A French physicist was just given the Ig Nobel Prize for a study in which he used mathematical formulas to determine whether cats are liquid or solid.

Ig Nobel Prizes are handed out every year at a ceremony at Harvard University by Improbable Research, an organization devoted to science and humor. With these awards, the group is trying to highlight scientific studies that first make people laugh, and then make them think.

Marc-Antoine Fardin won the Ig Nobel Prize this year for his study on the rheology of cats.

“At the center of the definition of a liquid is an action: A material must be able to modify its form to fit within a container,” Fardin said. “If we take cats as our example, the fact is that they can adapt their shape to their container if we give them enough time. Cats are thus liquid if we give them the time to become liquid.”

In the paper in which he explained his findings, Fardin wrote about the various factors that he looked at including relaxation time, experimental time, the type of container, and the cat’s degree of stress. He ended up concluding that cats can be solid or liquid depending on the circumstances.

It’s wonderful that this group is encouraging science through humor! Science is often thought of as stoic and serious, but there’s no reason that people can’t have fun with it!

Watch this fun award ceremony for yourself in the video below!