Roller coaster kidney stone removal study wins prize
BOSTON - Judges have awarded this years Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine to researchers who investigated whether roller coasters can help remove kidney stones.
The spoof awards honor scientific achievements that make people laugh then think.
The two professors Dr. Marc Mitchell and Dr. David Wartinger got the idea after a patient came back from spring break saying their kidney stone dislodged after going on a roller coaster.
So the two men took a model of the human renal system filled with urine and kidney stones on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World
Turns out, the ride did help ease the passage of the stones.
Dr. Wartinger accepted the prize happily, showing off a Disney hat and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad shirt he got on the trip.