# Have you ever stepped on a 'goat's head'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921 "2016-07-02T15:10:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/21 "2016-07-03T03:21:31Z")
Never seen them, never heard of them! They look particularly menacing and a titch evil too! Glad I’ve never stepped on one, yikes! Do they have an actual real name. Beyond stickers and such? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/22 "2016-07-03T03:43:38Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Do they have an actual real name. Beyond stickers and such? **jtur88** mentioned _Acanthospermum hispidum_. The ones I’m (unfortunately) familiar with are _Tribulus terrestris_ and are known (per Wiki) as goat’s-head, bindii, bullhead, burra gokharu, caltrop, small caltrops, cat’s-head, devil’s eyelashes, devil’s-thorn, devil’s-weed, puncture vine, puncturevine, and tackweed. But I’ve only head them called goat’s heads. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/23 "2016-07-03T03:49:32Z")
I’ve stepped on more than a few in my bare feet. Not pleasant. I have also suffered many, many goat head flats while riding my bike. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/24 "2016-07-03T05:35:27Z")
I have never seen them here in SoCal, but they are a nuisance in Cedar City, Utah, and especially in my front yard ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/25 "2016-07-03T06:02:06Z")
I lived on a sheep farm for a couple of years and caltrop was one of the WORST weeds to try to eradicate. The prickles would get into the pads of the dorpers, and it was a bloody hassle to get them out. Nasty little fuckers… ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/26 "2016-07-04T01:47:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Do they have an actual real name. most people just call them @&#\*#@. They go right through bike tires and shoes, and are the bane of dog owners. The weeds are impossible to eradicate. I have a theory the things evolved to spread via car tires, which they stick into without causing leaks and move around that way. You find a curious pattern of them around access roads through fields. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/27 "2016-07-04T02:47:48Z")
never seen them but I’ve backed into an[osage orange tree](http://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/default/cme/cme_public_images/www_ehow_com/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/64/9/146963891_XS.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/28 "2016-07-04T05:38:59Z")
Damn near every F’in’ day! Like carpet where I live. I pull them out of my feet (inside the house, 'cause my asshole family drags them in!), out of my shoes and out of the dog’s feet constantly. When one of the dogs gets one in their paw, they come running to me on three legs for me to pull them out. Kinda makes me feel important and loved, actually. Good dogs. When they stick in the bottom of your shoes, and you walk on the concrete patio, they make a weird sound and you can feel them. Kinda like broken roller skate wheels. Oh, and bike tires? Forget it! We only use solid tubes now. The kid outgrew the largest set we could find, so he doesn’t get a new bike now. I’m not gonna fix a bike tire two times a day. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/29 "2016-07-05T23:37:22Z")
Yes, but I’ve never heard that term before. We just called them “stickers” in West Texas. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/30 "2016-07-05T23:58:01Z")
Horrible stuff! Put the dampers on a lot of bike rides. But interesting, the plant is quite famous for medicinal purposes. And yesterday, I heard on a public radio station that they are releasing a weevil that destroys the seeds. Apparently, one plant can produce 600-800 goat heads. The weevil can’t survive the winters there. And they don’t consider an invasive introduction. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/31 "2016-07-06T01:16:07Z")
Albuquerque, 1950s. Only when we were stupid enough to go without shoes in the “park” across the street. It was worse on the dogs who didn’t have a shoe option. I remember constantly pulling the thorn from a limping doggie. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/32 "2016-07-06T03:09:51Z")
Yesyesyes…when I lived in the country in South Texas. I never walked barefoot in the house, because the dogs would bring them in on their fur. The WORST thing is when they somehow get in the laundry and you find one in your underpants _the hard way._ YIKES. Or when you’re drying yourself after a shower and there’s one in the towel. Now that I live in the city, I don’t miss those little rat bastards at all. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/33 "2016-07-06T04:06:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Never stepped on one of those, but I did get a jumping cactus pad stuck on the back of my hand when I was a kid. I also stepped on a board with a nail in it went right through my foot and out the top. Are you talking about cholla cactus? I was attacked by one of those when I was in Arizona many years ago; it gripped my pants leg (I was wearing blue jeans) and the hole in my kneecap took more than a year to completely heal. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/34 "2016-07-06T04:16:30Z")
Those things are pure evil. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/35 "2016-07-06T06:33:59Z")
Oh Yes! These were the bane of my childhood. We went barefoot if at all possible, and I must have had hundreds of these over the years. The seeds are shaped like caltrops, and are distributed by animals who step on the seed; the seed are scattered by being released somewhere else. The plant (also known as a puncture vine) are in the botanical family Zygophyllaceae which is commonly called the Caltrop family as the feeds are shaped like the old defensive caltrops that were used to disable horses and people, much like mines are used today. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/36 "2016-07-06T08:33:36Z")
oh hell yes every damn day of my life as ive said before me and johnny grew up in the same town and I’m still here… its even worse since the water rules was enacted almost everyones lawn is dead … ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/37 "2016-07-06T14:40:25Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > I’m not familiar with those, but we have something similar that grows near our coast. We call them sand spurs and, yes, i’ve had those bitches lodged in my feet. They even get wadded-up in your shoelaces when you wear shoes. Yep, sandspurs. Ouch ouch ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/38 "2016-07-06T15:38:27Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Yes, had a childhood game based around it (well avoiding them). Yes and [sandburs](http://www.turfgrass.ncsu.edu/images/Plants/sandbur/Thumbs250/P1080748_Sandbur.jpg) too. We’d pick them up, and peel away the unnecessary parts (leaves and such) and throw them at each other. This was in NW Oklahoma, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/39 "2016-07-06T17:51:08Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > oh hell yes every damn day of my life as ive said before me and johnny grew up in the same town and I’m still here… its even worse since the water rules was enacted almost everyones lawn is dead … Healthy grass will choke out the evil stickerburrs. But in these days of watering restrictions and dead lawns, the little bastards flourish. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921/40 "2016-07-06T18:27:45Z")
Holy cow, never even heard of 'em! I can’t imagine trying to avoid them as a barefoot kid, or keeping my dogs safe from them. Another reason I love living in Ohio! We also don’t have weird bugs. Although I have stepped on bees several times, due to all the clover. But bees don’t come in to your house and hang out in your carpet, or go through bike tires. Yeesh! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stepped-on-a-goats-head/758921.md?page=3)