History is replete with people who’ve accomplished great things and were duly recognized. From Nobel laureates to soldiers decorated for valor, many exceptional persons have been honored for their actions. But what happens after that recognition?

Being honored once doesn’t mean the rest of your life will live up to your one great accomplishment. Even if it does, times can change, politics can shift, and one person’s bias can mean the recognition you once enjoyed can be stripped away in a heartbeat.

10 The General Who Wanted To Be Flogged By Little Boys

General Eyre Coote had an illustrious military career, for a time. He joined the British royal military at age 14 and was first deployed in America, where he fought on the British side during the Revolutionary War. After returning to England, he then went on to serve in various locales across the world, including Egypt, where he distinguished himself enough to be made a knight of Bath (the form of knighthood usually given for military service). He eventually achieved the rank of general and then went on to serve in several high-ranking political positions.

Although Coote’s career had him climbing the ranks of society, his time stationed in the West Indies was said to have had a lingering “effect on his brain.” Over time, his conduct became so increasingly “erratic” that his superiors decided he was no longer fit for a command. Eventually, he was charged with indecent conduct. Although the case against him was dismissed, the Duke of York was so shocked about its particulars that he had the matter further investigated.

Accounts differ, but it seems that in 1815, Cootes had gone into the Mathematical School at Christ’s Hospital and discussed the topic of flogging with the boys there.^[1] He asked if they had ever been flogged. He asked if they could flog him. He offered them money to do it. After a nurse found him engaged in “discussion,” Cootes was initially brought before authorities, and the matter was dropped after he was both declared mentally unsound during the time of his proposal and made a £1,000 donation to the school (at its request, of course.) The later investigation under the Duke of York, however, decided that Cootes was not mad, just eccentric, and that his conduct was inexcusable. Flogging, boyhood, and knighthood apparently being incompatible, he was dismissed from the military in 1816, and his honors as a knight of Bath were stripped.

9 Richard Vogt’s Censored Speech

Richard Vogt is a prominent herpetologist, a zoologist specializing in the study of amphibians and reptiles. Vogt’s area of study is turtles. As mundane as studying turtles may sound, he was so renowned in his field that the Herpetologists’ League bestowed him its Distinguished Herpetologist Award during the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in 2018.

It was revoked the very next day.^[2]

As far as herpetology is concerned, Vogt’s acceptance speech itself was nothing spectacular. It was the content of the accompanying slides that caused such a stir among amphibian and reptile researchers. Vogt’s slides depicted his female students conducting the fieldwork in bikinis. While that in itself was nothing bizarre, since field-workers often do their research in swimwear, Vogt’s pictures were described as “atypical.” They were so revealing that the audiovisual staff felt they had to place blue boxes over parts of the students.

Having been facing the audience, Vogt was apparently unaware of the censorship during his infamous speech, but he might have noticed when several conference attendees suddenly got up and left. Many said that they wondered why Vogt felt it was appropriate to show those kinds of images during such a prestigious conference. Other herpetologists who’d worked with Vogt said that he’d been making similar presentations for the past 20 years.

8 The Nobel Prize-Winning Nazi

Konrad Lorenz was a zoologist and animal psychologist who studied imprinting in baby animals. His work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973. In 1940, he became a professor at the University of Konigsberg and served as a German army doctor in World War II until he was captured by Russians. After the war, he resumed his educational career and was awarded at least one honorary doctorate for his achievements.

His honorary doctorate at the University of Salzburg, however, was revoked when it came to light that Lorenz had failed to mention he was once a staunch Nazi serving in Germany’s Office of Racial Policy.^[3] An article published by the New York Academy of Sciences stated that he had at one point called for the extermination of certain portions of the population. Aside from this, he had published papers deeming the inferiority of certain classes.

While some consider his papers written during Hitler’s reign “political naivety,” and Lorenz himself attributed his Nazi racial terminology as attempts to provide clarity, others say that he should never have been given a Nobel prize in the first place. Nevertheless, stripping individuals of the Nobel prize is against the Nobel Committee’s rules. It says that the award is given for a person’s achievements, regardless of whatever else they have done.

7 The Royal Photographer, Undone

Ernest Brooks joined the British military at a very young age and was then introduced to photography while in the service of Lady Vivian, the widow of a former British lieutenant general. Brooks photographed Lady Vivian’s guests, and when he managed to sell some of his photos to the local newspaper, it helped spark his desire to pursue a career in photography.^[4]

Brooks used his many connections to eventually land a position as the royal family’s official photographer. He then gained even more fame and prestige photographing the British perspective of World War I. Although Brooks was interested in photographing the reality of war and did not want his photographs to be used for propaganda, the British government used many of his pictures for that very purpose. This won him further renown, albeit not in the way he had wanted.

