{Disarmed} If you are going to fight, having a beard helps: this is one of the scientific studies that one of the Ig Nobel of 2021 has won

Now it turns out that bearded men have the upper hand in fights . This is assured by a scientific study from the University of Utah that has in fact won one of the Ig Nobel prizes, which are awarded (with a certain derision) to rare and even funny scientific discoveries, but totally legitimate.

That study has not been the only one awarded, and in fact there has been an award for a study from the University of Valencia that has shown that the chewing gum that people go out onto the street and then step on is a hotbed of bacteria. And wait, as that one said, there is still more. Much more.

Bearded men, gum and cockroaches in submarines

Leila Satari, Alba Guillén, Àngela Vidal-Verdú and Manuel Porcar are the researchers from the University of Valencia who carried out this study on chewing gum, which was no joke: it was published on Nature.com .

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In that investigation they concluded that the discovery of what happens to the bacteria in these chewing gums " has implications for a wide range of disciplines, including forensic medicine , the control of contagious diseases, or the bioremediation of chewing gum residues."

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This was one of the studies awarded with the Ig Nobel, some surprising awards that were born in 1991 by the hand of the Annals of Improbable Research to celebrate unusual or trivial achievements in the field of scientific research. Its aim is more serious than it might seem, and the slogan of the awards is "to honor achievements that first make people laugh, then make them think ."

In this edition, the study at the University of Valencia has shared an award with several equally surprising investigations. In one of them, researchers from the University of Utah showed that having a beard is a good idea if one is going to get into a fight .

They did not test their theory by gluing cakes, but using an epoxy fiber compound that simulated human bone and artificial skin to which an artificial beard was then attached. By putting weight on that "simulated face" they clearly saw how the samples with a beard absorbed more energy than those without it .

It doesn't stop there: another team of researchers from the United States Navy discovered a cheaper and more effective method to control potential cockroach infestations in submarines . There were already 1971 studies dealing with this issue, but now they have discovered a better method thanks to a pesticide called Dichlorvos.

The list of winners for 2021 is an ode to curious discoveries: in the economics category, for example, the award went to a study that indicated that " the obesity of a country's politicians could be a good indicator of the corruption of That country". The medicine award was awarded to other research that showed that " sexual orgasms can be as effective as decongestant drugs in improving nasal breathing." Marvelous.

Via | APNews

More information | Improbable Research

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The news If you are going to fight, having a beard helps: this is one of the scientific studies that one of the Ig Nobel of 2021 has won was originally published in xiaomist.com by Javier Pastor .