Ig Nobel Prizes held in Zurich for the first time

The 2026 Ig Nobel Prizes, a satirical counterpart to the Nobel Prizes designed to honor research that ‘first makes people laugh, and then makes them think,’ were held in Zurich, Switzerland, on September 3. This marks the first time the ceremony has been hosted outside the United States.

Organizers cited an increasingly hostile climate toward science in the U.S. and safety concerns for international travelers as the primary reasons for the relocation. Mark Abraham, the ceremony host and publisher of The Annals of Improbable Research, stated that it would not be responsible to ask winners or journalists to travel to the U.S. due to these conditions.

Winners received trophies shaped like a slice of blue cheese being stepped on by a foot, reflecting this year’s theme of ‘fungi,’ along with 10 trillion Zimbabwean dollars—a currency that has lost nearly all its value. Notable research recognized included studies on the evolution of kissing and the behavior of cockroaches.