But for years, the royal family had been dealing with media they found objectionable. The reasons for Brooks’s dismissal were never revealed, but his closeness to the royal family and the (perhaps unwanted) intimacy of the photos that his situation allowed may have played a role in him being stripped of all honors, including the medal for the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in 1925. His name was also erased from the official registrar.

Whatever prompted the royal family to dole out such a severe punishment to their longtime photographer, Brooks’s fate served as a warning to other photographers and cartoonists who were producing art that the monarchy considered unflattering. However, the very public dismissal of their photographer and erasure of his honors only drew more attention to Brooks’s work and encouraged more like it.

6 The Night Raider

Every year, the Natural History Museum in London has a photography contest. The 2017 winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year in the Animals in their Environment Category was Marcio Cabral, with his striking photo of an anteater approaching a termite mound speckled with bioluminescence. Cabral had stated that he had spent several rain-soaked days at Brazil’s Emas National Park before the anteater in the photograph arrived. Not long after Cabral won the contest, however, the museum received an anonymous tip that the anteater was stuffed.

A taxidermied anteater is kept on display near the visitors’ center at a gate in Emas National Park. The museum set five experts to the task of investigating if the anteater in the picture was, in fact, real or the very same specimen. The experts, consisting of three mammal experts, an anteater expert, and a taxidermy expert, all did independent investigations and concluded that the animal in the picture and the taxidermy specimen were too similar to be different animals.^[5] To Cabral’s credit, he did hand over the raw image files taken before and after the anteater in question appeared, though none of them showed the animal. He also produced a witness saying that he, too, saw the anteater and strongly denies that the picture was staged.

The museum stuck to its decision, however, and disqualified Cabral from the competition. But while he was stripped of his Photographer of the Year award, another winner cannot be named because the judging is done without the names attached to the entry photographs.

5 Miss Earth Lebanon Stripped Of Title After Posing With Miss Earth Israel

The Miss Earth pageant is a beauty pageant designed to promote environmental awareness. The 2018 pageant, however, made headlines for all the wrong reasons. There were 89 countries from all over the globe participating, including Lebanon and Israel. When Miss Earth Lebanon posed for a photo with Miss Earth Israel, she was soon stripped of her title by Lebanese pageant organizers.^[6]

Lebanese law prohibits visitations to Israel or associating with Israelis. After the photo of the pair hit social media, Miss Earth Lebanon lost her title for violating her country’s law. A former Miss Universe contestant from Lebanon also landed in hot water after a selfie with Miss Israel surfaced but was let off with a warning after she said the photo was not taken by her and that she was “ambushed.” Salwa Akar, the former Miss Earth Lebanon, said that when Miss Earth Israel approached her speaking Arabic, she did not know who she was, but Lebanese officials said that her identity was clearly written on her sash and upheld the decision.

After the story hit the news, the Arabic-language spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reposted the picture on Twitter, condemning the the revocation of Akar’s title. Akar herself only uploaded a post on Facebook that did not mention the incident.

4 Little House On The Prairie Deemed Racist

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal was given to authors who’ve made an impact in children’s literature. The award was not given by Wilder herself, nor was it even created by her, but rather the Association for Library Service to Children. They wanted to honor her contribution to children’s literature with her Little House on the Prairie series by naming the award after her. The series was somewhat based on her own life growing up on the plains of the United States, and it gained an even wider audience and even more popularity when it was later made into a television show. As for the award, Wilder herself was the first to receive it in 1954, a few years before her death (although the greater honor was obviously having the award named after her).

That honor, however, was recently retracted. The book series was espoused as family-friendly, but it portrays minorities very negatively and Native Americans as inhuman. It was for this reason that the Association for Library Service to Children decided to remove her name from it. They now call it the “Children’s Literature Legacy Award.” Some think the decision is overlaying modern values on the past, but the Association made their choice because they believe that the values expressed in the Little House on the Prairie series do not align with their own values of inclusiveness and respect.^[7]

3 A Happy Ending For A Sex Toy Company Stripped Of Its Prize

Lora DiCarlo is a company that makes robotic sex toys. It developed a female massager that mimics the sensation of human touch and put it on display at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. The judges were so impressed by LoraDiCarlo’s product that it received an award in the robotics category. The honor, however, was soon taken away.

