Research into why scientists like to lick rocks wins joint Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Geology.

This year’s Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Geology goes to Jan Zalasiewicz for his explanation of why many scientists like to lick rocks. Geologists regularly do this during fieldwork because something that is unclear under a magnifying glass suddenly becomes much clearer on a wet surface,’ he explained in his acceptance speech. 200 years ago they did it to find out what kind of rock it was. His explanation came, of course, with a live demonstration.