As Russia and NATO square up to one another over Ukraine, it seems like peace isn’t really the word on everyone’s lips at the moment.
In fact, there seems to be tension all across the globe.
Moreso than usual.
We really are quite a violent bunch, aren’t we?
So, why don’t we take a second to give some coverage to those among us paving the way to peace – dreaming of a better world with just a little less violence.
Because, let’s be honest, a little bit more peace wouldn’t go amiss anywhere in the world…
A Quick Reminder – What are the Ig-Nobel Prizes?
If you have read any of our previous articles on the subject of the Ig-Nobel Prizes – you can skip this section! If, however, you have never heard of this award ceremony then keep reading for a quick introduction.
The Ig Nobel Prizes were set up to honour those people and projects that make people laugh, then think. The prizes are handed out for the weird, the imaginative, the unusual – anything that can spur people’s interest in science, medicine or technology.
Usually, the ceremony is held every September as a gala-type event in Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre. Unfortunately, in a Covid blighted world this was not possible so the entire event was streamed online.
It is possible to watch the full event for free by clicking here. Previous ceremonies have had the prizes presented to recipients by Nobel Laureates in front of the massed 1100 spectators. Thousands more watch along online.
The Peace Prize
The team that won the Peace prize is comprised of Ethan Beseris, Steven Naleway, and David Carrier (all from the United States of America) who seemed genuinely surprised with the award, initially thinking they had won in one of the other categories.
Which makes a little sense given their research tested the hypothesis that humans evolved beards to protect themselves from punches to the face…
The winners were handed their prize by at the time stamp of 44:20 in the online ceremony, which is available to watch for free. What makes this prize-winning research all the more incredible, is that it all came off of the back of an argument about whales…
Unfortunately, you will just have to watch the prize ceremony for any more clarification on that…
The Peace Prize – Background
It is understood from the introduction of the research paper (with references to many other papers) that human males perpetrate the overwhelming majority of violence, with most acts of aggression directed towards other males. This is the case in other species of great apes too.
When humans fight in hand-to-hand combat, more often than not the face or head is the primary target for blows. As a result of this, human males suffer more injuries to the face from interpersonal violence than females do. Published epidemiology studies demonstrate that men suffer between 68-92% more injuries to the face from fights than females.
Sexual dimorphism (systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species) is usually greatest in phenotypes that enhance a male’s capacity to dominate other males, which then makes it no great surprise that the facial bones which suffer the highest rates of fractures are parts of the skull that exhibit the greatest sexual dimorphism in both early hominins and modern humans.
Thus, from a sexual selection perspective, it is logical to suspect that these dimorphic facial features have emerged as a result of male-to-male contest competition and potentially act to protect the face against strikes. Also consistent with this suggestion is the observation that masculine facial structure is correlated with greater upper body strength, aggressive behaviour, social dominance, and reproductive success.
Another such trait that exhibits pronounced sexual dimorphism in humans is facial hair, during puberty human males develop continuously growing hair that covers the front of the upper jaw, anterior neck, and lower jaw. As is the case for masculine skeletal features, men with beards are generally perceived as being more masculine, socially dominant, and behaviourally aggressive to clean-shaven counterparts.
Some have previously suggested that these relationships are due to the enhancement in size and appearance of the sexually dimorphic regions of the face – most notably the mandible and maxilla. Others have suggested that the beard serves to protect the throat and jaw during fighting.
This led the researchers to their hypotheses – that human facial hair provides physical protection from strikes that could cause blunt trauma, and more specifically that thick facial hair reduces the amount of force that underlying tissues experience from a strike due to absorption and dispersal of energy.
A Brief Explanation of the Methodology
For the purpose of this article the methodology of this research paper have been simplified, with parts omitted. If you would like to read the full paper (which we recommend you do), you can find a link here: https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/2/1/obaa005/5799080
Human bone tissue was modelled by a short fibre epoxy composite bone analogue which has very similar material properties to human cortical bone. For obvious practical reasons, it was not feasible to obtain bearded skin samples from human cadavers. Also, loose human hair was judged to not distribute the force of impact from a blow in the same way that natural hair would.
To solve this, skin samples from domestic sheep were obtained from a local slaughterhouse. Although not a perfect solution as hair follicles of sheep are a quarter the diameter of human beard hair and much more densely packed, this was deemed an appropriate substitute.
The bone analogue was then cut into small rectangles and covered by the sheepskin, which were cut to the same dimensions as the fiberglass and soaked in a saline solution for at least an hour prior to testing. The soaking of the sheepskin helped to replicate the same water content as living tissue, as hydration has previously been shown to have a significant effect on the properties of organic matter.
The hair of sheepskin samples was prepared in three separate categories; sheared, plucked, and furred. The three conditions resulted is slightly altered total volumes and masses of hair which were chosen to best represent states of facial hair common in human males – full beard, trimmed beard, and clean shaven).
All data was then obtained by using a drop-weight impact test on a drop weight impact tester – essentially involving dropping a blunt striker (of diameter roughly 3 cm and mass 4.7kg) from a known height toward a material sample mounted atop an anvil. The anvil itself had a hole allowing free suspension of the sample, avoiding the effects of contact between the anvil and sample which could alter results. Measurements were taken to generate a graph of load (kN) versus time (ms) and of the instantaneous velocity (m/s) of the striker head at the time of impact.
Twenty samples for each condition were tested, with the energy absorbed (J) by the sample calculated from the amount of kinetic energy lost by the striker head at the start of impact to the end of impact. This data then allowed the peak force in Newtons (PF), peak energy in Joules (PE), time to peak force in milliseconds (TPF), and time to peak energy in milliseconds (TPE) to be recorded for each test.
The Results
For the purpose of this article the findings of the research paper have been simplified, with parts omitted. If you would like to read the full paper (which we recommend you do), you can find a link here: https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/2/1/obaa005/5799080
The results showed that furred samples provided greater protection against impact than either the plucked or sheared samples. Under the condition of the study in which the loading was set so that around half of the furred samples would fail on impact, all of the plucked samples, 95% of the sheared samples, and 45% of the furred samples failed.
Recordings of force and energy absorbed for impact tests show that the average peak force was significantly lower, energy absorbed was higher, and the time to peak force and peak energy absorbed was substantially greater in furred samples than in either the sheared or plucked samples.
The greatest differences between furred and other samples were seen in times to reach peak force and peak energy absorption. Sheared and plucked samples were loaded more rapidly by impact and more often than not experienced loads that exceeded their breaking strength – suggesting that the greatest advantage offered by the hair is that it distributes the force of impact over a longer time frame.
The results showed that on average the furred samples absorbed nearly 30% more energy than the other samples, experiencing lower peak impact forces and were loaded more slowly. This contributed to a reduced rate of furred sample failure when compared to other sample categories – thus, the results of this study indicate that hair is indeed capable of significantly reducing the force of impact from a blunt strike and absorbing energy. If the results from this research is also true for human facial hair, then having a full a full beard could reduce injury, laceration, and contusion to the skin and muscle of the face.
Conflicting Results in a Modern Context
Interestingly, the results of this study appear to directly contradict another recent study on a similar topic. The study by Dixson et al., 2018 concluded that beards do not provide a performance advantage in mixed martial arts (MMA) fights from number of wins by knock out and decision. This study was incredibly carefully controlled and provided compelling results to back this claim, comparing rates of winning in 600 fights involving 395 fighters and finding no evidence of a performance advantage.
They concluded –
“…beards represent dishonest signals of formidability that may serve to curtail the escalation of intra-sexual conflict through intimidation rather than providing advantages in direct combat.”
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