The Consumer Technology Association reneged on their award, saying that the product was considered immoral or obscene and did not fit its image. Given that they had known what the product was when they gave it a place in the show, that their judges had given it high marks, and that men’s sex dolls and VR porn are displayed at the show every year, Lora DiCarlo lodged a complaint. They stated that while the CTA seemed perfectly fine with men’s sexuality, when a female sexual product was honored, subsequently calling it obscene was discrimination.

But the tale of the Ose (the name of the female massager) has a happy ending. The founder of YouPorn heard of the company’s plight and offered $50,000 in free advertising for the Ose when it finally hit the market. And in May 2019, the award was reinstated.^[8]

2 Aung San Suu Kyi’s Rise And Fall

Aung San Suu Kyi was the darling of the international community when she received the Nobel Peace Prize while under house arrest in Myanmar. Her relentless work for democracy in Myanmar led not only to the Nobel Prize committee awarding her with its distinguished honor but many other organizations bestowing her with additional awards.

Suu Kyi eventually rose to power in Myanmar as the leader of her Buddhist-majority civilian administration. Although Myanmar forbids the parents or spouses of foreign nationals from becoming president, Suu Kyi was given the title of “state counselor.” The president served as her aid. The military still had veto power over certain aspects of government rule, but progress toward democracy seemed to be moving ahead.

And it seemed to stall just as quickly. The nation’s Rohingya Muslim minority began migrating from Myanmar to Bangladesh after an army crackdown. When the media called the crises “ethnic cleansing,” Suu Kyi was quick to call that “too strong” a label. The genocide was met with a downplayed response from Suu Kyi despite her being viewed as Myanmar’s moral authority.

Calls for Suu Kyi to be stripped of her Nobel Prize arose. Much like Lorenz, however, the Nobel Committee stated that the prize was awarded for her past actions and would not strip her of the award no matter the outcry.

Other organizations had no such rules, however. Amnesty International no longer acknowledges her as a beacon of human rights.^[9] Suu Kyi has likewise lost many of the honors and honorary citizenships given to her due to her denial of human rights violations occurring under her nose.

1 The Soviet Spy Knighted By The Queen

When Anthony Blunt arrived at Cambridge University, socialism was trending among faculty and students, and he became a communist. He then joined the Cambridge Apostles, a group that believed in no moral restraint except loyalty to friends. Among the group was his lover, Guy Burgess, who eventually approached him about becoming a Soviet spy. Displeased with the social and economic climate of Britain, Blunt accepted.^[10]

During World War II, Blunt joined the British army and served in the Army Intelligence Corps. When he returned to England, he was recruited by MI5 and became the head of the division that dealt with communications with foreign embassies. He was the perfectly placed spy and so trusted by the British that he was selected to go on a secret mission for the royal family to obtain potentially damaging documents about the Duke of Windsor’s close connections with Hitler.

Blunt successfully obtained the documents, and he believed they would serve as an insurance policy when he later retired from both MI5 and (somewhat) Soviet spying to become the surveyor of the queen’s pictures. He believed that even if he were outed as a spy, the papers would protect him because the royal family wouldn’t want their secret exposed. Blunt was knighted for his service to England in 1956.

But Blunt was part of a large spy ring, and he’d positioned many operatives himself. When several were caught, the trail inevitably led back to him. While his own “insurance” proved of little value, those in authority decided that the tentative political climate of Britain at the time couldn’t suffer such a scandal. Blunt was offered immunity from prosecution if he confessed, and he did not have to resign from his position as picture surveyor. His treason remained unknown to the public until a book was published detailing the spy ring’s activities. This prompted the government to make a statement explaining why Blunt had not been prosecuted. Authorities stuck to his cooperation deal, but they did strip him of his knighthood.

Mike lives on the East Coast and spends too much on beach parking.

There seem to be endless awards for films, from the Oscars to the BAFTAs to the Golden Globes. The parody award show the Golden Raspberry, or the Razzies, gives out awards for the worst films of the year and serves as a kind of balm. However, sometimes, you just want to hear about awards that are a little more unusual. The world is a vast, weird place, and that weirdness deserves to be recognized.

This list rounds up some of the more bizarre awards out there, ranging from photography and fashion to phalluses and pseudo-science. Like the Razzies, some of these awards are mocking, and it might be more accurate to call the recipients losers rather than winners. Others are genuine awards, but for bizarre and interesting things.

