About this little paper
Science is mostly careful, slow, brilliant work. And sometimes it’s a physicist wondering whether a cat is a liquid. This is a love letter to those papers, and to the curious people who write them.
What’s in here?
200 real research papers (and a couple of official internet standards) that made us laugh, explained in normal-person language. 89 of them won an Ig Nobel Prize, the award for research that “makes people laugh, then think”.
How we pick
- It has to be real. Published in a journal, presented at a conference or issued as an official standard. No made-up papers, ever.
- It has to be funny. Funny title, funny question, funny method, or a funny result. Bonus points for all four.
- We laugh with researchers. Never at anyone. Science is better with a giggle.
- It should teach you something. Most of these papers are secretly very clever. We try to explain why.
The silliness scale
Every paper gets a rating from 1 (mildly amusing) to 5 (pure delight). This scale is not peer-reviewed. It runs entirely on vibes.
Can I read the original papers?
Yes, please do! Every page has a “find the original paper” button. Our summaries are simplified on purpose, so if you’re citing something, cite the real paper and not us.
Spotted a mistake?
We try very hard to get the facts right, but we’re only human (Chester the cat was unavailable for review). If something’s off, let us know and we’ll fix it.
thank you for being a nerd with us ♡