Ig Nobel Soil Science prize winners (From L) Marcel van der Heijden, Franz Bender, Atlant Bieri and Pia Viviani reacts on stage during the award ceremony in Zurich, on September 3, 2026. The team were awarded "for burying 1000 identical pairs of underpants in more than 25 countries, and then digging them up after two months". The Ig Nobel Prize is a parody of the Nobel Prize, which is awarded every autumn to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images)