The 2026 Ig-Nobel awards, a humorous counterpart to the prestigious Nobel Prizes, were held in Zurich, marking the first time the event took place outside the United States. Organizers cited the current political climate as a reason for the move, stating they could not "in good conscience" bring scientists to the United States. The ceremony, hosted by the Annals of Improbable Research, opened with a shower of paper airplanes, and researchers attended dressed in various costumes, including one researcher dressed as a giant cockroach. The awards were presented by real Nobel laureates, including Esther Duflo, who recently joined the University of Zurich after leaving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among the 10 award winners, the Ig-Nobel in biology was awarded to João Miguel Alves-Nunes for his research on venomous snakes. Alves-Nunes conducted 40,000 tests on 116 snakes to determine when they decide to bite. During one experiment, a rattlesnake bit him through his protective boots, but he remains undeterred and plans to expand his research to other countries. The Ig-Nobel in physics was awarded to four university professors from China, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Canada for their work on optimizing urinals. They designed a urinating machine with an "anatomically exact urethral nozzle" to reduce splashes. Kaveeshan Thurairajah, a doctoral student at the University of Waterloo in Canada, explained that the project aims to reduce the spread of urine, which results in significant cleaning costs and bacterial contamination risks. He noted that about a million liters of urine spread on the ground every day in the United States alone. The Ig-Nobel in soil sciences was awarded to a team from the University of Zurich. To test soil quality, they sent 2,000 men's underpants by post to volunteers, asking them to bury them in their gardens and return them two months later for analysis. The team explained that the idea was to make soil science more visible. The Ig-Nobel in economics was awarded to a team represented by Paul Piff, associate professor of psychology at the University of California, for his experiments showing that people from privileged backgrounds are more likely to take from candy bowls intended for children. The award was presented by Esther Duflo, a real Nobel Prize winner in economics in 2019.