not worth eating human flesh compared to other types of meat. The aim was to analyze the eating habits of the first humans rather than to inform current food choices.

Economy: As far as the economy is concerned, the winner has been researching to determine whether it is effective for employees to use voodoo dolls to retaliate against intimidation bosses. . This study has shown that the removal of dolls alleviates negative feelings, but suggests in the long run that it is better to tackle the underlying problem.

Chemistry: The winner of the Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize went to research on whether human saliva is a good cleaning agent for dirty surfaces. This is – especially for the fragile areas and painted on the ceramic and on the gold leaves.

Biology: A Swedish team has won Ig Nobel biology for demonstrating that wine experts can reliably identify, by smell, the presence of a fly in a glass of wine – perhaps sparking a new kind of jokes involving sommeliers.

Peace: Finally, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Spanish group looking for ways to reduce road rage in a document called Shouting and Curse Driving: Frequency, Reasons, Perceived Risks and Punishments. The team's solution is to reduce stress and increase road safety campaigns – a task as important as reducing conflict in the Middle East.

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