搞笑诺贝尔奖

　　Albert Einstein gets all the attention，but the great mind that would-be inventors ultimately compare themselves to is Otto Rohwedder-at least if they think they＇ve invented the greatest thing since sliced bread.

　　After 13 years of tinkering， the inventor from Iowa introduced a 10-foot-long contraption that sliced and stuffed loaves of bread into wax paper wrapping. The world changed.

　　I'm reminded of Rohwedder as Harvard University prepares to announce the 2004 Ig Nobel Award winners - handed out since 1991 for research that ″cannot or should not be reproduced.″

　　Last year's winners included the scientists who performed ″An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces″ and the authors of the report ″Politicians＇ Uniquely Simple Personalities.″

　　The ceremony, which will be held this Thursday, has become an Ivy League tradition， with Nobel Prize winners on hand to salute the winners. And even though the Ig Nobel is not exactly a prestigious award， winners travel from all over the world to collect their trophies.

　　″We're not insulted，″said Jonathan Wyatt，a Scottish researcher at the University of Glasgow who was honored with two other colleagues a few years ago for a report titled ″The Collapse of Toilets in Glasgow.″

　　″Between us， we've published more than 70 research papers，″ he said. ″This is the only one that＇s given us any publicity at all.″ If nothing else， the Ig Nobels demonstrates a form of courage， and you need courage if you intend to be an innovator. (Agencies)