McManus had noted a key fact missed by generations of medical experts: that Greek statues' left testicles are always larger than right ones. On real males, the right bollock is always the mightier.
'The right testicle is also higher, and Greeks assumed this meant it had to be lighter and smaller,' the University College London psychologist told The Observer . 'Unfortunately, they were wrong.'
The end result of this observation, backed by hours of squinting at statues of naked men, was a paper published in Nature which led to McManus's IgNobel prize, one of 10 annual awards given for research 'that cannot, or should not, be repeated.'
The prizes, presented in the same week as real Nobels and handed out by actual laureates, are intended to prove there is no limit to the depths of human ingenuity, particularly if there is a chance of a research grant at the end of it.
Other 2002 recipients were Charles Paxton of St Andrews University for showing that sexual arousal in ostriches is enhanced by the presence of humans and Theo Gray of Wolfram Research for creating a three-dimensional table of elements which can also serve as a coffee table.
The real surprise was the presence of Professor David King, the Government's chief scientific adviser. The UK science establishment has scorned the IgNobels. King's predecessor, Lord May, demanded UK scientists be dropped from consideration because success might harm their careers. He had become incensed by East Anglia University scientists who won an award for explaining why breakfast cereal becomes soggy.
'I don't want to be critical of Bob [May], but I think this is all good fun,' said King.
In fact, many scientists believe the IgNobel is better at enhancing the reputation of science than its straight-laced counterpart.
'It shows that researchers have senses of humour and that science is fun,' says McManus. 'Indeed, it is the essence of good research to follow up a daft idea with crazy measurements. Sometimes you make a radical discovery, such as continental drift. Other times you merely make a bizarre observation. It is still interesting, however.'
This last point was illustrated by this year's IgNobel physics prize, which went to Arnd Leike of Munich, who proved that small bubbles in beer froth disappear more quickly than large ones. In fact, Leike carried out the research to illustrate the principles of exponential decay. Beer was the one thing his student could relate to.
'People get scared off from science by teachers who are scared of the field themselves,' said Mark Abrahams, the IgNobel awards organiser. 'We're showing there is nothing to be afraid of. It really is fun.'
It is a claim borne out by previous winners, which include Chicken Plucking As A Measure Of Tornado Wind Speed; Farting As A Defence Against Unspeakable Dread; and the discovery that a human face could be seen on Mars. As Abrahams says: 'Anyone who comes up with ideas like that is definitely worth working with.'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/oct/13/science.highereducation1