Way back in 2011, I attended the Ig Nobel prizes, getting to meet the delightful Tank Mayor. The satirical prizes continue to be awarded, and the 2025 crop is as delightful as ever. For instance, Tomoki Kojima and his team demonstrated that painting cows with zebra-like stripes can prevent flies from biting them.

Kojima was thrilled to be recognized.

“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 on stage in stripes and was surrounded by his fellow researchers who harassed [him] with cardboard flies.

Dreams really do come true.