The bra that could save your life and other fantastically weird Ig Nobel inventions

(Improbable Research)

In 2009 Dr. Elena Bodnar won the Ig Nobel Public Health Prize for her then-prototype invention, the "Emergency Bra."

The Emergency Bra is a style-conscious undergarment that "can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander" in the event of an emergency.

After one year of "safety engineering, economical design, and aesthetics," the bra is finally ready to enhance cleavage and to save lives around the globe.  

While seemingly quirky, the Emergency Bra was born out of real-world need. As a young doctor, Bodnar discovered while treating patients affected by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident that particle inhalation was as detrimental to the human body as radiation exposure.

Dr. Bodnar will be back at the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony in 2010 to help honor this year's 10 new Ig Nobel Prize Winners alongside returning Ig Nobel Prize winners Toshiyuki Nakagaki and Atsushi Tero (slime mold can solve puzzles), Dan Ariely (high-priced fake medicine is more effective than low-priced fake medicine), Dr. Nakamats (who has been photographing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years) and Christopher Chabris (people can overlook anything - even a woman in a gorilla suit).

Ig Nobel Prizes is an events ceremony that pokes fun at the Nobel Prizes and awards inventors and scientists who work on projects that fall a little outside of the mainstream.

The Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded to comical yet innovative inventions that make people laugh and think.

The event is organized by the bi-monthly scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research and is co-sponsored by the Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students, the Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association, and the Harvard Computer Society.

Dr. Elena Bodnar's Emergency Bra will go on show at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, MA, USA on September 28.
 
Ig Nobel Prizes takes place on September 30 at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

The event will also be available as a live webcast via Improbable Research's YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/improbableresearch. The webcast will start at 7:15 PM Boston time (EDT).

http://improbable.com/ig
http://www.ebbra.com