Teflon diet, garlic milk and zebra cows triumph at 2025 Ig Nobel prizes

Polytetrafluoroethylene, commonly known by the brand name Teflon, is widely used as a non-stick coating in pots and pans. Photograph: niuniu/Getty Images/iStockphoto

For decades scientists, doctors and public health officials have battled to solve the obesity crisis. Now researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for a radical new approach: slashing people’s calorie intake by feeding them Teflon.

The left-field proposal was inspired by zero calorie drinks and envisaged food manufacturers blending powdered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into their products in the hope it would sate people’s hunger before quietly sliding out.