The 2026 Ig Nobel Award Tour show at EPFL — a great evening

This was published on May 7, 2026

With the support of the NCCR MARVEL, on 23 April 2026, the Ig Nobel Award Tour show was once more at EPFL. For the seventh time, the audience could have a good time of science and laughs, with Marc Abrahams and the Ig Nobel Prize winners Mariska Kret, Marcin Zajenkowski, and Chris McManus. It was about synchronization of hearts of new romantic partners, of narcissists being told they are intelligent, or of scrotal asymmetry in man and ancient sculpture. If you missed it or if you would like to relive its best moments, the video is available. Discover too a portrait of Marc Abrahams in Le Temps.

During the evening, Marc Abrahams, father of the annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and editor of Annals of Improbable Research, presented the prize, the yearly ceremony, and the 2025 winners. Then we could hear Mariska Kret (Leiden University, NL), 2022 Applied Cardiology Prize winner, about seeking and finding evidence that when new romantic partners meet for the first time, and feel attracted to each other, their heart rates synchronize, Marcin Zajenkowski (University of Warsaw, PL), 2025 Psychology Prize winner, about investigating what happens when you tell narcissists — or anyone else — that they are intelligent, and Chris McManus (University College London, UK), 2002 Medicine Prize winner, about his excruciatingly balanced report, "Scrotal asymmetry in man and in ancient sculpture".

On 30 April, Le Temps published a nice portrait of Marc Abrahams, "a venerable storyteller who has retained his childlike spirit" (in French, for subscribers only).

After 35 years in the USA, the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony is moving to Europe. This coming September 3, the 36th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will take place in Zurich. TICKETS will go on sale Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 10 am (CET).

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