Episode #114 - - - Tipping Cows, Riding Pigs

Replies to This Discussion

K-ModPermalink Reply by Gumbo123 on June 15, 2012 at 10:50am

Rhett's friend looks very fuzzy . . . might actually be a pig-sheep hybrid beast

K-ModPermalink Reply by Gumbo123 on June 15, 2012 at 11:04am

Those of us who are regular visitors to kommchat know that there have been previous conversations on the topic of COW TIPPING , but since most MBs are too busy to look it up:

COW TIPPING

(from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Cow tipping or cow pushing is the purported activity of sneaking up on a sleeping, upright cow and pushing it over for one's entertainment. As cattle do not sleep standing up, cow tipping is a myth

A cow lying on its side

Myth and Reality

According to the myth, cattle are slow-moving, slow-witted and weak-legged, and can easily be pushed over without much force, both because they have a high center of gravity, and because they sleep standing up. However, despite the widespread legend of tipping cows, numerous publications have debunked the practice's feasibility. Cattle only rest while standing up, rather than sleeping that way, and they are easily disturbed. Additionally, they represent over half a ton of weight that would easily resist a lesser tipping force. A variety of calculations have been performed to determine if cow tipping is physically possible.

A study led by Margo Lillie, a doctor of zoology at the University of British Columbia, concludes that cow tipping—by a single person—is impossible. Her calculations found that it would take at least two people to apply enough force to push over a cow if the cow does not react and reorient its footing. If the cow does react, it would take at least four people to push it over, according to the results. Lillie notes that, contrary to the nature of the myth, cattle are well aware of their surroundings and are very difficult to sneak up on, due to excellent senses of both smell and hearing.

History

Julius Caesar and Pliny record a belief that European moose had no knee joints and could not get up if they fell over. This belief may relate to the ancient custom of trapping moose in steep-sided pits.

In 1255, Louis IX of France gave an elephant to Henry III of England for his menagerie in the Tower of London. Drawn from life by the historian Matthew Paris for his Chronica Majora, it can be seen in his bestiary at Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, with an accompanying text revealing that at the time, Europeans believed that elephants did not have knees and so were unable to get up if they fell over. The bestiary contains a drawing depicting an elephant on its back being dragged along the ground by another elephant, with a caption stating that elephants lacked knees.

News

In April 2008, four men in Naples, Florida, who were arrested for damaging a gate to a communications tower in an open field, told police deputies that they had gone into the field and tipped over a cow. However, police stated this was impossible because there were no cattle within several miles of the field.

Popular culture

Cow-tipping has appeared in a variety of media and entertainment.

In the 2006 animated movie Barnyard, a group of tough talking cattle from New Jersey go "boy-tipping" in response to similar behavior against cattle.
In a 1994 episode of the popular animated television series Beavis and Butt-head, the two titular characters, after watching a milk ad on television, set out to tip over a cow, only to result in Beavis being crushed when the cow falls on him.
In the 1989 black comedy Heathers, two teenaged characters attempt to tip a cow when drunk.