Canadian researchers were hanging their heads in collective shame in October after Canada was shut out during the 2003 Ig Nobel Awards at Harvard University. The exclusion was particularly galling because the Biology Prize went to Dutch researchers who recorded “the first scientifically recorded case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck,” even though Canada is home to millions of mallards. “It is surprising that there is no Canadian literature on that,” agreed Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research (www.improbable.com), which presents the awards. “Maybe it's more fashionable in Europe?” The Peace Prize went to Lal Bihari of India for “leading an active life even though he has been declared legally dead.” The Ig Nobels are presented by genuine Nobel laureates. Nine of this year's 10 winners attended the ceremony, which attracted 1200 people, at their own expense, but Bihari was unable to go because of visa difficulties. The Medicine Prize went to researchers who proved that the brains of London taxi drivers are more highly developed than those of their fellow citizens. — Patrick Sullivan, CMAJ