Two E&HB Papers claim 2026 Ig® Nobel Prizes!

IG NOBEL BIOMECHANICS PRIZE 2026 [UK, USA]
Matilda Brindle, Catherine Talbot, and Stuart West for devising a more precise definition of kissing — “non-agonistic interactions involving directed, intraspecific, oral-oral contact with some movement of the lips/mouthparts and no food transfer” — in ants, birds, polar bears, and humans.

Matilda Brindle, Catherine F. Talbot, and Stuart West. A Comparative Approach to Kissing. Evolution and Human Behavior 47.6 (2026): 106788.

 

IG NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 2026 [USA, ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA]
Jaimie Arona Krems, Rebecka Hahnel-Peeters, Laureon Merrie, Keelah Williams, and Daniel Sznycer, for documenting that we value friends who are vicious to people we dislike.

Jaimie Arona Krems, Rebecka K. Hahnel-Peeters, Laureon A. Merrie, Keelah E.G. Williams, and Daniel Sznycer. Sometimes We Want Vicious Friends: People Have Nuanced Preferences for How They Want Their Friends to Behave Toward Them Versus Others. Evolution and Human Behavior 44.2 (2023): 88–98.