Nobel Laureates 2013

The Nobel Prize ceremonies by the numbers 
Stockholm (AP) Associated Press, Dec 10, 2013 

The winners of the Nobel Prizes collected their awards on Tuesday. Here are some of the numbers that tell the story behind the honors and the ceremonies 2: the number of ceremonies held — one for the peace prize in Oslo and one for the five other prize categories in Stockholm. Prize founder Alfred Nobel wanted it that way, for reasons that he kept to himself. 12: the laureates who will personally collect their awards on Tuesday. The 13th, 82-year-old literature winner Alice Munro, declined the invitation to Stockholm for health reasons and is represented by her daughter. 84: the age of physics winner Peter Higgs. He is the oldest of this year's laureates. The youngest is 57-year-old medicine winner Thomas Sudhof. The oldest winner in Nobel history was Leonid Hurwicz who accepted the economics award at age 90. The youngest was Lawrence Bragg, who was just 25 when he collected the physics award in 1915. 15: the number of people who can accompany each laureate to the Nobel week in Stockholm. Higgs' entourage includes his son, daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and a number of scientific colleagues, according to the Nobel Foundation. 8 million: the prize in Swedish kronor for each award category. That's about $1.2 million. The laureates also receive a gold medal and a diploma. 94: the number of Nobel Peace Prizes handed out since 1901. No award was given on 19 occasions, including during the first and second world wars. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the 25th organization to receive the award. 17,000: the number of flowers that will decorate the Concert Hall where the Stockholm prize ceremony takes place. They include roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, and tulips as well as apples and evergreen plants. Many of the flowers have been shipped from the Italian city of San Remo, where Alfred Nobel died on Dec. 10, 1896. 43: the number of chefs needed for the 1,250 guests invited to the lavish Nobel banquet in Stockholm after the award ceremony. There will be 260 service staff. 50: the years that Nobel committees keep their deliberations secret. So we'll have to wait until 2063 to find out who, beside the winners, was nominated for the 2013 awards. www.nobelprize.org for highlights from the Nobel Week - the official web site of the Nobel Prize