It's the most wonderful time of the year.

And now let's get it over with ladies, gentlemen, the awarding of the

2020 for Ig Nobel Prizes.

It's Thursday, December 5th.

You're listening to Science Friday.

I'm SciFri producer Charles Bergquist. December 5th, you're listening to Science Friday.

I'm SciFri producer Charles Bergquist.

Each year, the editors of the Annals of Improbable Research hand out awards for unusual scientific investigations.

So, you know, if you've ever wondered about the big questions in life, like, how does a dead fish swim compared to a live fish, for instance?

Stay tuned. Here's Ira to whisk you away to the awards ceremony.

The awards are handed out each year by the editors of the Science Humor magazine, The Annals of Improbable Research,

for work in science that first makes you laugh and then makes you think.

It's stuff that might make you say, hmm, I wonder.

Shower thoughts, some people call it.

This year's celebration is the 34th first annual awards, and for the first time in several years,

the ceremony was held post-COVID in person in a theater on the MIT campus.

Glad to see them all back in the flesh.

This year's ceremonies featured a mini opera about Murphy's Law.

You know, if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. And prizes handed out by genuine, real Nobel laureates. Just to explain a few things before we start.

There are a few traditions at the ceremonies, like the traditional welcome, and goodbye goodbye speeches.

There's an official who will sound an alarm if things threaten to get too runchy.

And then there's Miss Sweetie Poo, a little girl who starts to whine whenever the speakers go on too long.

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