# Is cow-tipping real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499 "2007-04-03T00:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/1 "2007-04-03T00:07:42Z")
I live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. My whole life, I’ve heard of silly shenanigans of cow-tipping. Recently, I found out that it’s a farce and is actually impossible to do. My question: Is cow-tipping feasible, does it happen, and is it actually amusing? In case it’s not real, and dairy farmers have never heard of “such a preposterous thing”, let me elaborate a little on my understanding. The maybe-myth goes like this: Cows sleep standing up. They have such a deep slumber that it’s entirely simple to sneak up on them. A bunch of kids wanting to raise a little hell on a dull evening would then infiltrate a pasture and push the slumbering brute over, which would remain sleeping and in an upright posture until it hit the ground. Then the kids would run like hell. Everyone I ask has never done this, but they all “know someone who has”. Am I just an ignorant city kid, or is this an old country pastime?? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/2 "2007-04-03T00:11:05Z")
The Master Speaks: [Is there really such a thing as cow tipping?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_363.html) Welcome to the Board. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/3 "2007-04-03T00:15:51Z")
[Here’s an earlier thread on the subject](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=375874&highlight=cow-tipping), in which a consensus was reached _among those actually familiar with cows_ (not _overly_ familiar of course-- just a _business_ relationship, you understand) that cow-tipping is not possible. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/4 "2007-04-03T00:50:54Z")
I will tell you, as an officer in the Future Farmers of America when I was a kid, that it is very possible, but not in the way described. You have to take two or three of yourselves, sneak up, pushing on the top of the cow along the back bone quick and hard, and then run away not backward but straight ahead or behind the cow as turning around to run takes longer to move than the ninety degree angle. It helps if the cow is a young heifer or calf and if there is a hill. But, there is a risk that the cow can get hurt so it is never a good idea to do this. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/5 "2007-04-03T01:12:34Z")
Being from Hicksville I can confirm that you can cow tip, much in the way described by **Translucent Daydream**. I’ve never done it because I think it’s really mean and cruel, but I have plenty of friends that have. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/6 "2007-04-03T01:16:10Z")
[QUOTE=Translucent Daydream] I will tell you, as an officer in the Future Farmers of America when I was a kid, that it is very possible, but not in the way described. You have to take two or three of yourselves, sneak up, pushing on the top of the cow along the back bone quick and hard, and then run away not backward but straight ahead or behind the cow as turning around to run takes longer to move than the ninety degree angle. It helps if the cow is a young heifer or calf and if there is a hill. But, there is a risk that the cow can get hurt so it is never a good idea to do this. [/QUOTE] I am having trouble picturing it but I still need to see a video. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/7 "2007-04-03T01:53:46Z")
Yes, cows tip all the time. That way they don’t have to carry a coin purse. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/8 "2007-04-03T02:01:47Z")
I always thought of it like snipe-hunting in scouts. Fiji house at Univ of Nebraska. We took the pledges (invariably from Omaha) out for “cow tipping”. We’d drive a good 30 minutes outside Lincoln, find a farm, let the pledges out to cow-tip. As soon as they were out of the car… we’d peel off. Hilarity ensues for those of us in the car. The city boys at midnight in the middle of nowhere… not so much. After a while we’d go back and get them. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/9 "2007-04-03T02:01:49Z")
Cow tipping is akin to snipe hunting. It’s a prank to pull on the un-suspecting after a good drinking at night. Not that cows can’t be pushed down (like most animals they can can), it’s just that they don’t tip as in being leg-locked and top heavy. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/10 "2007-04-03T02:09:10Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t fight the hypothetical] Cow tipping is akin to snipe hunting. [/QUOTE] Heck of a simul-post! ---
**Author:** ![MovingTarget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@MovingTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovingTarget)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/11 "2007-04-03T12:49:25Z")
HEY, lets leave snipe hunting out of this… d::r AAAAnywho, I’m going to call bullcrap on the cowtipping. I too, have many a friend that claims to have been cow tipping. But I refuse to believe it. I owned a cattle business with my father in law, and I can tell you that even a young heifer can be damned hard to move, even when they have the proper motivation. And if you get enen NEAR a small calf, the mama is gonna eat you for lunch more often than not. Until I see a video of this (considering this day and age we live in where everyone has night shot camcorders, and cell phones with video) I will NOT believe it. Even if all my buddies swear they got all liquored up and went out tippin’. And why is it alway with alcohol involved? Hell, my friends say they did a lot of things while drunk, and are full of beans, why should this be any different. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/12 "2007-04-03T13:09:55Z")
