Some scientific discoveries develop our understanding of the world, improve the lives of millions and help to cure diseases that affect people around the world… but not this lot.

WINNER: A team of ‘astronauts’ this year completed a mission in which they simulated a mission to Mars — without ever leaving a container in a Moscow car park. They donned spacesuits, conducted tests and even walked on red sand pretending it was the surface of Mars. (BBC)

Runner-Up: A Russian female scientist stripped naked and braved freezing temperatures to swim with beluga whales in a bid to tame them. It’s believed belugas do not like to be touched by artificial materials such as diving suits… or at least that’s what Natalia Avseenko was told. (Daily Mail)

The invisibility cloak has for years been the dream of scientists and science fiction fans. But researchers at the University of Birmingham have finally cracked it — as long as you are only trying to hide a paperclip. (Guinness)

Medical history was made in 2011 when researchers discovered that a 22-year-old woman had grown a fully fledged nipple on her left foot. While 5% of the population have an extra nipple, none had previously been found on a foot. (The Sun)

Being stared at by men has the ability to make women worse at maths. That was the discovery made by a team of psychologists who decided to test the theory in 2011. We’re guessing staring at breasts doesn’t do much for men’s maths ability either. (Live Science)

WINNERS ANNOUNCED DECEMBER 30th

It’s always impressive to see professional sports people on the top of their game. Of course they are always more likely to win a DAFTAS award if they are having a nightmare.

WINNER: Not only did Sergio Ramos win the Spanish cup with Real Madrid in 2011 — but he also won the DAFTA for weird sports story after dropping the national cup from the top of a double-decker bus while celebrating the win. (Guardian)

RUNNER-UP: Cristiano Ronaldo giving a fan a shirt is nothing unusual. But giving a fan a shirt after whacking a ball at his face and leaving him with a bloody and possibly broken nose, well that’s good enough for us. (Asylum)

Cricket pundit Edward Bevan was talking about the action between Glamorgan’s Clydesdale Bank 40 and Somerset on BBC Radio Wales when a ball crashed into the commentary box hitting Bevan on the back and scattering glass everywhere. As heard by listeners. (BBC)

Kim Clijsters this year hit a return of serve which has been described as the luckiest shot in Grand Slam history. The ball appears to be going out after clipping the net, but the ball hits the net post and bounces back in. (BBC)

At most golf courses, hazards aren’t really dangerous. But at the Carbrook Golf Club in Brisbane, Australia, they’re considerably more, well, hazardous… because the course is infested by killer sharks. (Asylum)

WINNERS ANNOUNCED DECEMBER 30th

WINNERS ANNOUNCED DECEMBER 30th

Breaking a world record can involve a lifetime of training, practice and dedication… which is all well and good if you are doing something worthwhile. But chances are that wouldn’t win you a DAFTAS Award.

WINNER: Chanel Tapper had got the competition licked in the DAFTAS category of odd record breaker — because she has a massive 9.75cm long tongue. That means the 21-year-old student from California has a tongue twice as long as average and the equivalent length of an iPhone. (NewsLite)

RUNNER-UP:  Stunt driver Tanner Foust this year set a world record by jumping 332 feet in an off-road truck. After reaching 104mph the 37-year-old movie stuntman launched into the air in the Hot Wheels inspired stunt.(Daily Mail)

A rare copy of Action Comics #1 which features the first appearance of Superman and was stolen and disappeared for 11 years, this year sold at auction for a whopping $2.16m. (Metro)

Despite having been born in 1920, Bernice Mary Bates is more flexible than most teenagers — in fact this year she was recognised as the Oldest Yoga Teacher in the world. (Huffington Post)

A team from Lithuania set a new world record in 2011 by preparing a cup of coffee in a air balloon flying at more than 20,000 feet (6.3km) high. Nidas Kiuberis, Grazvydas Vilcinskas and Vytautas Samarinas had to don protective clothing and oxygen masks before reaching the impressive height. (NewsLite)

We think the best examples of PR are the ones which not only sell cars or get people to change mobile phone network, but also entertain people by making the news as they’re doing so.

