Penguins Under Pressure: how Ig Nobel...

Ever wondered how far a penguin can fire waste from its anus? Or whether humans can swim faster in water or in sugar syrup? Perhaps even what frogs smell like when they are stressed?

Answers to these burning questions were among the 10 areas of work celebrated at the Ig Nobel prizes at Harvard University last night. The awards, a spoof on the Nobel prizes announced earlier this week, are given for research which "cannot or should not be reproduced".

Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research and the man behind the awards, said they "honour achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think".

Find out about the rest of the awards here.