HANGZHOU, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Popping a champagne cork fires gas at supersonic speeds, fathers recognize their babies' cries just as well as mothers, and roasting peanuts in their shells is more aromatic: the annual Pineapple Science Award has once again honored the spirit of curiosity and imagination.
Ten seemingly trivial findings or inventions related to serious scientific subjects each won the Pineapple Science Award on Saturday in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. The award is given to findings in fields such as psychology, physics and mathematics.
Andrew C. Gallup, from the Polytechnic Institute at the State University of New York, won the Pineapple Science Award in medicine. His team found that yawning serves as a cue that can enhance the individual vigilance of observers in social settings.
"I hope this research spurs further curiosity in the behavior that we do each and every day," Gallup said.
First held in 2012 to honor imaginative research, the Pineapple Science Award aims to arouse enthusiasm for science among China's younger generations.
"Popular science needs to keep up with the times. The Pineapple Science Award is a proper attempt to allow science to approach the public, and stimulate the imagination of young people through scientific education," said Wu Xiangping, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of CAS.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
