Propose a perpetrator of preposterous piffle
Nominations are now open for the Australian Skeptics Bent Spoon award, one of the least sought-after credits in the Skeptical world … or any world, for that matter.
It has been awarded every year since 1982* and it recognises the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle.
Luminaries who have been past winners include Paleo Pete Evans (twice!), journalist and UFO proponent Ross Coulthart (nominated again this year), Larry Marshall (head of CSIRO), former MP Craig Kelly, RMIT, Judy Wilyman and the University of Wollongong, Meryl Dorey and the AVN (aka AVSN, and now the AVRN), the pharmacists of Australia, and a psychic dentist.
If you would like to put someone forward for this non-prestigious award, then go to the Bent Spoon page for more info on how to enter, details on current nominees, and a list of past winners. The Bent Spoon year runs from one national convention to the next, so the 2025 nominees should have perpetrated some form of piffle between December 2024 and September 2025 (a short time this year due to the early date of the Skeptics convention). Nominations should be for events, activities or claims that have occurred in Australia or by Australians.
The winner of the 2025 Bent Spoon will be announced at Skepticon, the Australian Skeptics Annual National Convention, in Melbourne, October 4-5.
Nominations close in late September.
*With the exception of 1988, the year when nothing happened.