Related: 10 People Stripped Of Honors And Awards

10 The Turnip Prize

If you look at most modern art and think a five-year-old could create it, then you’ll like this award. The Turnip Prize satirizes the Tate Gallery’s Turner Prize by rewarding deliberately bad and low effort modern art. It began in 1999 in response to Tracey Emin’s My Bed, which was shortlisted for the Turner Prize that year. Her piece features an unkempt bed with stained sheets and trash heaped on the floor, including discarded condoms, vodka bottles, and cigarettes.

This spoof competition favors entries that include bad puns in the title and sometimes in the artist’s name. For instance, in 2019, Fanny Scorcher won with Bush Fire Down Under, which was women’s underwear with a hole burned into the front. In 2015, Bonksy won with Dismal And, a quickly drawn sad ampersand on a piece of wood. To mirror the quality of the entries, the prize is a turnip impaled on a nail on a block of wood. ^[1]

9 Mullet Awards at Mulletfest

Mulletfest is a celebration of the business in the front, party in back hairstyle. Laura Johnson, who of course boasts a mullet of her own, started the event in 2018 in Kurri Kurri, Australia, after the town’s aluminum smelter closed down and hundreds of people lost their jobs. She explains that she had two goals with Mulletfest: to “bring business to Kurri” and to “make people happy.”

One of the highlights of the festival is the awards. There are various categories, including Everyday, Grubby, Extreme, and Ranga (red hair). There are also awards for various age brackets, from Junior (0 to 3) to Vintage (Over 50). The event has been steadily growing each year, attracting mullet-loving contestants from around the globe. If you proudly sport a mullet, then Mulletfest is the place to be.^[2]

8 Worst Word/Un-Word of the Year

The Plain English Foundation’s worst word (or phrase) and the German un-word/non-word (Unwort des Jahres) both achieve the same thing: they select the worst distortion of clear language in the year. The Plain English Foundation’s version of this award started off fairly light-heartedly. For instance, in 2012, KFC’s “goodification” marketing slogan won. In 2014, it was Gwyneth Paltrow using “conscious uncoupling” to describe her separation from her husband, Chris Martin.

The English version of this prize has started to become more serious, though, bringing it closer in tone to the German version. In Germany, a panel of language experts selects what they consider to be the most defamatory and offensive word. The German Language Society (GFDS) used to announce both the word of the year and the non-word, but the latter has been independently decided since 1994. In 2021 “pushback” was chosen, which refers to forcing refugees back over a border without allowing them to apply for asylum. In 2017, alternative facts (alternative fakten) was selected as the worst phrase in both the English and German awards.^[3]

7 The World’s Most Phallic Building Contest

In a diary for Slate in 2003, Jonathan Ames described the Williamsburg Bank building in Brooklyn, New York, as “the most obviously phallic building I’ve ever seen. It’s so penislike it’s embarrassing.” While this claim may be true for Ames, there are many phallic buildings that upstage Williamsburg Bank. In reaction to Ames’s article, Cabinet magazine led a search to find out which building was truly the world’s most phallic.

Readers submitted buildings from around the world. From that selection, the editors of Cabinet crowned the Ypsilanti Water Tower in Michigan, which was erected—pun intended—in 1890, the winner. Locals even amusingly refer to the water tower as the “Brick Dick.” However, the readers’ vote went to the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee. This suggestive building features a tall central shaft with domes on each side of the base.^[4]

6 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition

Run by Nikon Instruments since 1975, this contest awards the best photographs taken through a microscope. The photos are judged based on a variety of factors, including their informational content, originality, and visual beauty. A number of techniques are allowed, including “phase contrast, polarized light, fluorescence, interference contrast, darkfield, confocal, deconvolution, and mixed techniques.”

The images demonstrate the weird and wonderful complexity of nature. The top 20 photographs from each year, as well as honorable mentions and images of distinction, can be viewed online. Previous winning photographs include a fluorescent turtle embryo (2019), the eye of a honey bee covered in dandelion pollen (2015), and cell nuclei of a mouse colon (2006). These photos allow us to see the world on a different level. Nikon also runs a Small World in Motion Competition for videos and time-lapses captured through a microscope.^[5]

5 The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year

The name is self-explanatory here: it is an award given to the oddest book title of the year. The prize began as a bit of fun during the 1978 Frankfurt Book Fair, but since 1982 it has been given out by The Bookseller, a publishing magazine. The winner used to be decided by a panel of judges. However, it is now determined by a public vote on The Bookseller’s website. Publishers are not allowed to nominate their own books to ensure that they don’t give books deliberately weird names.

