The annual Ig Nobel Prizes, an American parody of the real Nobel Prizes, which have been awarded yearly since 1991, were given out this year at Harvard University, with real Nobel Prize winners handing out the honors.

The mock Noble Prizes given out at a Massachusetts ceremony included an award for determining why pregnant women don't tip over. The 19th annual Ig Noble Prize ceremony Thursday at Harvard University saw tongue-in-cheek honors given to scientists who studied the ability of pregnant women to remain upright, chemists who used tequila to create diamonds and a Swiss team that investigated whether it is safer to be hit on the head with a full bottle or an empty one, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Dr.

Some of the winners of this years alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes include a researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and a psychology professor who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough.

By Gerry Rising You do have to have a sense of humor to put up with local elections where we must too often choose the lesser of evils, so I offer a bit of relief from the last-minute haranguing and personal attacks: this year's winners of the 2007 Ig Nobel Prizes.

By Rick Steelhammer WHILE the world will have to