Cow tipping - reality or myth?

[CraigD]

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, concluding that it is so difficult that it is almost certainly a “urban (err.. rural?) myth”. See the Timesonline’s 11/5/2005 article ”Cow-tipping myth hasn't got a leg to stand on” for the full story.

 

I find flaws in Dr. Lillie’s starting assumptions.

 

So, has anyone experience contradicting or supporting this controversial research?

[cwes99_03]

Having grown up in the country, on a farm, ( at least 60 miles from a city with a population of 100,000, and 2 miles outside a village of 600), and having raised cattle, i can assuredly say that it is false. 1) cows don't sleep standing 2) cows aren't tame, they will run away from you if they can 3) just getting a cow to walk in the direction you want takes punching them in the side with a closed fist, and twisting their neck in a head lock. I have a friend who nearly lost his finger because a cow got spooked and took off running while he was leading it by a rope. The rope became tangled around the finger and it was ripped off, sewed back on by a surgeon 112 miles away.

[CraigD]

In defense of the feasibility of cow tipping

 

I’ve never attempted to tip a cow, nor met anyone who has (or will admit to trying).

 

I have, however, dealt with several horses with the bad habit of leaning hard against you, for instance, when you lift a hoof to clean it. My guess it that leaning is something horses do socially, either for comfort or mild aggression, with one another, so do with humans with similar social intentions. A reliable way to break them of the habit is to lean back, hard, for a minute or so, then suddenly spring away, surprising and staggering them. I’ve seen horses stagger pretty badly under these circumstances, and imagine that, had I more experience, I’d have witnessed a fall or two. Of course, only a fool, a vandal, or a sadist intentionally tries to make a horse fall, but, especially as horses do appear to nap pretty deeply while standing, I can imaging that one could “tip” a horse using the “push and release” technique, whereas a simple “sudden push” would be less effective.

 

Though cows and horses have similar masses, cows seem a bit more stably built, and, as Dr. Lillie and cwes point out, don’t sleep deeply or at all standing up. Still, I wonder if the “push and release” technique could stagger a cow so badly it fell?

 

Dr Lillie seems to have considered only the “sudden push” approach to cow tipping.

[cwes99_03]

Craig you need to visit my rural or urban thread if you haven't yet. I know that cows love to lean against things and rub against them to scratch. I've been stepped on by a cow and hit it so hard i made it move pretty quickly. I've also seen them slip and slide on a recently cleaned concrete floor with fresh straw. Never seen on fall over without trying to jump a fence though.

[cwes99_03]

Guess you have. Thanks.

[anglepose]

Cows can deffinatly be tipped sicnce ive done it my self and they as craigd said seem to nap while standing

[TheBigDog]

Should we send this one into Mythbusters?

[Queso]

all I know is

a lot of folks tip

cow pies for

fungi.

[Pyrotex]

I tip cows all the time. No kidding.

 

Usually, I just leave a dollar, because their service isn't all that great.