Cow tipping

Apparently there has been a study last year debunking cow tipping. Yeah, we all heard of the practice, but have you ever witnessed it? Even without this study I had my doubts it was possible.

I've never seen my cattle sleep standing up. Apparently they may doze or take a quick cat nap while standing, but not sleep. The only time I've seen my cattle sleeping is laying on the ground curled up like a cat or dog among other cattle. Even then when I approach they wake up, or a nearby cow wakes them up. The other thing is, seldom do I see a cow by itself. If they are a little ways from another cow they are not sleeping. The other cattle will react to your approach and this would signal the dozing/sleeping cow.

Also I've noticed cattle are very aware of their surroundings. They can be a distance away and I see their head turn to watch me when I come out of the house or another building.

Their eyes are on the sides of their head and therefore they have a wide range of vision. Their only blind spots are directly behind them and directly in front of them. That is why they don't care for or trust when you try to pet them on their nose when you stand in front of them.

So to approach them unawares from their side to push them over... doubt it. My cattle at least certainly wouldn't stand there and let you try.

And who would want to tip a cow over? That's mean.

The sport of cow-tipping has been debunked as an urban, or perhaps rural, myth by scientists at a Canadian university.

Margo Lillie, a doctor of zoology at the University of British Columbia, and her student Tracy Boechler have conducted a study on the physics of cow-tipping.

The animals weigh about 1,500 pounds, she points out, so "“actually tipping a cow is quite difficult when you take the biology and physics into consideration."” Boechler took on the legendary "“sport"” for a zoological physics class project, emerging with evidence that claims of single-handed cow-tipping prowess are the result of overactive imaginations and too much alcohol.

To tip the average cow, which is about five feet tall, would require around 654 pounds of force, Boechler found. Assuming a 150-pound "“athlete"” can push his own body weight, the equivalent of 4.36 people would be needed to take down one cow.

Dr Lillie, Ms Boechler'’s supervisor, revised the calculations so that two people could exert the required amount of force to tip a static cow, but only if it did not react. Another problem is that cows, unlike horses, do not sleep on their feet -— they doze.

The original British Times article is here.