BOSTON (AP) — A team of researchers from Japan wondered if painting cows with zebra-like stripes would prevent flies from biting them. 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 for comical scientific achievement.

“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. As a result, 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.

The year’s winners, honored in

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