'Don't blow both nostrils at once': 49-year-old nose-blowing study wins Ig Nobel Prize

A Japanese medical researcher's 49-year-old study on the proper way to blow one's nose has won this year's Ig Nobel Prize in medicine.

According to Japan's NHK and the Tokyo Shimbun, the medicine prize at this year's Ig Nobel ceremony, held Thursday (local time) in Zurich, Switzerland, went to a study on nose-blowing techniques by Tokuji Unno, a former honorary professor at Asahikawa Medical University.

The Ig Nobel Prize is awarded annually by the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), a science humor magazine published by Harvard University, to scientists whose work "makes people laugh, then think." The prizes are handed out each year ahead of the Nobel Prize announcements. Japan has now produced at least one winner for 20 consecutive years.

The winning study was published in 1977. Unno died four years ago. A representative from Asahikawa Medical University attended Thursday's ceremony on behalf of his family and research team.

Unno conducted his research by measuring the speed of airflow and the pressure exerted on the ears when blowing the nose. His findings concluded that blowing one nostril at a time — alternating slowly between left and right — is more effective at clearing nasal secretions than blowing both nostrils simultaneously.

He also found that while blowing too hard can occasionally cause pressure changes in the ear, the force is generally not enough to cause a middle-ear infection.

The Asahikawa Medical University representative who accepted the award on Unno's behalf described him as "90 percent strict, but 10 percent charming — and I think this research is where that 10 percent really came through." He added: "I think it's wonderful that he took something everyone does — blowing their nose — and examined it academically."

At the ceremony, attendees rose from their seats and blew their noses together when the study was introduced, in an unusual collective performance.

This year's Ig Nobel Prizes recognized 10 studies in total, including research on the conditions under which venomous snakes lunge and bite humans, and an analysis of whether people truly seek out only "kind friends."

This year's ceremony was held in Switzerland rather than the United States, a departure from previous years.

The organizers said they moved the event to Europe citing concerns over US immigration controls. Last year, four recipients did not attend, citing anxiety over the political climate in the United States and restrictions at the border.