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A team of researchers from Japan wondered if painting cows with zebralike stripes would prevent flies from biting them. Another group from Africa and Europe pondered the types of pizza lizards preferred to eat. Those researchers were honored Thursday in Boston with an Ig Nobel, the prize a handmade model of a human stomach for comical scientific achievement. In lieu of a big paycheck, each winner was also given a single hand wipe. When I did this experiment, I hoped that I would win the Ig Nobel. It’s my dream. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable, said Tomoki Kojima, whose team put tape on Japanese beef cows and then spray-painted them with white stripes. Kojima appeared on stage in stripes and was surrounded by his fellow researchers who harassed him with cardboard flies. As a result of the paint job, fewer flies were attracted to the cows and they seemed less bothered by the flies. Despite the findings, Kojima admitted it might be a challenge to apply this approach on a large-scale. The years winners, honored in 10 categories, also include a group from Europe that found drinking alcohol sometimes improves a persons ability to speak a foreign language and a researcher who studied fingernail growth for decades. Every great discovery ever, at first glance seemed screwy and laughable, Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of the magazine, said in an email interview ahead of the awards ceremony. The same is true of every worthless discovery. The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate ALL these discoveries, because at the very first glance, who really knows? The 35th annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony is organized by the Annals of Improbable Research, a digital magazine that highlights research that makes people laugh and then think. Its usually held weeks before the actual Nobel Prizes are announced. The ceremony to celebrate winners Thursday night at Boston University began with a longtime tradition: the audience pelting the stage with paper airplanes. Several of those who couldn’t attend had their speeches read by actual Nobel laureates including Esther Duflo, who won the Nobel Prize for her experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. There was also a mini-opera about gastroenterologists and their patients, inspired by this years theme which is digestion. Several people sang about all the challenges of treating stomach bugs and being feted by patients who bring them pizza and chili dogs. There was also a section called the 24-second lecture where top researchers explain their work in 24 seconds. Among them was Gus Rancatore, who spent most of his time licking an ice cream cone and repeatedly saying yum and Trisha Pasricha, who explained her work studying smartphone use on the toilet and the potential risk for hemorrhoids. When any winner appeared to be rambling on too long, a man wearing a dress over his suit would appear at their side and repeatedly yell, Please stop. I’m bored. Other winners this year included a group from India that studied whether foul-smelling shoes influenced someones experience using a shoe rack, and researchers from the United States and Israel who explored whether eating Teflon is a good way to increase food volume. There was also a team of international scientists that looked at whether giving alcohol to bats impaired their ability to fly. Its a great honor for us, said Francisco Sanchez, one of the researchers from Colombia who studied the drunken bats. It’s really good. You can see that scientists are not really square and super serious and can have some fun while showing interesting science. Sanchez said their research found that the bats weren’t fans of rotten fruit, which often has higher concentrations of alcohol. Maybe for good reason. When they were forced to eat it, their flying and echolocation suffered, he said. They actually got drunk similar to what happens to us, Sanchez said. When you take some ethanol, you move slower and your speech is impaired. Among the most animated of the winners was a team of researchers from several European countries who studied the physics of pasta sauce. One of the researchers wore a cooks outfit with a fake mustache to accept the award while another dressed as a big ball of mozzarella cheese got pummeled by several people holding wooden cookware. They ended by handing out bowls of pasta to the Nobel laureates. Michael Casey, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
After Jimmy Kimmel made comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC suspended the long-running program. The move came in the wake of criticism from Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who was appointed to the agency by President Trump in November. However, the choice to suspend Kimmel has also prompted swelling backlash from the other side, with people on social media threatening to boycott the Walt Disney Company, which owns not only ABC but a sprawling empire of media and entertainment properties. Many online are vowing to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions as well as other Disney-owned platforms like ESPN and Hulu. The backlash is also spilling into the real world, with hundreds of protestersincluding writers and actorsshowing up outside Disney headquarters in Los Angeles to protest the suspension of Kimmels show and voice their support for free speech. Celebrities including Pedro Pascal, Adam Scott, and Wanda Sykes also shared their support online for Kimmel. Screenwriter and producer Damon Lindelof, who is also the cocreator of ABCs Lost, shared on Instagram that he would not work with Disney on future projects if the decision is not reversed. Marvel star Tatiana Maslany, who portrays She-Hulk in the Disney+ series, encouraged the actions of fans to cancel their Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu subscriptions following the news. ABC, which has aired Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fast Company also reached out to Hulu, ESPN, and the Walt Disney Company. Will a boycott actually work? Some analysts believe that the actual backlash against Disney might be short-lived and wont result in sustained harm to the entertainment giant, which generated $91.4 billion last year. Mike Proulx, vice president and research director for Forrester, previously published research in 2022 about cancel culture, which he still believes is relevant and rings true in this case. Whats changed since this research is that weve now seen instancesBud Light, Targetwhere concentrated consumer-organized campaigns to cancel a business can, indeed, materially affect a companys top line, but theyre still the exception, Proulx told Fast Company. Proulx said when it comes to the current calls to cancel subscriptions to Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu, hes watching to see if this will have any effect on Disneys direct-to-consumer revenue when the company reports its quarterly earnings. Whether it has a wide sweeping and lasting effect or not depends, first, on what the resolution to the Kimmel issue looks like, Proulx said. But it further depends on the willpower of those whove cancelled their subscriptions to not resubscribe.” He adds, “Chances are, when that must see movie or series that everyone is