Cow Cosplay | Lactose Lizards | Poetic Fingernails

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This week we’re looking at my favorite 2025 Ig Nobel awards. A quirky award ceremony about “achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.”

—Steve 🤔 

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Cow Cosplay

Stripes could be the new “fly repellant”. Researchers painted cows to see if cosplaying a zebra attracted less flies.

• Zebras attract fewer flies than cows

• Biting flies disrupt cattle’s quality of life (and output)

• Painted cows were measured for fly quantity and fly-repelling behavior

Zebra-striped cows attracted significantly fewer flies and demonstrated less repelling behavior compared to black-striped and unpainted cows. Further studies will assess if the stripes throw off fly navigation. Brb, getting some paint.

Next big thing: Zebra-striped hiking gear — dive deeper

Lactose Lizards

What is a rainbow lizard’s favorite pizza? Fortunately, science has the answer:

• Rainbow lizards in West Africa steal some tourists’ pizza

• 9 lizards were presented with 2 options

• Flavor battle: four-cheese vs. four-seasons

Within 15 minutes all the lizards demolished the four-cheese slices without considering four-seasons. Cheese could be presenting chemical cues, but a wider variety of pies is needed verify reptilian pizza preferences. Obv pineapple would be top pick…

Lizard brain needs cheese — learn more

Poetic Fingernails

How to use your fingernails to win the literary Ig Nobel Prize:

• Measure your fingernail growth for 35 years

• Dust off your thesaurus

• Document it poetically

Dr. William B. Bean said it best, "the nail provides a slowly moving keratin kymograph that measures age on the inexorable abscissa of time." Aka your nails grow slowly and documents your age like tree rings.

Tl;dr: you’re a tree, maybe — extra details

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Unnatural Selection

Last week: “If you cloned yourself, how would you split your work?”

Did you know you can add a note to your poll response? I really like Dawn’s approach to this one!

I’m debating keeping this section active. I need more weekly votes to make silly pie charts. Please vote on this week’s poll below!

st3v on site

No Fly Zone

Sure, flies never bothered st3v before he painted himself like a zebra. BUT now we know what he looks like with stripes.

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