While the world awaits the awards of the real Nobel Prize, the University of Harvard has handed out its own version - and it went to the Russians.

      They often say that Shnobel Prize awards useless inventions. Like, have you ever thought of the probability of spilling your coffee when you carry it? Personally, I spill mine practically the moment I start carrying it (although my coffee-carrying ability improved over the years, thanks to a coffee duty in many companies). But an average person walking with a cup of coffee in their hands, "as a rule, spills it somewhere between his seventh and tenth steps". How about that? 

      The calculations were made by Ruslan Krechetnikov, a former Russian citizen, and his US colleague Hand Mayer. It is hard to predict how the findings may be used, but perhaps they can shed some light on human reflexes.

      Another discovery is much more promising. Made by the engineer Igor Petrov from Chelyabinsk, it is a brand new way of making diamonds. No longer do you need to go to Yakutia - a few explosives will do, and Russia has a plenty of those.

      Girl's best friends should be sparkling and dangerous - but nobody previously thought of turning the ex-weapons into coveted glistening rocks. The observers say that Mr Petrov has now a potential to enter the real Nobel Prize draw - but most likely in the Peace Category. In this case he will follow in the footsteps of Andrei Sakharov who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his endeavours as a human rights activist, although previously an inventor of the hydrogen bomb.

      Petrov's invention may become a real break-through, and John Lennon's dream of making something other than war may finally become true. And if you can imagine the diamonds being mass produced, then people in the seats both cheap and dear will be able to rattle their diamonds, to quote Lennon again.

      Another Russian, Andrei Geim, also previously received a Shnobel Prize - but later became a real Nobel Prize Laureate, together with Konstantin Novosyolov, for their invention of graphene.