The 2022 Pineapple Science Award is unveiled in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Nov 12. [Photo/66wz.com]
The Pineapple Science Award, dubbed the most interesting of its kind in the science circle for its focus on curiosity and imagination, was unveiled on the sidelines of the 2022 World Young Scientist Summit in Wenzhou on Nov 12.
The award spotlighted 10 seemingly trivial findings or inventions related to serious scientific subjects of the times, such as the discovery that popping a champagne cork can fire gas at supersonic speeds, fathers can recognize their babies' cries just as well as mothers, roasting peanuts in their shells is more aromatic, and a dog wagging its tail when happy is right-handed.
The honors covered serious topics such as medicine, psychology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, ecology, scientific art, and biology.
This year's trophy, in typical "quirky" fashion, was a crystal cube shaped like a pineapple, representing the ever-changing nature of science.
Andrew Gallup from the Polytechnic Institute of the State University of New York won the Pineapple Science Award in medicine. His team found that yawning serves as a cue that can enhance the individual vigilance of observers in social settings.
"I hope this research can spur further curiosity in the behaviors we exhibit each and every day," Gallup said.
First held in 2012 to honor imaginative research, the Pineapple Science Award aims to arouse enthusiasm for science among China's younger generations.
