# another example of "igNobel prize" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 13, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-ignobel-prize/399968 "2007-04-13T16:10:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kbrubaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kbrubaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbrubaker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-ignobel-prize/399968/1 "2007-04-13T16:10:15Z")
After Cecil’s column in April '07 on poorly awarded Nobel Prize’s, I happened to come across another example: Daniele Bovete won a Nobel prize in microbiology, and went on to claim that SMOKING LEADS TO HIGHER INTELLIGENCE! He was quoted in the New York Times (4/18/1965) as saying “Let it be clear that we do not intend to create geniuses [through smoking], but only pu thte less-endowed individuals in a position to reach a satisfactory mental and intellectual development.” (This startling quote is cited on page 268 of “At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years,” by Taylor Branch. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-ignobel-prize/399968/2 "2007-04-13T22:32:50Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, kbrubaker. A link to the column you’re commenting on is appreciated. It’s [IgNobel: Has the Nobel prize ever been awarded in error?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070406.html) You may also be interested in this one: [Does smoking have any health benefits?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_096.html), in which Cecil discusses the idea that Alzheimer’s disease can be warded off through nicotine consumption.