Every year the Nobel Prize is awarded to the good and the great, the leaders in their respective, and respected, fields. But what recognition is there for the brave scientific mind who attempted to feed Prozac to clams for sexual purposes? Where are the gongs for the genius who trained pigeons to discriminate between the paintings of Picasso and those of Monet? Are there no plaudits for the inventor of Under-Ease, the charcoal-filled underwear that removes bad-smelling gases before they can escape? Based on the august surroundings of Harvard University, the Ig Nobel Prizes have changed all that, bestowing their awards on the individuals whose achievements 'cannot or should not be reproduced'. And here from humour magazine the Annals of Improbable Research, comes the story behind these awards - the research, the award winners themselves and their sometimes ungracious responses.