At the 21st Ig Nobel prizes ceremony in Boston on Thursday, ten areas of research were celebrated, and achievements which "first make people laugh, and then make them think" were awarded.

Since the Ig Nobel awards are essentially a take-off on the prestigious Nobel prizes, horseradish-based wasabi alarm system for the deaf made it to the historical records after being awarded the Ig Nobel prize for chemistry.

The 50,000-yen (£400) wasabi alarm is the brainchild of scientists and engineers from Japan, who apparently tried several odours - including rotten eggs - before they finally decided on the Japanese condiment, which sushi lovers are extremely fond of. The active ‘ingredient’ in the alarm is allyl isothiocyanate, which can cause irritation in the nose and is effective even when someone is sleeping.

The winners in the other categories included researchers who analysed whether decision-making capabilities are heightened in people when they have a strong urge to urinate; and whether yawning is contagious in tortoises; and also a study examining the reasons for sighing.

The awards were handed out to the winners – who were supposed to make 1-minute speeches - by real-life Nobel laureates like Prof Roy Glauber, Prof Louis Ignarro, and Prof Dudley Herschbach.

To end the ceremony, Marc Abrahams – the founder of Ig Nobel prizes and editor of the Annals of Improbable Research – congratulated the winners and said: “If you didn't win an Ig Nobel prize tonight – and especially if you did – better luck next year”!