# cows and rain

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-and-rain/158482>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 2, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-and-rain/158482 "2003-03-02T00:06:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jessier88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@jessier88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessier88)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-and-rain/158482/1 "2003-03-02T00:06:19Z")

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Why cows lie down does it really mean its going to rain?

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-and-rain/158482/2 "2003-03-02T00:11:23Z")

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No. You can tell that this can’t be true because otherwise cows that live in rainy climates, like the Pacific Northwest and Ireland, would be lying down all the time. And they don’t.

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**Author:** ![jessier88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@jessier88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessier88)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-and-rain/158482/3 "2003-03-02T00:19:25Z")

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oops! What I meant to write was “When cows lie down does it mean its going to rain?” 😛

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**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-and-rain/158482/4 "2003-03-02T01:45:22Z")

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I asked Sweety (grew up on a dairy farm). I asked him “When cows lie down does it mean it’s gonna rain?” He said, “no, it means they felt like lying down”.

ba-da-bing !! 😛

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cows-and-rain/158482/5 "2003-03-02T02:51:35Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jessier88 \*  
> \*\*oops! What I meant to write was “When cows lie down does it mean its going to rain?” 😛 \*\*

It generally means they’re tired of standing.

Or maybe the view is better?