Taking a ride on certain types of rollercoasters can successfully remove kidney stones, new research has found.
Scientists who suggested rollercoasters could be used to remove kidney stones are among those to be recognised with a coveted Ig Nobel prize.
The spoof awards, held at Harvard University and organised by US magazine Annals of Improbable Research, celebrate unusual, funny but practical scientific work.
Inspiration behind the work came from a patient of Professor David Wartinger at Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine who had visited Florida’s Disney World.
After returning, the man said a ride on the Big Thunder Mountain rollercoaster had managed to dislodge one of his kidney stones.
He went on the rollercoaster again to see if it was the ride which helped remove the stone or whether it was just a coincidence, only for another one to dislodge shortly after.
Big Thunder Mountain was particularly effective in comparison to other adrenaline-filled rides such as Space Mountain because of the way it moves the rider around, Professor Wartinger found.
The research is one of 10 awards given out at the Ig Nobels ceremony this year, which commemorate scientific discoveries and research deemed funny or unusual.
Other prizes won this year include the biology award which was taken by Swedish researchers who demonstrated that, by using their sense of smell, wine experts can reliably identify a fly in a glass of wine.
A researcher from Britain took home the Nutrition Prize for establishing that pound per pound it is not worth consuming human flesh in comparison with other meats.
