Seeds and Soil

A great harvest is guaranteed by the power of God, but it requires listening as much as planting.

Everybody knows about the Nobel Prizes, given each year in categories including physics, chemistry, medicine and economic sciences.

But how about the “Ig Nobels”?

This set of awards is given for scientific research that “makes people laugh, then think.” As the word “ignoble” suggests, these awards are not particularly honorable. They carry much less social status than the lofty Nobel Prizes. When the awards are conferred, the audience responds by throwing paper planes.

According to The Washington Post, the Ig Nobels are presented to scientists who answer questions such as:

• How quickly do fingernails grow?
• Does painting a cow like a zebra deter flies?
• Which kind of pizza does a lizard prefer, given the option?

These questions are funny. But they also involve real scientific research, and they make you think.

William Bean won an award for “recording and analyzing the rate of growth of one of his fingernails over a period of 35...