On Thursday evening, the Kongresshaus in Zurich hosted the 36th Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. For those unfamiliar with them: these are the science prizes that honour research which first makes you laugh, and then makes you think. Robots that steal sweets, urinals that don’t splash, the exact definition of a kiss. Things like that. For 35 years, the ceremony was always held at Harvard University, with real Nobel laureates presenting the awards. This year’s theme was fungi; the actual winners were dressed up as mushrooms, and it all took place in Switzerland.
The move was not a whim. The organisers put it bluntly: it is becoming increasingly difficult for international researchers and journalists to obtain visas to enter the United States. The political situation has made travel so difficult that they decided to move the ceremony to Europe. And Zurich was the city chosen. From now on, the venue will alternate: next year it will be Antwerp, then Zurich in 2028 and in every even-numbered year thereafter.
Zurich as a haven for free science. This isn’t the first time Switzerland has ended up being the place where something that is no longer so easily accepted elsewhere finds a home. Neutrality has its advantages, and the Ig Nobel Prize organisers have just discovered this.