talking about hit Disney+, FOMO will win out.” Forrester’s previous research has found that threats to cancel tend to outpace actual followthrough, Proulx said. Elizabeth Parks, president and chief marketing officer of Park Associates, said Disneys biggest risk in the short-term is potentially losing advertisers, but large-scale subscriber losses for Disney+ or Hulu are unlikelyalthough it’s certainly still possible. According to research from Parks Associates, annualized churn rates for vMVPD and streaming services on average are 30% and higher, but churn rates for Disney, Hulu, and ESPN+ are relatively low at 17%, 16%, and 9%, respectively. All politics is local Parks added that if anything, the public backlash could at least impact local programming. Nexstar Communications Group, which operates 23 ABC affiliate networks, also said it would remove Jimmy Kimmel Live! starting Wednesday, with Andrew Alford, president of Nexstars broadcasting division, saying in a statement that Kimmels comments about Kirks death are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse. If theres public backlash against ABC and Disney due to show suspension, it could affect viewership of ABC network programming locally, Parks said. This could then affect ad rates or demand for slots on local ABC stations, especially in markets where ABC-affiliated stations are strong or high-rated. Meanwhile, Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at Greenlight Analytics, shared a similar sentiment, saying that while the future is uncertain, backlash against major media companies tends to be temporary. While no one has a crystal ball, my gut reaction is that, much like company controversies in the past across the media landscape, including Netflix, this will lead to temporary small-scale churn amid public backlash before returning to normalcy, Katz said. The truth of the matter is thatright or wronggeneral consumers just aren’t as phased by these periodic issues that crop up. Disney also owns Pixar, which is home to many family-friendly animated films, and Katz said that with many families looking for programming to entertain their kids, a cancellation might be a difficult decision for parents to make. Can parents reasonably explain the cancellation of Disney+ to their young kids?, Katz said. The business reality may simply outweigh the sociopolitical considerations involved. Shares of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) were down slightly on Friday, trading 1.2% lower as of late morning. Late doomers During his monologue on Mondays episode, Kimmel joked that many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk. Following the episode, Carr said that Kimmels remarks were truly sick and suggested that the FCC had a strong case against Kimmel, ABC, and the Walt Disney Company for spreading misinformation. Kimmel’s removal is another blow to late-night television following CBSs cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which came two weeks after the network settled a defamation lawsuit with President Trump. I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, Trump wrote on Truth Social following the cancellation of Colberts show. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.” But Kimmels suspension also marks a turning point in broadcast TV when it comes to free speech and censorship in entertainment. Joe Berkowitz wrote for Fast Company earlier this week that what happened to Kimmel could be seen as a warning to other TV commentators to watch what they say. On Thursday Carr appeared on CNBC saying that the FCC was not done yet with the changes in the media ecosystem.
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E-Commerce
Businesses are feeling a lot of pressure from uncertainty these days. Slipping profits, tight budgets, AI and automation, and employees worrying about layoffs. In these moments of uncertainty, your team needs a few things that they don’t teach you in business school: clarity, care, and trust. This trifecta all starts with how effective leaders communicate, especially when the chips are down. In my experience coaching global leaders, plus some lessons I’ve gathered from the evidence, heres how to do it right. 1. Acknowledge whats working without minimizing the reality Start with a yes, and mindset. Acknowledge the bad first: Yes, the business is struggling. Then follow it up with the good: And yes, were making progress where we can. This approach both respects their struggle and reinforces their impact. It’s being able to balance gloom with good: You must highlight whats working without creating a false sense of security with clichés like “Weve got this.” 2. Invite real questions and listen carefully Uncertainty breeds anxiety, and your team will often imagine the worst unless you create space for honest dialogue. Simply asking, Any questions? wont cut it; it usually produces silence because people fear judgment or repercussions. On top of that, your people are smart and can probably guess the truth before its told in a scripted all-hands meeting. So, lean into your team’s curiosity to ease their discomfort about things like layoffs and how bad things really are. Here’s what to do: Use open-ended, empathetic prompts that normalize concern, like: Whats on your mind about these changes? How is this uncertainty affecting your priorities or workload? If you were in my shoes, what would you want clarity on? If the room is quiet, dont assume people are fine. Silence often signals fear, not comfort. Follow up privately with trusted team members or lower-ranked team leads closer to the ground. 3. Respond with care even when you dont have answers Give your people clarity around what you know, what you dont, and what might change. In other words, when you communicate as a leader, focus on what the facts are, use vulnerability to share what you dont know, and give people relevant data about what could influence the outcome. The point is to ground your updates in data and visible progressnot speculation or guesswork. That’s the guidance people need to eliminate confusion and panic in rough times. 4. Model steady presence Modeling steady presence means being the emotional anchor your team needs during uncertain times. Start by being your predictable self: Dont cancel regular check-ins just because the news is tough. Watch how you speak: Keep your tone calm and body language composed (your natural tendencies when leading in calmer waters, I would hope), as people will read more into how you carry yourself than what you say. You can share the truth and acknowledge challenges honestly, but avoid dramatic language that will freak others out. You want to reinforce confidence in your team members by expressing belief in their ability to handle whats ahead. And dont neglect your own well-being. Leaders cant project steadiness if theyre running on empty. Your team will mirror your behavior. if youre calm and steady in the face of uncertainty, theyll stay calmer. When the business pivots and things aren’t looking up, your team doesnt need platitudes. They need the unfiltered truth grounded in optimism that honors their concerns. This is about trust that lasts. By Marcel Schwantes This article originally appeared on Fast Company‘s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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