In the first week of October the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony was held at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is the 18th year that the awards have been run to celebrate some of the more dubious and/or hilarious achievements of science.
The Annual Ig Nobel Prizes are run as a funny alternative to the annual Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics, economics, literature and peace.
The Ig Nobels honour real research and are based on published research papers. Usually the awarded reciprients go along with the light hearted awards.
I remember my young days when Mother would announce she is making an ice cream treat. It created excitement and an anxious fervor as we watched and waited for the treat to be whipped together using real unpasteurized milk and natural fruit flavors. Then it was the long wait for the ice cream to set in the freezer.
It seemed like eternity before we finally sat down to eat…natural ice cream heaven.
I particularly enjoyed the apricot special made from over ripe fruits freshly picked from the heavily burdened tree outside the kitchen window that I had planted years earlier. The tree became a bearer of the most magnificent fruit and I was heartbroken years later when the family home was sold and the new owners cut down the tree.
Estimates indicate that the average western woman consumes up to 1 kg of lipstick a year. Now that may sound gross by itself, but a recent article in Reuters revealed that more than half the lipsticks of popular brands such as L'Oreal, Cover Girl and Christian Dior actually contain lead.
Further to this, the Campaign for safe Cosmetics tested over 33 lipsticks and it was found that 61% contained detectable levels of lead (0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm)).
Many people do not realize that their home is a major source of toxic contamination. According to EPA studies, indoor air pollutants are anywhere from three to 70 times higher than outdoors!
Common hazards in your home that add to toxic load include: Mold and other Fungal Toxins: One in three people have had an allergic reaction to mold. Mycotoxins (fungal toxins) can cause a range of health problems with exposure to only a small amount.