Painting zebra stripes on cows to fend off flies, lizards' favourite pizza toppings and how booze helps you speak another language: these were some of the winners at the Ig Nobel prizes, which celebrate the sillier side of science.
The 35th edition of the annual awards, which are organised by the science humour magazine Annals of Improbable Research, were held just a few weeks before the real Nobel prizes.