WINNER: Just before the Royal Wedding, T-Mobile decided to give us a glimpse into what they thought could happen on the big day and hired a hosts of royal lookalikes to perform a Royal Wedding Dance which went onto be seen by more than 25 million times. (YouTube)

RUNNER-UP: Marketing bosses for the Steven Soderberdh film Contagian Bacteria ad gives new meaning to viral marketing when they created a  living bacteria-based billboard advert which was installed in an abandoned shop window in Toronto. (NewsLite)

Commuters were left scratching their heads earlier this year, after car makers Chevrolet confused them by ‘parking’ a life-size bright blue Play-Doh vehicle an a street in London. (Daily Mail)

Pub bosses in Birmingham claimed they’d had to upgrade the wine they stock because a ghost there was smashing any substandard bottles in the cellar of the 17th Century Sizzling Court Oak. (People)

Cinema bosses in the US turned a complaint into a PR opportunity this year when they uploaded an irate telephone call on YouTube. In the clip the angry customer complained about being kicked out of the cinema for using her phone. (Asylum)

For most of us, having a bad day means getting splashed by a car driving through a puddle. Not for this lot, they all almost died this year… and in ways we can hardly believe.

Winner: A helicopter pilot from New Zealand had people around the world asking “how is he still alive’ after being involved in a dramatic crash which was broadcast on live TV. Greg Gribble had been using the copter to install a massive Christmas tree at Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour when the accident happened. (Stuff)

Runner-Up: He would have been forgiven for feeling sorry for himself, but when climber Adam Potter fell 1,000ft down a mountain in Scotland, he picked himself up and started reading his map to find out where he had landed. (BBC)

Gun expert Tex Grebner, who uploads instructional videos to YouTube has produced his most compelling argument for gun safety yet… by accidentally shooting himself in the leg while showing off his quick-draw and pulling his gun from a holster. (NewsLite)

A Russian paraglider who was doing his stuff above the Indian Himalayas had a lucky escape this year, after being struck by an eagle. The bird collided with his Axis Mercury 2008 paraglider and got tangled in the cables - sending them both hurtling towards the ground. (AOL)

An 86-year-old American man was treated in hospital this summer, after accidentally impaling his pruning shears through his eye socket. Leroy Luetscher had been working in the garden of his Arizona home when he slipped and dropped then into the ground, luckily they landed blade side down. (Sky News)

Oh commercialism, what would we do if you weren’t there constantly coming up with more and more bizarre products for us to spend/waste our hard-earned money on.

WINNER: The Icecreamists this year launched Baby Gaga ice cream, an odd product which was made from breast milk from local lactating mothers. Unsurprisingly the product drew criticism not only from people who didn’t like the idea of the main ingredient, but also from Lady Gaga, who didnt’ like the name. (BBC)

RUNNER-UP: A condom manufacturer launched a special range of prophylactics to celebrate the Royal wedding and marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The condoms came with the slogan “Lie back and think of England” and featured a photo of the happy couple on the front. (NewsLite)

Entrepreneurs in Germany created a bit of a stink when they started selling cans filled with the aroma of cow farts for £5 each. ‘Stable Fragrance’ tins are said to let people take the “original Bavarian stable smell” home with them. (Metro)

There is no shortage of accesories for the Apple iPhone, so it takes something special to stand out — like this iPhone SLR Mount which iPhone-wielding photographers to use professional lenses on their phones. (Photojojo)

Foodie cheese-makers this year created what they hoped would be an indulgent addition to any Christmas menu — a Stilton cheese made of real gold which costs £60 per slice. (Independent)

There are times when only one word can accurately and comprehensively sum up the events which have just occurred… Oops. This category aims to celebrate the best fail moments of 2011.

Winner: MythBusters is a US TV show where the hosts perform scientific experiments to prove or disprove commonly-held misconceptions or myths… usually, but this year the show took an unusual turn when they accidentally shot a cannonball into a home in California. (Business Insider)

Runner-Up: Carolyn Bourne didn’t exactly get off to the best of starts with  her step son’s fiancée in 2011 — she sent an email to her, saying her behaviour “was staggering in its uncouthness and lack of grace”. (Telegraph)

When a man in Hertfordshire saw a giant object hovering in the night sky he decided to best thing to do was call 999 — then he realised it was the moon. Police then released the embarrassing audio to warn other people from making such calls. (NewsLite)

French tennis ace Alize Cornet was left red-faced earlier this year — when she disrupted her own WTA match against Caroline Wozniacki by having her phone go off in her kit bag. (Daily Mail)

The captain of a flight from North Carolina to New York has caused a terror scare — by accidentally locking himself in the toilet. Fighter jets were even put on alert after the captain of the Chatauqua Airlines flight disappeared to the loo and didn’t come back. (Telegraph)