Posted on 10/07/2005 3:26:12 AM PDT by martin_fierro
The Winner Is... Fake Dog Testicle Creator
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer
Thu Oct 6, 9:40 PM ET
BOSTON - Gregg Miller mortgaged his home and maxed out his credit cards to mass produce his invention — prosthetic testicles for neutered dogs.
What started 10 years ago with an experiment on an unwitting Rottweiler named Max has turned into a thriving mail-order business. And on Thursday night Miller's efforts earned him a dubious yet strangely coveted honor: the Ig Nobel Prize for medicine.
"Considering my parents thought I was an idiot when I was a kid, this is a great honor," he said. "I wish they were alive to see it."
The Ig Nobels, given at Harvard University by Annals of Improbable Research magazine, celebrate the humorous, creative and odd side of science.
Miller has sold more than 150,000 of his Neuticles, more than doubling his $500,000 investment. The silicone implants come in different sizes, shapes, weights and degrees of firmness.
The product's Web site says Neuticles allow a pet "to retain his natural look" and "self esteem."
Although the Ig Nobels are not exactly prestigious, many recipients are, like Miller, happy to win.
"Most scientists — no matter what they're doing, good or bad — never get any attention at all," said Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research.
Some, like Benjamin Smith of the University of Adelaide in Australia, who won the biology prize, actually nominated their own work. "I've been a fan of the Ig Nobels for a while," he said.
Smith's team studied and catalogued different scents emitted by more than 100 species of frogs under stress. Some smelled like cashews, while others smelled like licorice, mint or rotting fish.
He recalled getting strange looks when he'd show up at zoos asking to smell the frogs. "I've been turned away at the gate," he said.
This year's other Ig Nobel winners include:
• PHYSICS: Since 1927, researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have been tracking a glob of congealed black tar as it drips through a funnel — at a rate of one drop every nine years.
• PEACE: Two researchers at Newcastle University in England monitored the brain activity of locusts as they watched clips from the movie "Star Wars."
• CHEMISTRY: An experiment at the University of Minnesota was designed to prove whether people can swim faster or slower in syrup than in water.
The Ig Nobel for literature went to the Nigerians who introduced millions of e-mail users to a "cast of rich characters ... each of whom requires just a small amount of expense money so as to obtain access to the great wealth to which they are entitled."
This handout photograph, provided by the subject, shows Gregg Miller with Buck, a bloodhound, in April, 2001 at home in Buckner, Mo. Miller mortgaged his home and maxed out his credit cards to mass produce his invention, prosthetic testicles for neutered dogs. Miller was honored as part of Harvard's IG Nobel Awards, which is a spoof on the Nobel Prize awards, whcih combine humor with scientific discovery. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Gregg Miller)
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Arf!
Bud Light Real Men of Genius.
Neuticles are the balls!
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Dog Testicles - Mastiff - Pure Breed My dog's freshly removed testicles. "Big" is a pure bred, 8 mth old English Mastiff weighing about 100 lbs. Started at $5.00 - No bids. Found by Debra, 16 April 2005 |
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I'm sure you all can think of a few more.
This scientist sounds teste to me.
I created Neuticles for our GOP Senators. Using it for dogs is just a side business.
McCain may not have the courage of OUR convictions, but I wouldn't accuse him of lacking courage. It's our friends (not McCain) who lack them.
Actually, the unwritten, but real purpose of these are to fool judges at dog shows.
Penquin Poo also recognized (says BBC)..
And fake dog testicles are STILL a better invention than anything the Islamic world has come up with since ... oh, maybe the 13th century.
"Since 1927, researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have been tracking a glob of congealed black tar as it drips through a funnel"
Seems like the congealed tar will have dried out even more since 1927. OTOH, there'd be plenty of time for lots of other experiments, and with hundred+ year old researchers, things like hip replacement surgery.
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