Cow tipping

An unsuspecting victim

Cow tipping is a pastime allegedly common in rural areas, in which participants sneak up on an upright sleeping cow and then push it over for amusement. Some variants of this urban legend state that the cow is then unable to get up.

The appeal of this myth derives from the belief that cows are slow-witted and top-heavy, and the corollary assumption that relatively little force would need to be applied to the top of such apparently precarious ruminants to tip them over.

Evidence that cow tipping is an urban myth

There is no evidence aside from (mostly unreliable) eyewitness reports that any cows have ever been tipped in this manner. In addition, there are a number of problems with typical accounts of cow tipping. Unlike horses, cows do not 'lock their legs' when they sleep. Most of their sleep is very light and easily disturbed - typical of herd prey animals; they take only short naps at regular intervals throughout a 24 hour period, which means that at any given time, some members of the herd are aware and alert. The vision field of a cow is larger than that of a human, and they have acute senses of hearing and smell. Thus, cows are not easy to sneak up on. If startled, they quickly communicate to the rest of the herd that something is amiss.

Cows are large, and would be very difficult to tip, even for several people working together. A grown cow can be over 1.5 m (5 feet) high with a mass of on the order of 700 kg (1,500 lb) and sometimes reaching 900 kg (2000 lb). By way of comparison, a typical sumo wrestler masses only 140 kg (310 lb). The four corners of a large "American-style" domestic refrigerator fairly closely approximate the spread of a cow's legs. If the refrigerator were cut down to 1.5 m (5 feet), filled with 400 kg (880 lb) of lead weights, and placed in a muddy field, tipping it would offer a comparable challenge to tipping a cow.

Many variants of the legend claim that successfully tipping a cow will result in the cow's death. Although cows can die if prevented from sitting upright for an extended period of time, briefly forcing a cow onto its back will not kill it. Under typical circumstances, a cow knocked onto its back would be able to restore itself to an upright position.

Other versions of the cow tipping story attempt to evade these objections by claiming, for example, that although cows lie down to dream, they can still doze while standing. Others appeal to a paper published by the University of British Columbia's Zoological Physics department, which calculates that, under ideal circumstances, as few as five people could reasonably topple a cow. This means, science has now shown cow tipping is impossible. It is an urban myth.[1]

Finally, attempting to tip a cow is a patently dangerous activity. Despite the animal's reputation for being placid and slow-moving, a cow is easily capable of hurting someone when provoked or nervous; a herd of cows or a bull (easily mistaken for a cow in the dark) would be even more dangerous.

Possibility that cow tipping may be achievable

While not wishing to encourage the practice (for the many reasons cited elsewhere in this entry) The London Times of 8th November 2005, contains a number of letters on the subject, including one that appears to describe a method by which the task might be achievable by a mere three people. This follows some earlier discussions on the subject in The Times (see reference above).

Basically, one person makes the first push, to which the cow responds instinctively by pushing back. The remaining two people stand on the opposite side to the first and choose this moment to make their push which is claimed to have the desired effect. Although timing may be an issue (along with the lack of opportunities for practice) this has the feel of something that just might work!

The major disadvantage seems to be the increased likelihood that the first person chould end up being crushed by the cow - not something that I would like to appear on my death certificate.

Cow tipping in popular culture

• In an episode of MTV's "Beavis and Butthead", a cow is tipped by the two of them.
• It is mentioned in That '70s Show as something the kids did.
• The film Heathers features a scene in which a crowd of drunken jocks participate in a spot of cow tipping in which, unusually, the tippers suffer more humiliation than the tippee.
• In 1991, NPR broadcast a half-hour radio play called "Cow Tipping," a comedy about five hapless college-aged cow tippers in Illinois. Produced by the Midwest Radio Theatre Workshop.
• It is an often discussed topic on the popular breakfast radio show Foxy and Tom
• It was also featured in Chris Farley's movie, Tommy Boy, in which Farley and Rob Lowe attempted and failed to tip a slumbering cow.

External links

Articles discussing how cows could be tipped

• University of British Columbia - The Mechanics of Cow Tipping (PDF)

Articles arguing that cow tipping is an urban legend

• The Most Urban of All Urban Legends
• Adventures in cow tipping - Fiction!
• The Times article on Cow Tipping by Jack Malvern

Additional stories about cow tipping

• Humorous article about Cow Tipping - ubersite.com