Overview
- The 36th Ig Nobel prizes were awarded in Zurich on Sept. 3, 2026, marking the first time the ceremony was held outside the United States.
- Ten teams won awards for unusual but real research, including studies on cockroach milk’s high energy content, a splash‑free “Nautilus” urinal, burying 1,000 pairs of underpants to test soil health, and using mosquito proboscises as 3D‑printing nozzles.
- Organizers said they moved the ceremony because international winners and journalists faced visa difficulties and safety concerns under the current U.S. administration, and they will now alternate Zurich with other European cities.
- The Biology prize cited a study that tested what provokes venomous snakes to bite, but coverage noted that the original paper had been retracted earlier over concerns about its animal‑care methods.
- The event kept its theatrical traditions—paper airplanes, Nobel laureates presenting, and the mushroom‑foot trophy—and organizers said there are no immediate plans to return the awards to the U.S.