Winning an award is usually prestigious and often makes the people who win them famous. Most awards are given for excellence in a particular field, but some of them are given for being the worst in something. Here is a list of such ridiculous awards.
1. Ig Nobel Prize
Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody to the Nobel Prize. These are given each year in early October to the people who have done research on silly and useless things. Ig Nobel Prizes have been given since 1991 in 10 categories that include Medicine, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Linguistics, Literature, Peace, Nutrition, Economics and Aviation.
The prizes are presented to awardees by genuine Nobel Laureates at a ceremony. In that ceremony, awardees have the opportunity to explain their achievements to the public. If such explanations become too longwinded, they are interrupted by the cries of a little girl named Miss Sweety Poo, who repeatedly cries out “Please stop! I'm bored” in a high pitched voice.
Recent Ig Nobel Prize Winners In Some Categories
In Medicine: Brian Witcombe from Gloucester won for his research on “Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects” and his results include “sore throats”
In Linguistics: Juan Manuel Toro, Josp B Tobalon and Nuria Sebastian-Galles of the University of Barcelona won this award for showing that rats sometimes cannot tell the difference between a person speaking Japanese backwards and a person speaking Dutch backwards.
Ig Nobel Peace Prize was given to the Air Force Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio for its research on a gay bomb which could cause enemy soldiers to become irresistible to one another and lose the will to fight. The Labratory spent $7.5 million in the U.S. for this research.
2. Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards
Golden Raspberry Awards are parody to the Oscar Awards. They have been awarding since 1981 to the actors who have shown worst acting. The nominations are made by public one day before Oscar nominations and awards are presented one day before the Oscar ceremony.
The awardees win a trophy that costs $4.97 statuettes in the form of raspberry spray-painted gold and mounted on a plastic base.
Recent Razzie Award Winners In Some Categories
Eddie Murphy was the first person ever to win three acting Razzies in one year. He won as worst actor for the geeky title role, supporting actress as his tubby, shrewish wife and supporting actor as a stereotyped Asian man in “Norbit”.
“I Know Who Killed Me” set a new Razzies record with eight awards, including worst screen couple for Lindsay Lohan in her double role. This movie also won director (Chris Sivertson), screen play (Jeff Hammond), horror movie, and remake or rip-off.
3. Pigasus Award
The Pigasus Awards was founded by Australian James Randi and are to be given for paranormal fraud. The first award was given in 1982, but have not been done every year. There are five categories: science, funding, media, performance and refusal to face reality.
The logo of the award is designed with a winged pig and pigasus means “when pigs fly”. The names of award winners are announced usually on 1st April. The awardees win a trophy that consists of a stainless-steel spoon bent in a pleasing curve and supported by a plastic base. As always, the awards were announced via telepathy, winners were allowed to predict their victories, and the Flying Pig trophies were sent via psychokinesis.
Recent Pigasus Award Winners in Some Categories
In the science category UK biologist Rupert Sheldrake won this award, for his "telephone telepathy" claims related to “morphic resonance.”
In funding, an award was earned by the Templeton Foundation, who spent $2.4 million and ten years on a ridiculous study.
In media, an award was earned by U.S. TV host Montel Williams, for his persistence promoting “psychic” Sylvia Browne, in spite of knowing exactly what she's doing.
4. Foot in Mouth Award
The Foot in Mouth Award is awarded each year by the British Plain English Campaign for a baffling comment by a public figure. This award was created in 1993. In 1995 and 1996 no body won this award. Here's a statement given at a press conference by United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who won this award in 2003.
“Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know”.
Recent Foot in Mouth Award Winner:
Steve McClaren, for his statement “He is inexperienced, but he's experienced in terms of what he's been through” when assessing Wayne Rooney's abilities.
5. World Stupidity Award
World Stupidity Awards have been given since 2003. This award is founded by Albert Nerenberg for those who have shown their achievement in ignorance and stupidity.
Recent World Stupidity Awarders Are:
Dumbest Moment of the Year: Donny Bonaduce drops reality on TV star Johnny Fairplay on his face knocking out his teeth during the Reality TV Awards
Stupidest Statement of The Year: The statement of Miss South Carolina “I personally believe that U.S. Americans do so because, um, some people out there in our nation do we have some intelligence, uh…”
Stupidity Award For Making a Stupid Situation Stupider: Britney Spears at the MTV Music Awards
Stupidity Award for Reckless Endangerment of the Planet: The White House
Dumbest Trend of the Year: Anna Nicole Smith Media Death Orgy
Lifetime Achievement Award For Stupidity: The Television Industry
6. Big Brother Award
Big Brother Awards are given to those who have excelled in the violation of the privacy of the public, whether they are government agencies, private companies and individuals since 1998. These awards are given every year by Privacy International and human rights groups. The juries consist of journalists, lawyers, academics, consultants, civil right activists, etc., from all over the world.
Some of the first Big Brother Award Winners:
Most Invasive Company: Choice Point, for their vast databases of personal data, sold to nearly anyone who wishes to pay
Worst Public Official: Stewart Baker, former general counsel for the National Security Agency and now undersecretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security, behind and at the forefront of most disastrous U.S. surveillance policies, most recently the EU-U.S. agreement on Passenger Name Records transfers.
Lifetime Menace Award: Communitarianism and the proponents of the "Common Good", because every bad policy around the world is justified based on the philosophy that for good is for society and the individual must sacrifice his or her selfish rights in favor of the needs of the many.
How do you feel after reading this? These awards show the second side of the coin and reveal the stupid nature of the people. Wonder who tries to win them?
