By BrainFall Staff - Updated: April 9, 2024
Many consider the Nobel Prize to be the most prestigious award in the entire world. Those that the Norwegian Nobel Committee selects as winners are supposed to have provided the greatest benefits to humanity. As of early 2022, 943 different people have been awarded Nobel Prizes. You may wonder which of these winners you most closely resemble. This quiz is going to highlight just that!
Since 1968, six Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually, with winners being selected in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economic sciences. (OK, some nitpickers will point out that in 1972, only five prizes were awarded. Shush!) Before 1968, five prizes tended to be awarded annually, with the economic sciences category not yet being established. And occasionally, annoyances like World Wars got in the way, meaning that in some years, no Nobel Prizes were awarded.
And yes, there’s a significant personal benefit to being awarded a Nobel Prize. As well as being recognized as being at the top of your field, you get a medal that’s 18-carat gold on the inside and plated with 24-carat gold on the outside. Oh, and there’s also the prize money, which works out to a little under $1 million.
Nobel Prize winner
Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Prize in his will. His intention was for the Nobel laureate to represent the very best that humanity has to offer. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded for physics, physiology or medicine, chemistry, literature, and peace.
In the 1960s, economic sciences became the sixth Nobel Prize. Nobel Prize winners include some of the most respected people in history, ranging from politicians to scientists to artists to much more. Of course, some recipients of these prestigious awards have faced criticism, but the Nobel Prize itself is still widely regarded as the gold standard of awarding institutions.
Which Nobel Prize Winner Are You?
Ever wondered if your ingenious ideas and stellar smarts could’ve earned you a Nobel Prize? Well, now's your chance to find out which laureate you might be sharing a spirit animal with! Those venerated folks didn't just get their hands on a shiny gold medal, a fancy diploma, and eternal bragging rights—thanks to Alfred Nobel's vision, their achievements echo through the halls of Stockholm every year, inspiring mortals like us.
But let's not just stand on the sidelines admiring those Nobel Prize winners. We at BrainFall know you've got that spark in you, too. Maybe you're a whiz with words like a Literature laureate, or you've got the peacemaking prowess of a Peace Prize recipient. Or perhaps you're secretly a genius in the making, poised to join the ranks of those who’ve made groundbreaking discoveries in Physics or Chemistry?
Let's put our heads together and dive into a light-hearted quest to uncover the Nobel Prize Winner you most align with. Don’t worry, we won’t test you on your knowledge of subatomic particles or require a ten-foot leap for peace. But who knows, you might just find that you’re Nobel material, minus the trip to Stockholm—for now. So, grab your imaginary medal and diploma, and let's get started on this playful pilgrimage to our inner Nobel laureates!
Decoding Nobel Laureates
We're about to embark on a whimsical journey through the minds and achievements of Nobel Prize winners. Strap in and keep your monocles polished—this is where the prestige meets the peculiar.
What's in a Nobel Prize?
Let's get down to the nitty-gritty: what exactly is in one of those shiny Nobel Prize medals? It's more than just a token of intellectual triumph; it's the Oscar of the brainy world, folks! Winning one of these bad boys means you've contributed something groundbreaking to humanity. We're talking about real benefits to humankind here, ranging from peace treaties to the tiniest molecular discoveries in Chemistry. Fun fact: winners in Economic Sciences and Physics get to adorn their mantelpieces with a medal all the way from Sweden. And don’t you forget that winners also pocket a sweet cash prize—cha-ching!
The Curious Case of Multiple Disciplines
Now, here's a tantalizing trivia tidbit: Achievers in Literature and Peace aren't limited to white lab coats. Imagine penning a poem so powerful it stops wars and makes the world leaders weep into their handkerchiefs. The Nobel Peace Prize, guarded by the Norwegian committee, has celebrated peacemakers of the world, while the Literature prize has applauded wordsmiths who've moved us with prose and poetry.
Trailblazing Nobel Women
Buckle up; it's time to shine the spotlight on the ladies who've leaped over hurdles and won the Nobel stakes. Did you know Marie Curie snagged not one, but two Nobel Prizes—her lab coat must have been sprinkled with superpowers! Then there's our honorary book club president, Malala Yousafzai, stirring the pot at the tender age of 17 with her Nobel Peace Prize. And whisper it quietly, but Tu Youyou turned traditional Chinese medicine into a Nobel-affiliated Physiology or Medicine feat! These astonishing women aren't just breaking the glass ceiling; they're turning it into a glittering Nobel chandelier!
So, there you have it, aspiring laureates. As we peek behind the Nobel curtain, we find a kaleidoscope of brilliance, a testament to the splendid strangeness of human endeavor. Shall we see which spark of genius twinkle matches yours as we weave through more Nobel tales on BrainFall?
Nobel Narratives and Notable Notions
We're zipping through the zany zigzags of Nobel Prize history, unearthing tales of brains and bravery! Stick with us as we spill the tea on some of the most remarkable humans who've snagged the shiniest shelf adornments in academia and beyond.
Anecdotes of Accolades
Did you know that the brainiac behind the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel, was also the mastermind of dynamite? Talk about a blast from the past! Nobel's wallet burst at the seams, and he bequeathed his bundle to birthing the brawniest bashes for brains: the Nobel Prizes. Look at Albert Einstein, tossing us the iconic equation E=mc^2 and scooping the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. With that level of smarts, we bet he never forgot where he put his keys.
Mother Teresa, bless her soul, took "sharing is caring" to divine heights snagging the Nobel Peace Prize for her love-fest with the less fortunate. Speaking of Peace Prizes, folks like Martin Luther King Jr. and Desmond Tutu turned shaking up society and battling the bad juju of oppression into an art form. Let’s not forget the lyrical laureate, Bob Dylan, whose tunes tangoed with a Nobel Prize. Rock on, rhymester!
Peace Prize Paragons
The Nobel Peace Prize has a swanky résumé of champs battling deeds most dastardly. Kailash Satyarthi and his crusade against child labor, Elie Wiesel with his powerhouse peace preachings—are we misty-eyed, or is it just the thought of Winston Churchill wielding both the pen and the sword for his honorary laureateship?
Delving further, can we talk about how the quill-clutching club like Toni Morrison wove tapestries of text to triumph in Literature? Who knew words could wield so much wizadry? Not to mention, peace-touting Presidents like Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter show us that even the Oval Office can ooze out Oscar-worthy performances in peacemaking.
The Economic Impact of Nobel
Like the coolest crossover episode, Economics hitched a ride on the Nobel train thanks to Sveriges Riksbank, making bank talk the toast of Stockholm. Picture pioneering gal Claudia Goldin, dialing up the dialogue on dough and the dismaying differential in dollars between dudes and damsels. Financial finesse? Check!
Then there's the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences—it’s not just who has the gold makes the rules, but who has the game-changing gaze at the green. This piece of the Prize pie leans into brainy breakthroughs that turn our pockets and our perspectives inside out—in the most pat-on-the-back-worthy way, of course!
