TECH NEWS

Cockroach Milk, How to Blow Your Nose, and Mosquito Printers: The Ig Nobels of 2026

Achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think. That’s the motto of the Ig Nobel Prizes, an annual competition that—parodying the Nobel Prizes—recognizes some of the world’s most unusual scientific studies. The organization Improbable Research has been hosting the event since 1991 with the aim of showing that science also has a humorous side in its quest to meaningfully answer questions about the world.

This year the ceremony was held in Zurich, Switzerland, and recognized 10 research projects ranging from an attempt to scientifically define what a kiss is to an experiment that used buried underwear to assess soil health.

Prize in Biomechanics: A Scientific Definition For Kissing

What exactly is a kiss? A group of researchers decided to establish a scientific definition that would apply to all animals, not just humans. They came up with the categorization that a kiss is “a non-agonistic interaction involving...

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Q&A with Mark Zuckerberg on Muse, the data center backlash, Meta's recent youth-safety settlement, privacy concerns about Meta's smart glasses, and more

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SpaceX's Recovered Starship 40 Will Take Months To Get Back To Texas

The rocket spent 24 days at sea before recovery efforts began. SpaceX's Starship 40 is one fast rocket, having traveled thousands of miles from Texas to the Indian Ocean in around 65 minutes. Its journey home is, well, slightly slower: The company says it will take several months.

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From Wearables to Robots to Tabletop Trinkets, the AI Hardware Scene Is Booming

Standalone AI devices didn’t get off to the best of starts. Just to recap, I’m referring to the Humane AI Pin, which crashed and burned before it ever really took off, and the Rabbit R1 mini computer, which arrived a little underbaked. Both devices were products of 2024,

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After Testing 19 Portable Power Stations, These 4 Will Keep Your Fridge Running the Longest

Portable power stations are lifesavers during a blackout, easily keeping your phones, laptops and routers fully charged. But what happens when you need to power something much larger, such as your fridge or washing machine? Many people assume they need to drop thousands of dollars on a whole-home battery system

Prize in Biomechanics: A Scientific Definition For Kissing

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Q&A with Mark Zuckerberg on Muse, the data center backlash, Meta's recent youth-safety settlement, privacy concerns about Meta's smart glasses, and more

SpaceX's Recovered Starship 40 Will Take Months To Get Back To Texas

From Wearables to Robots to Tabletop Trinkets, the AI Hardware Scene Is Booming

After Testing 19 Portable Power Stations, These 4 Will Keep Your Fridge Running the Longest