# Geese are horrifying **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 7, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200 "2016-03-07T13:48:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/21 "2016-03-08T02:06:22Z")
Some people want to ban foie gras because they consider it cruelty. Others suggest that it is an important culinary item and some suggest that we can do it less cruelly. I might suggest that the cruelty is feature not a bug, and it is our only weapon against the winged menace. Oh, and you can also make it with duck liver. Ducks aren’t any better, they are known to be rapists and necrophiles. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > But if we’re talking Giger, then my vote goes to the [Moray eel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moray_eel), for its [pharyngeal jaws.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moray_eel#/media/File:Pharyngeal_jaws_of_moray_eels.svg) When I was a kid we had a sea life book with a bunch of photos in it. I think it might’ve been Jacques Cousteau. I quickly caught on to which page had the moray eel so that I could skip that page without seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/22 "2016-03-08T02:17:32Z")
The only time I’ve seen gooses retreat was when a group tried to attack my then small sons. I came after them with a fishing pole and they seemed to get that there was a large creature defending its young. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/23 "2016-03-08T02:21:32Z")
Goose-fearing folks should definitely avoid National Wildlife Refuges, especially in winter when [flocks of thousand](https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNxFYVUla6OpS_sBESmfm0sos8yssHA1fEIvrIy)s are a common sight. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/24 "2016-03-08T05:54:05Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > When asked why geese, my grandfather always said “dogs will make friends with people, geese won’t”. And he was right. Those geese hated everybody pretty uniformly, except for my grandfather because he’s the one who fed them. Hey, what’s good for the [priestesses of Juno](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brennus_(4th_century_BC)#Sack_of_Rome) is good for the cranky old grandad: > [@](#): > > The Senones captured the entire city of Rome except for the Capitoline Hill, which was successfully held against them. According to legend **Marcus Manlius Capitolinus was alerted to the Gallic attack by the sacred geese of Juno.** ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/25 "2016-03-08T06:54:15Z")
> [@maxjohnson](#): > > Well I’m glad they’re mean if they’re going to survive. Survive? Canada geese are an invasive species in this area and the ecological damage they do endangers the survival of other species. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2016, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/26 "2016-03-08T07:18:03Z")
A gøøse once bit my sister ---
**Author:** ![Manila\_Bay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@Manila\_Bay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manila_Bay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/27 "2016-03-08T07:56:57Z")
Horrifying to cook (4 hours) but very tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/28 "2016-03-08T11:43:11Z")
Inside a sea turtle’s mouth: [http://i.imgur.com/RUq17TE.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/RUq17TE.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/29 "2016-03-08T14:14:48Z")
Ha! Much like the mouth of a camel. [http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article\_640x430/public/camel\_mouth.png](http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/camel_mouth.png) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/30 "2016-03-08T15:12:42Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Ha! Much like the mouth of a camel. > [http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article\_640x430/public/camel\_mouth.png](http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/camel_mouth.png) I saw a video of a sea turtle autopsy once, showing the spiny features seen in **Smeghead’s** link. The explanation was that it had to do with the turtle’s diet of jellyfish, and the fact that it ate them under water: [the spines keep the jellyfish from being expelled when the turtle squeezes to move all the excess water out of its mouth and throat before swallowing.](https://sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/some-turtles-are-terrifying-2/) So I’m at a loss to understand why a landlubber camel would have similar features in its mouth… 😕 My search also turned up this Cracked article: [The 7 Most Terrifying Mouths in Nature](http://www.cracked.com/article_19871_the-7-most-terrifying-mouths-in-nature.html) Sorry to report that geese aren’t on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/31 "2016-03-08T19:26:28Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > So I’m at a loss to understand why a landlubber camel would have similar features in its mouth… 😕 Being desert critters, camels eat pretty much any plant they can get their lips on. If they only had to worry about plentiful and compliant grasses, the inside of their cheeks would be more like cowses and horseses. But they also have to deal with prickly stuff and sticks & twigs which can be tricky. The papillae on their cheeks work a bit like the sea turtle’s–they help to keep stuff in their mouths, and to help to work it back toward their swallowhole. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/32 "2016-03-08T19:35:48Z")
The good thing about them is that when the dead rise and roam the earth and you and your family have taken shelter in an enclosed space with some open yard, geese will be a great source of fresh meat. Within your zombie-proof compound, have a shallow bit of water in a grassy area; it’ll draw geese looking for a meal. When they land, just walk up to them. Geese are aggressive and stupid, and at least one will refuse to retreat and will decide to fight you; hit that one in the head with a shovel. Presto, you’ve got dinner, and you didn’t have to waste ammunition. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/33 "2016-03-08T20:44:21Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I didn’t even need that photo to be terrified of them. They’re aggressive, mean-spirited assholes. Most waterfoul\* seem to be. (I’m with Hari on Swans being the biggest dicks of the avian world. I was chased by one of them at 6 years old, so I may be biased, though.) - A typo that I left alone, because…fuck, it accurately describes the bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/34 "2016-03-08T23:41:24Z")
A Canada Goose attacked me when I was out jogging a couple years ago. It was on the ground, and then it jumped up and flew right toward my head. I ducked just in time. It then flew toward my head _again_, and that time it hit me with its wing. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/35 "2016-03-09T05:31:50Z")
All of these horror stories about Canada geese don’t match my experience with them. Many a time Clan Piper has fed the geese here in their native habitat, on the shores of the Mighty Wascana. Perhaps they just don’t make good tourists? Take them away from their native home and they get edgy and rude? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/36 "2016-03-09T12:42:49Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > All of these horror stories about Canada geese don’t match my experience with them. Many a time Clan Piper has fed the geese here in their native habitat, on the shores of the Mighty Wascana. > > Perhaps they just don’t make good tourists? Take them away from their native home and they get edgy and rude? please don’t feed geese. they don’t need your “food,” and feeding them encourages them to just hang around crapping all over the place which pollutes smaller bodies of water. They’re such a nuisance in Michigan that if you feed them in state parks you’ll get a citation. we have beaches in my city we used to swim at when I was a kid which have been unusable for years now thanks partly to all of the goose shit. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200/37 "2016-03-09T12:48:34Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > All of these horror stories about Canada geese don’t match my experience with them. Many a time Clan Piper has fed the geese here in their native habitat, on the shores of the Mighty Wascana. > > Perhaps they just don’t make good tourists? Take them away from their native home and they get edgy and rude? Ugly Canadians? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geese-are-horrifying/748200.md?page=1)