The 2021 winner was Roy Schwartz’s Is Superman Circumcised?, an academic study of the Jewish origins of the Man of Steel. Schwartz humorously commented that “the competition was stiff, but I’m glad I was able to rise to the challenge.” Previous winners include the strange yet delightfully titled Goblinproofing One’s Chicken Coop, The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories, and Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes.^[6]

4 The Bad Sex in Fiction Award

The magazine Literary Review has been awarding this prize since 1993 to novels that feature poorly written and cringe-worthy sex scenes. Explicitly erotic fiction is excluded, so Fifty Shades of Grey author E. L. James was never in with a chance of winning this unfortunate award. The judges decided to take a pause in 2020, though, because they thought that “the public had been subjected to too many bad things this year to justify exposing it to bad sex as well.”

The Independent newspaper has helpfully rounded up some of the funniest scenes but not all of the nominated and winning authors see the humor in it. The 2004 winner Tom Wolfe, whose novel I Am Charlotte Simmons includes the line “slither slither slither slither went the tongue,” commented that “You can lead an English literary wannabe to irony, but you can’t make him get it.” Morrissey’s List of the Lost won in 2015, with lines like “the pained frenzy of his bulbous salutation,” and the singer said that it was “best to maintain an indifferent distance” from the prize, rather than let “repulsive horrors pull you down.”^[7]

3 The Barbara Dex Award

The Eurovision Song Contest is known for its eccentric songs and unconventional costumes. But while countries are casting their votes for their favorite songs (or, let’s be honest, the countries they’re friendliest with), online fans are deciding whom to honor with the Barbara Dex Award for the most striking look of the evening. The award was created in 1997 and was named after Barabra Dex, who wore a self-made, semi-transparent dress that made her look “like a lampshade” when representing Belgium in 1993.

Originally, the award was for the worst dressed contestants, but it was recently switched to most striking. Some of the outfits are absolutely wild, from Lithuania’s 2014 rubber ballerina dominatrix look to Croatia’s 2016 tent-like Japanese kimono, which was whipped off to reveal a metallic feathered dress. These looks are best appreciated in motion, so do yourself a favor and watch the performances, which have all been handily collected together on the Belgian website Songfestival.be.^[8]

2 The Bent Spoon Award

Since 1982, Australian Skeptics, a group who scientifically investigate and challenge pseudo-science and the paranormal, have presented the Bent Spoon Award to the “perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle.” The trophy is a spoon, which may have been used at the Last Supper, attached to a piece of wood, allegedly from Noah’s Ark. The spoon was bent by unknown forces and was plated in gold through a process now lost along with the submerged city of Atlantis. However, winners are not simply given this trophy, as “anyone wishing to acquire the trophy must remove it from our keeping by paranormal means,” which obviously has not been achieved.

In 1985, the award went to the Findhorn Foundation, which sponsored Willard Fuller, a self-proclaimed psychic dentist. Fuller claimed that he could make cavities disappear and turn amalgam fillings to gold through praying. In 2012, it was awarded to Fran Sheffield of Homeopathy Plus! for claiming that the whooping cough vaccine is ineffective and that people should instead use homeopathic remedies.^[9]

1 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

Animals looking stupid is comedy gold, and this award celebrates that. Sure, there are many wildlife photography competitions that capture the beauty of our planet. However, sometimes it’s just funny to see animals doing weird things and making funny faces. The competition began in 2015 and is open to both photography novices and professionals.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so you really need to see these photos for yourself. Winners and finalists can be seen in all of their glory on the official website. The 2021 winner shows a monkey looking like he’s just hurt his family jewels after landing on a cable, but photographer Ken Jensen explains that it’s “actually a show of aggression.” The 2020 winning photograph is of a turtle that looks like it’s angrily flipping off the photographer.^[10]

An award is something every person craves for. There are numerous awards given in almost all fields out there, from literature to architecture. And there are some awards, absolutely bizarre in their aspects. They recognises some hilarious and rare achievements. Over the years, they have grabbed the world’s attention and even inspired competition among people to win them or to avoid them. Here is a list of 10 of the weirdest awards around the world.

Top 10 Weirdest Awards:

10. Darwin Awards

The Darwin Awards, named after famous naturalist Charles Darwin is given posthumously to those who make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the gene pool, via death or sterilization. In simple words, it is given to a person who dies in the most idiotic way. It was the brainchild of a group of people in the later 1980s and was officially started in 1993, under the leadership of researcher and writer Wendy Northcutt. The concept even became a subject for a film, titled The Darwin Awards, directed by Finn Taylor in 2006.

