While the vast majority of people will try to avoid being stung by a
bee, one person has won a prestigious science award after bees stung him
five times a day for 38 days. Michael Smith carried out the
experiments, where he was stung in 25 different locations, in order to
discover where is the most painful place to be stung.
According to
his research, the worst places to get stung are the nostril, the upper
lip and the shaft of the penis. The scientist won first place at the Ig
Nobel prizes, beating another group who had studied whether it was
possible to have 600 sons.
The Ig Nobel prizes are a parody of the
real life Nobel Prizes that began in 1991. Despite the fact that they
are based on humor, the Ig Nobel award is still widely recognized and
admired by the science community and those who win it usually still
attend a ceremony to receive their trophy. Real life Nobel laureates
even present the awards at the ceremony, as research still has to be
scientifically valid to be considered for a prize.
