Sometimes, science is serious. Penicillin. MRI machines. Vaccines. And then sometimes science is cows dressed up as zebras.

Yes, a team of researchers in Japan actually painted cows with zebra-like stripes. Why? To see if it would cut down on pesky fly bites. Turns out, it worked. The cows were less harassed and seemed calmer. Somewhere, a fashion-forward Holstein is strutting down the pasture runway feeling fabulous and bug-free.

And then there were the lizards. Not satisfied with flies and stripes, another set of researchers from Africa and Europe wanted to know what kind of pizza do lizards prefer? I mean, we’ve all wondered about it late at night, right? Lizards, apparently, have food preferences too. I bet they’d swipe your slice if you left it unattended.

These studies were not just oddball curiosities; they were awarded Ig Nobel Prizes. These are honors reserved for research that makes you laugh, then think. And that’s the sweet spot, isn’t it? That space between silly and profound. Painting cows seems ridiculous until you realize farmers spend a lot of money and chemical effort trying to keep flies off their livestock. A little paint? A lot cheaper, a lot greener. As for the lizards? Well, who knows where reptilian pizza studies may lead us.

The Ig Nobels remind me of the value of curiosity; that which is unfiltered, untamed, sometimes bordering on absurd. Because sometimes the questions that sound the silliest crack open new ways of seeing the world.

And maybe, just maybe, the striped cow is a metaphor for us all. A reminder that sometimes you’ve got to put on your weird stripes, step out, and see if life bugs you a little less.