Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 5

Ig Nobel Prizes Honor 10 Unusual Studies in Zurich as Visa Concerns Move Ceremony Outside U.S.

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 5

Ig Nobel Prizes Honor 10 Unusual Studies in Zurich as Visa Concerns Move Ceremony Outside U.S.

Q: How did a deadly cottonmouth survive a rigorous football practice inside a player's helmet without striking?

The most likely explanation is that the cottonmouth was sheltering rather than hunting or defending itself. Animal services officials said the roughly 2-foot snake was wedged deep behind the helmet padding, and one officer believed it had probably eaten recently and was looking for a dark, enclosed place to digest. That would make the helmet an attractive hiding spot and reduce the likelihood of active movement or striking. Cottonmouths are venomous pit vipers, but experts in this case said they are not typically aggressive unless they feel directly threatened or are handled. Inside the helmet, the snake may have stayed compressed and immobile, reacting defensively only when disturbed enough to be noticed. The fact that officers had to flood the helmet with water to force it out suggests it was reluctant to leave its hiding place. The player was also fortunate that the snake appears to have remained lodged in the padding rather than exposed against his head or face. Even during a rigorous practice, the helmet’s structure may have limited direct contact and prevented the kind of pressure or sudden confrontation that commonly triggers a bite. So the snake likely survived and did not strike because it was hidden, recently fed, focused on shelter, and not provoked into a full defensive response until after practice. Officials stressed that the outcome was unusual and dangerous, and urged athletes to inspect helmets, shoes, gloves, and other gear left outdoors before using them.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 5

Zurich hosted the 2026 Ig Nobel ceremony on Thursday, honoring scientists behind unusual but real research ranging from cockroach milk and kissing history to testing soil health with buried underwear.
The 35-year-old awards were held outside the United States for the first time since their 1991 founding because organizers feared some honorees might not be able to obtain visas.
Among the cited studies were work on splash-free urinals, dead mosquitoes for 3D printing, proper nose blowing and what makes snakes bite people—alongside an Arkansas case in which a football player found a 2-foot cottonmouth in his helmet after practice.
Other winners examined whether wealth correlates with unethical behavior and why parents like the smell of newborns but not teenagers, underscoring the prizes' mix of humor and legitimate scientific inquiry.
The satirical event, presented by Annals of Improbable Research, remains separate from the Nobel Prizes, whose 2026 winners will be announced in October.