# Cow tipping **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865 "2006-06-15T21:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/21 "2006-06-16T01:50:48Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Yet another farm boy checking in. Never saw it done, never heard of anyone doing it, and besides, our cattle slept lying down. I vote urban legend. [/QUOTE] Another farm boy with the exactly the same reaction. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/22 "2006-06-16T01:55:16Z")
Urban legend. Rural people know better. Qualifications: Lifetime in the livestock industry. Live on a cattle farm. Cows in my pasture right at the moment. Can recognize bullshit when I see/hear it. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/23 "2006-06-16T03:46:55Z")
I worked on a black Angus farm for years. No way in hell can I see tipping one over against itā€™s will without using a bulldozer. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/24 "2006-06-16T04:09:51Z")
Another farm boy chiming in. I was raised on a dairy farm in the middle of cow country (southern Oklahoma, north Texas). The first time I heard the term ā€œcow tippingā€ was in my 20ā€™s and it had to be explained to me because I couldnā€™t figure out what the hell it meant. And having been chased around by a few angry cows (do NOT, ever!, get between a mother cow and her calf!), anyone who tries it deserves whatever they get. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/25 "2006-06-16T05:04:48Z")
I also grew up on a farm with cows. Itā€™s an urban legend. As has been mentioned, cows sleep lying down. They weigh hundreds of pounds, and will shift their weight to stay upright if you push on them. Imagine trying to push over a 500 lb block. Now imagine if that block had legs that could move to help keep it upright. Have fun. The only way youā€™re going to ā€˜tipā€™ a cow is to hit it with your pickup truck. ---
**Author:** ![xiix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d6d6ee/32.png) [@xiix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xiix)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/26 "2006-06-16T07:48:24Z")
Apparently the supposed technique involved 1 person tricking the cow by pushing from one side in order to get the animal to exert its momentum against that direction meanwhile the two actual tippers subsequently commence a violent series of shoves from the other side, utterly confusing the bovine and perhaps achieving the feat ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/27 "2006-06-16T08:15:12Z")
[Cecil sez](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_363.html)ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/28 "2006-06-16T08:23:33Z")
My friend in Alabama says itā€™s just an excuse to get some sucker out of the car and into a cow field, and then you drive off without him šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/29 "2006-06-16T10:32:38Z")
[QUOTE=Bob55] My friend in Alabama says itā€™s just an excuse to get some sucker out of the car and into a cow field, and then you drive off without him šŸ™‚ [/QUOTE] Next question: Is snipe hunting real? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/30 "2006-06-16T11:25:19Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Next question: Is snipe hunting real? [/QUOTE] Yes. Next question: Is [this](http://www.ukgameshows.com/atoz/programmes/b/banzai/banzai_8.jpg) a man eating fish? ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/31 "2006-06-16T11:48:11Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Next question: Is snipe hunting real? [/QUOTE] Another country boy checking in: I never heard of cow tipping until I moved to the city. Now, snipe hunting is a different story. One of the most impressive wing shots I ever saw was when a snipe (or timber cock) flew up near my grandfatherā€™s feet. He unslung his shotgun and fired one effective shot by the time the snipe was about twelve feet off of the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/32 "2006-06-16T12:08:04Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] **Shagnasty** may have pegged it. Cow tipping would have to be done when itā€™s dark, right? So you sneak up to the fence and tell the city boys to wait there and shine the flashlight at you when you yell. You sneak up to a cow thatā€™s laying down far enough away that the city boys canā€™t see you in the dark. You stand next to the cow and yell. They shine the flashlight at you and youā€™re standing next to a supine cow, struggling to its feet. _presto_ Youā€™ve just demonstrated cow tipping. [/QUOTE] I like this theory. And I can assure you that if it wasnā€™t the orginal soucre of the legend I intend to put it into play to reinforce it as soon as possible. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/33 "2006-06-16T12:24:04Z")
[QUOTE=Measure for Measure] [Cecil sez](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_363.html)ā€¦ [/QUOTE] _Cows are lousy tippers_ One of my favorite Cecilisms ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/34 "2006-06-16T12:25:34Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] Can you be specific as to place and time. One person, a group? Night or day? [/QUOTE] About 15 years ago. (I think I was about 18 or 19) Rural Alberta (Cow country). Group. Night. The cow didnā€™t really tip over they way a 4-runner tips over, it just sort of stumbled around a little and when down on itā€™s knees(?) a bit. I think it was dozing off. It seemed really pissed after. It could have been a trick cow. Or a known dodgy cow. I was at my friendā€™s, uncleā€™s farm. (The friend was one of the tippers.) ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/35 "2006-06-16T12:30:31Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Is snipe hunting real? [/QUOTE] I always thought this was a only a joke, too. In fact, I doubted that such a bird a snipe even existed. Then I read _Anna Karenina_. Imagine my surprise when some of the main characters go out into a Russian marsh to hunt snipe! They did go out in the daytime, though, and used guns, not their bare hands. And though weā€™ve now established that cow tipping is an urban legend, did you know that if you walk up to the front of an unsuspecting tractor and make a sudden, loud noise, it will tip over backwards? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/36 "2006-06-16T12:39:14Z")
[QUOTE=zagloba] I always thought this was a only a joke, too. In fact, I doubted that such a bird a snipe even existed. Then I read _Anna Karenina_. Imagine my surprise when some of the main characters go out into a Russian marsh to hunt snipe! They did go out in the daytime, though, and used guns, not their bare hands. And though weā€™ve now established that cow tipping is an urban legend, did you know that if you walk up to the front of an unsuspecting tractor and make a sudden, loud noise, it will tip over backwards? [/QUOTE] This will probably get my man card revoked. There really _IS_ a bird called a snipe, also known as a Virginia Rail. Itā€™s small, fast, has a very long thin beak, and lives in marshy areas. However, ā€˜snipe huntingā€™ in this sense, means you put the unsuspecting boob in the middle of the woods at night with a flashlight and a paper bag. S/He is supposed to put the bag on itā€™s side on the ground, shine the light into it, and call out ā€˜Here snipe snipe snipeā€™. The birds are supposed to run insideā€¦ In the meantime, you leave them lost and stranded, and go drink beer somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/37 "2006-06-16T13:37:08Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] S/He is supposed to put the bag on itā€™s side on the ground, shine the light into it, and call out ā€˜Here snipe snipe snipeā€™. The birds are supposed to run insideā€¦ [/QUOTE] Works with housecats. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/38 "2006-06-16T13:46:55Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] Works with housecats. [/QUOTE] But how to the housecats hold the flashlight? šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/39 "2006-06-16T13:48:27Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] Works with housecats. [/QUOTE] My housecats donā€™t drink beerā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865/40 "2006-06-16T14:25:16Z")
Cows are cute. Instead of trying to tip them over, why donā€™t people snuggle up to one? Iā€™m starting up a ā€œHug a cow todayā€ campaign to change young minds! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/360865.md?page=3)