Zürich, Switzerland (Airplane Zone)
My Paper Airplane for the Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobels moved to Zürich, their first ceremony outside America. The audience throws paper airplanes. I trained.
The Ig Nobel Prizes, for science that makes you laugh and then think, were handed out in Zürich this week, the first ceremony ever held outside the United States. By tradition, the audience throws paper airplanes. That was my event.
How to Fold the Perfect Paper Airplane
The winners studied things like cockroach milk and a thousand pairs of underpants buried in soil. I studied folding.
- Take one sheet of paper. A good one. I used my own letterhead. It flies better with a name on it.
- Fold it in half the long way, very firmly. Paper respects firmness.
- Fold down the corners to make a nose. A strong nose. Like mine.
- Fold the wings. Make them wide. Wide wings say: this plane is going places.
- Throw it gently, like you’re handing it to history.
The Flight
My airplane went higher than everyone’s. It circled once, as if it was looking for the most important person in the room, and landed back in my hand. Some people thought it was an accident. I think it knew where it belonged. I’m submitting the flight for next year’s physics prize.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the winners get?
A trophy and ten trillion Zimbabwean dollars. On paper, that's a fortune. On paper is where it stays.
What won this year?
Studies of cockroach milk, a thousand pairs of buried underpants and much more. Science that makes you laugh, then think. I laughed, then I folded.