9. Ig Nobel Prize

Founded by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research in 1991, the Ig Nobel Prize is given to seemingly bizarre inventions that make us laugh and think. The awards are given in 10 categories and presented at Sanders Theater at Harvard University. Sir Andre Geim is so far the only person to have received both a Nobel Prize and an Ig Nobel prize. He won the Ig Nobel in 2000 and the Nobel Prize in 2010, both in Physics.

The Foot in Mouth Award is presented each year to a person who makes the most confounding comment each year. Founded in 1993, it has been given by the magazine the Plain English Campaign. It was first awarded to Ted Dexter, the then chairman of selectors of England Cricket team. The other winners include Alicia Silverstone, Gordon Brown and Silvio Berlusconi. Welsh politician Rhodri Morgan is so far the only one to have been selected for the award twice. However, former American President George W Bush was presented a lifetime achievement award in 2008 for his continuous baffling remarks over the years.

7. Ernie Awards

Given in Australia, the Ernie Awards were begun in 1993, and is named after Ernie Ecob, former secretary of Australian Workers’ Union who was infamous for his misogynist remarks. Once he even said that the women come to the shearing sheds for sex. The first award ceremony was in celebration of his resignation from Labor Council of New South Wales. Since then it has been presented annually to people who make misogynist comments. The award has been given across various categories. Famous people including former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Tony Abbott have won the undesirable awards multiple times.

6. Bent Spoon Award

The Bent Spoon Award, instituted by Australian Skeptics in 1982, is presented to an individual who makes the most preposterous claim of paranormal or pseudoscientific nature. The award is given to only Australian citizens or those who carry out their activities in Australia. The winner of the inaugural award was psychic Tom Wards. The award trophy, yet to be seen by anyone, is claimed to consist of a piece of wood from the Noah’s Ark on which a spoon used in the Last Supper is affixed. The spoon is bent by some extraordinary energy and gold-plated by Atlantean process and the winners must acquire the trophy by paranormal means, a task which is yet to be accomplished.

5. Golden Collar Awards

The Golden Collar Awards are like the Academy Awards, only they are presented to dogs. It was created in 2012 by the website Dog News Daily to recognise the best canine actors. The awards are given in five categories each year. The winner receives a trophy designed by Simon Tavassoli, depicting an Italian Leather Collar embedded with Swarovski crystals. The award ceremony is also modeled after the Oscars.

4. Bad Sex in Fiction Award

Often called the most dreaded literary prize in Britain, this award is presented each year to the author who portrays a sex scene in the worst possible way in a novel. Given by the British magazine Literary Review, it was instituted in 1993 by Rhoda Koenig, a literary critic, and Auberon Waugh, the erstwhile editor of Literary Review. The award memento depicts a naked woman draped over an open book. The award’s aim is to discourage the tasteless description of sex in modern literature. It was first presented to Melvyn Bragg for his novel A Time to Dance. Popular writers like Philip Kerr, Ben Okri, Manil Suri and Tom Wolfe are among the winners of the award.

3. Diagram Prize

The Diagram Prize, instituted in 1978, is a humorous literary award given to a book with the oddest title every year. Its official title is the Diagram Group Prize for the Oddest Title of the Year and is named after the Diagram Group, an information and graphics company based in London. The award is given by The Bookseller, a British trade magazine about publishing industry. Living with Crazy Buttocks, The Joy of Chickens, Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality, Cooking with Poo and Bombproof Your Horse are some of the winning titles. The winner is selected through a public voting on the website of The Bookseller.

2. Pigasus Award

The Pigasus Award was founded in 1982 and is given by popular American skeptic James Randi. It is presented to the individuals who make absurd claims of paranormal and psychic activities. The awards are usually announced on the April Fools day. It was earlier known as Uri Trophy, and was named Pigasus award in 1997. The fictious trophy consists of a paranormally bent steel spoon attached to a transparent base of plastic.

1. Big Brother Awards – Weirdest Awards

Named after the George Orwell character Big Brother from the famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Big Brother awards are given to individuals, authorities or organisations who commit activities that imperil the privacy of people. Various countries, including US, UK, Japan, France, Spain and Germany, have their own versions of the awards, which are presented by different human rights groups. The awards are organised to invite attention to the increasing privacy violations by the authorities.