The Bent Spoon Award is presented annually to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudo-scientific piffle. Read Barry Williams’ overview of the history of the Bent Spoon Award. What is it? How was it constructed? How are nominations selected? Who are the previous winners? Barry explains it all.

Nominations

For a nomination to be accepted it should include the following details:

The name and contact details of the nominator (only the name will be listed on the website)

The name of the person or organisation being nominated

The reason for the nomination, including a clear explanation of the link to the paranormal or to pseudo-science

Please do not nominate people who do their woo outside Australia, even if they appear on Australian television doing it; the Bent Spoon is for local heroes only.

We also reserve the right to reject nominations that are deemed inappropriate. In particular, defamatory or frivolous nominations will not be accepted.

2020 Nominations

Use this link to email your nomination for 2020. Click here to see the list of current nominations.



Past Winners

2019: Medicine or Myth?, SBS-TV, for the unwarranted promotion of certain alternative (or folk) remedies as if they had some basis in science.

2018: Sarah Stevenson/Sarah’s Day, for the promotion of questionable natural health remedies via her vast network of followers.

2017: National Institute of Complementary Medicine and the University of Western Sydney for the continued promotion of disproved and unproved alternative medicine practices.

2016: Judy Wilyman, Brian Martin, and the University of Wollongong, for awarding Wilyman a doctorate on the basis of a PhD thesis riddled with errors, misstatements, poor and unsupported ‘evidence’ and conspiratorial thinking.

2015: Pete Evans, chef, for his diet promotions, campaigns against fluoridation and support of anti-vaccinationists.

2014: Dr Larry Marshall, Chief Executive, CSIRO, for his support of water divining.

2013: Chiropractors’ Association of Australia and the Chiropractic Board of Australia for failing to ensure their own members – including some committee members – adhere to their policy announcements.

2012: Fran Sheffield of Homeopathy Plus! for advocating the use of magical sugar and water in place of tried and true vaccination for many deadly diseases, most notably Whooping Cough.

2011: RMIT University “for having a fundamentalist chiropractic education program – if the word education can be used in this way – and for endorsing the practice by targeting children and infants in their on-campus paediatric chiropractic clinics”

2010: the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA) for its draft science curriculum.

2009: Meryl Dorey and the deceptively named Australian Vaccination Network, who spread fear and misinformation about vaccines

2008: Prof Kerryn Phelps

2007: Marena Manzoufas, Head of Programming at the ABC for her sterling work in authorising the television show Psychic Investigators, made worse by putting it to air in the Catalyst timeslot

2006: The pharmacists of Australia, who manage to forget their scientific training long enough to sell quackery and snake oil (such as Homoeopathy and ear candles) in places where consumers should expect to get real medical supplies and advice. Video of award here.

2005: The ABC television program Second Opinion for the uncritical presentation of many forms of quackery.

2004: The producers of the ABC television show The New Inventors, principally for giving consideration to an obvious piece of pseudoscience, the AntiBio water water conditioning system

2003: The Complementary Healthcare Council

2002: Gentle Heal Pty Ltd for the selling of fake (Homoeopathic) vaccine.

2001: The Lutec “Free Energy Generator”

2000: Jasmuheen who claims one can live without food and water.

1999: Mike Willesee for the ‘documentary’ Signs From God.

1998: Southern Cross University for offering a degree course in naturopathy, while also claiming to be conducting research into whether there was actually any validity to naturopathy.

1997: Dr. Viera Scheibner – Anti-immunisation advocate

1996: Marlo Morgan – American new age author who claimed in her book Mutant Message Downunder, that Australian Aborigines could levitate.

1995: Tim McCartney-Snape for his promotion of the Foundation for the Adulthood of Mankind.

1994: Commonwealth Attorney General for an enterprise agreement with its 2,400 employees that included a clause so any employee, who had taken sick leave, need not provide a medical certificate signed by a medical practitioner, but could provide one signed by a naturopath, herbalist, iridologist, chiropractor or one of assorted other “alternative” practitioners.

1993: Steve Vizard’s Tonight Live programme (Channel 7).

1992: Allen S Roberts, archaeological research consultant for a search for Noah’s Ark.

1991: Woman’s Day magazine for its coverage and support of the paranormal, in particular astrology.

1990: Mafu, multilifed entity, channelled by Penny Torres Rubin and who, despite millennia of experience, was remarkable for the banality of his/her pronouncements.

1989: Diane McCann who wrote that Adelaide was built on one of the temples of Atlantis.

1988: None

1987: Anne Dankbaar, Adelaide “psychic”, whose discovery of the Colossus of Rhodes created something of a media stir until it was shown to be modern builders rubble.

1986: Peter Brock, prominent racing driver, whose highly touted “energy polariser” generated more heat in the motoring media than it did energy in his car.

1985: The Findhorn Festival Group, which sponsored the visit to Australia of American “psychic dentist” Willard Fuller. “Brother” Willard left town just ahead of some injunctions from real dentists.

1984: Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works for its payment of $1,823 to US “psychic archaeologist” Karen Hunt to use divining rods to detect an alleged “Electromagnetic Photo Field”

1983: Dennis Hassel, “medium” whose chief trick was to make his hand disappear.

1982: Tom Wards, self proclaimed “psychic”, whose predictions in the popular press were renowned for their inaccuracy.