Dutch Soil Scientist Wins Ig Nobel for Burying Thousands of Underpants — And It’s Serious Science

A Dutch soil scientist and his team have won the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize for a study that literally buried thousands of white cotton underpants to measure soil health. For internationals living in the Netherlands — a country where soil quality is central to agriculture, housing, and even flood defenses — the research offers a surprisingly practical glimpse into what’s happening beneath your feet.

Marcel van der Heijden, a professor at the University of Zurich and researcher at Agroscope, shared the Ig Nobel for soil science with colleagues Franz Bender, Atlant Bieri, and Pia Viviani. The prize, awarded annually to research that “first makes people laugh and then makes them think,” was presented in Zurich — the first time in 35 years the ceremony was held outside the United States, reportedly due to concerns over US immigration policy. Source: DutchNews.nl

What they did

The team recruited over 1,000 volunteers in Switzerland and across more than 25 countries to bury identical white cotton underpants according to a strict protocol. According to the NL Times, more than 2,000 pairs were buried in total. Source: NL Times After two months, volunteers dug them up and photographed the remains. The more the fabric had decomposed, the healthier and more biologically active the soil.

“Our results show that how soil is managed can significantly affect both soil life and soil quality,” van der Heijden said in a statement. Source: DutchNews.nl Healthy soil, he noted, is crucial for fertility and the wider ecosystem.

Why underpants?

The team initially considered using cotton scraps or socks, but decided underpants would attract more participants. “We know more about the movement of the celestial bodies than the soil underfoot,” researcher Franz Bender said, quoting Leonardo da Vinci. “500 years later, this is still true. But luckily, science provided us with an advanced, scientific instrument” — the humble cotton underpant. Source: NL Times

What this means for you

If you live in the Netherlands, soil health is not an abstract concept. The country’s agricultural sector — a major employer and export driver — depends on fertile soil. The Dutch government’s nitrogen crisis, which has stalled construction of thousands of homes, is directly linked to soil and water quality. The underpants study provides a simple, low-cost method for farmers, gardeners, and even gemeenten (municipalities) to test soil health without expensive lab equipment.

For internationals with a garden or allotment (volkstuin), the message is clear: if your underpants rot quickly, your soil is alive and well. If they come up mostly intact, you may need to add organic matter or adjust your soil management.

Dutch Ig Nobel tradition

Dutch researchers have now won 22 Ig Nobel Prizes since the first ceremony in 1991, according to NOS. Last year’s award went to a study showing that a drink can improve people’s foreign-language skills. Source: DutchNews.nl

The ceremony

The team accepted their prize in Zurich by performing a song about their love for buried cotton underpants and throwing apparently clean pairs into the audience. Next year’s ceremony will be held in Antwerp, Belgium. Source: NL Times

The bottom line

What sounds like a joke is actually a clever, citizen-science approach to understanding one of the most overlooked resources on the planet: the soil under our feet. For anyone living in the Netherlands — where land is managed intensively and every square meter counts — knowing whether your soil is thriving or struggling is more than academic. It’s practical, and it starts with a pair of clean cotton underpants.