Top 6 Weirdest Awards You Didn’t Know About

An award is something every person craves for. There are numerous awards given in almost all fields out there, from literature to architecture. And there are some awards, absolutely bizarre in their aspects. They recognises some hilarious and rare achievements. Over the years, they have grabbed the world’s attention and even inspired competition among people to win them or to avoid them. Here is a list of 6 of the weirdest awards around the world.

Darwin Awards

The Darwin Awards, named after famous naturalist Charles Darwin is given posthumously to those who make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the gene pool, via death or sterilization. In simple words, it is given to a person who dies in the most idiotic way. It was the brainchild of a group of people in the later 1980s and was officially started in 1993, under the leadership of researcher and writer Wendy Northcutt. The concept even became a subject for a film, titled The Darwin Awards, directed by Finn Taylor in 2006.

Ernie Awards

Given in Australia, the Ernie Awards were begun in 1993, and is named after Ernie Ecob, former secretary of Australian Workers’ Union who was infamous for his misogynist remarks. Once he even said that the women come to the shearing sheds for sex. The first award ceremony was in celebration of his resignation from Labor Council of New South Wales. Since then it has been presented annually to people who make misogynist comments. The award has been given across various categories. Famous people including former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Tony Abbott have won the undesirable awards multiple times.

Big Brother Awards – Weirdest Awards

Named after the George Orwell character Big Brother from the famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Big Brother awards are given to individuals, authorities or organisations who commit activities that imperil the privacy of people. Various countries, including US, UK, Japan, France, Spain and Germany, have their own versions of the awards, which are presented by different human rights groups. The awards are organised to invite attention to the increasing privacy violations by the authorities.

Ig Nobel Prize

Founded by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research in 1991, the Ig Nobel Prize is given to seemingly bizarre inventions that make us laugh and think. The awards are given in 10 categories and presented at Sanders Theater at Harvard University. Sir Andre Geim is so far the only person to have received both a Nobel Prize and an Ig Nobel prize. He won the Ig Nobel in 2000 and the Nobel Prize in 2010, both in Physics.

Golden Collar Awards

The Golden Collar Awards are like the Academy Awards, only they are presented to dogs. It was created in 2012 by the website Dog News Daily to recognise the best canine actors. The awards are given in five categories each year. The winner receives a trophy designed by Simon Tavassoli, depicting an Italian Leather Collar embedded with Swarovski crystals. The award ceremony is also modeled after the Oscars.

Pigasus Award

The Pigasus Award was founded in 1982 and is given by popular American skeptic James Randi. It is presented to the individuals who make absurd claims of paranormal and psychic activities. The awards are usually announced on the April Fools day. It was earlier known as Uri Trophy, and was named Pigasus award in 1997. The fictious trophy consists of a paranormally bent steel spoon attached to a transparent base of plastic.