The Worst And The Brightest

For a century, the Nobel Prizes have recognized achievement-- the good, the bad and the crazy

Champagne corks will pop, phones will ring wildly, and once obscure academics will suddenly find themselves the object of a two-day media frenzy. That's the way it's been for much of the past 99 years, ever since the Nobel Prizes were first awarded in 1901. And that's how it will be again this week when the calls go out from Stockholm and the prize completes its first century. Winners are being announced in the fields of Physics, Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine, along with a relatively new category, Economics ("the dismal science"), added in 1969. The Nobel for Peace will also...

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