Weird science? Sure, it may get you an Ig Nobel

A team ofresearchers from Japan wondered if painting cows with zebra-like stripes would prevent flies from biting them.

- By MICHAEL CASEY

THE IG NOBEL Prize for biology is accepted by Japanese researchers for their work on... painting cows.

Another group from Africa and Europe pondered the types of pizza lizards preferred to eat.

Those researchers were honored Thursday in Boston with an Ig Nobel, the prize — a handmade model of a human stomach — for comical scientific achievement. In lieu of a big paycheck, each winner was also given a single hand wipe.

“When I did this experiment, I hoped that I would win the Ig Nobel. It’s my dream. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable,” said Tomoki Kojima, whose team put tape on Japanese beef cows and then spray painted them with white stripes. Kojima appeared onstage in stripes and was surrounded by his fellow researchers who harassed him with cardboard flies.

As a result of the paint job, fewer flies were attracted to the cows and they seemed less bothered by the flies. Despite the findings, Kojima admitted it might be a challenge to apply this approach on a large scale.