I have been cow tipping. Actually, it was more like cow shoving. Even with four of us pushing, the beast would not fall down. What it would do is wake up and be really pissed off. I think falling down would have been more fun for us. Running away from a half-ton of angry bovine? Not so much. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/13 "2007-04-03T13:22:30Z")
What’s the deal with Snipe hunting? [Snipe](http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/snipe/index.asp) are real, and people genuinely hunt them. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/14 "2007-04-03T13:41:56Z")
You know, I grew up on a cattle farm, and I’m having trouble remembering when I’ve actually seen a cow sleeping. They don’t seem to need much shut eye. The idea of a whole herd of them sleeping standing up, waiting for a bunch of drunks to come and knock them over, is pretty bizarre. As I mentioned in a previous thread on this topic, I never heard of this in the country, it was only when I had moved to the city and started encountering it in the media that I became aware of this strange idea. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/15 "2007-04-03T13:48:37Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] What’s the deal with Snipe hunting? [Snipe](http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/snipe/index.asp) are real, and people genuinely hunt them. [/QUOTE] [Snipe hunting.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe_hunting) > [@](#): > > A snipe hunt, also known as a fool’s errand or wild goose chase, is one of a class of practical jokes that involves experienced people making fun of newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. > > For example, inexperienced campers are told about a bird or animal called the snipe as well as a usually ridiculous method of catching it, such as running around the woods carrying a bag or making strange noises. Real snipes (which are often mistakenly thought to be non-existent) are difficult to catch for experienced hunters, so much so that the word “sniper” is derived from it to refer to anyone skilled enough to shoot one[1]. The hunt never succeeds for novices. In another, more cruel version, the unsuspecting “snipe hunter” is secretly abandoned to see how long will it take for him to notice this and start to panic. > > Snipe hunts are similar to hazing except that the abuse is embarrassment from trickery rather than physical humiliation. > > The name comes from a family of shorebirds named snipe that are notoriously difficult to shoot. However, the term “snipe hunt” does not describe a hunt for actual prey. Often, the pranksters will tell the victim, “we need to spread out,” and then go home. It always makes me think of the Ren & Stimpy where Ren sends Stimpy out on a snipe hunt. Stimpy comes back waving a bag and yelling “I got one, I got a snipe !”. Ren say’s “What ?!”, snatches the bag and yanks it open. Naturally a _thing_ lunges out of the bag and attacks Ren. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/16 "2007-04-03T13:50:25Z")
I have a feeling this is one of those ideas that start out as a joke but become real. To ask “is it real” suggests that a “no” means that nobody ever has snuck up on a cow (heifer, calf, whatever) and tried to shove it over. Well, if you tell a million people that cow tipping is great fun, somebody is going to try it, and somebody is going to succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/17 "2007-04-03T14:22:15Z")
[QUOTE=Translucent Daydream] I will tell you, as an officer in the Future Farmers of America when I was a kid, that it is very possible, but not in the way described. You have to take two or three of yourselves, sneak up, pushing on the top of the cow along the back bone quick and hard, and then run away not backward but straight ahead or behind the cow as turning around to run takes longer to move than the ninety degree angle. [/QUOTE] Were you, personally, ever part of a group that attempted to do this and succeeded? ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/18 "2007-04-03T14:43:05Z")
I just checked YouTube–no videos of actual cow-tipping. Until I see some night-vision video of a cow being tipped, I’m going to say everyone involved is lying their asses off, including Cecil’s friend from the original column. (Heck, considering the evidentiary hoops UFO watchers and ghost hunters have to jump through, getting some video of one of the most common animals in the world being pushed over isn’t too much to ask for.) ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/19 "2007-04-03T14:53:18Z")
It should be possible by rocking the cow back and forth from two sides, but one of you is going to have to volunteer to be crushed. You’re also very likely to wind up with a very very angry cow that is not a morning person. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499/20 "2007-04-03T15:32:50Z")
[QUOTE=Rube E. Tewesday] You know, I grew up on a cattle farm, and I’m having trouble remembering when I’ve actually seen a cow sleeping. They don’t seem to need much shut eye. The idea of a whole herd of them sleeping standing up, waiting for a bunch of drunks to come and knock them over, is pretty bizarre. As I mentioned in a previous thread on this topic, I never heard of this in the country, it was only when I had moved to the city and started encountering it in the media that I became aware of this strange idea. [/QUOTE] I grew up on a cattle farm, too. A little one, with about 10 to 15 head at any given time. The deal is, cows don’t sleep standing up. They will get up around three in the morning, stretch, wander a bit, then lay back down. The other problem with this “legend” is the fact that cows are herd animals. There is no way a drunken teenager or anyone else is going to sneak up on a cow, sleeping or not. I’m not even going to get in on the weight ratios. Cow tipping is an urban legend that has managed to get a foothold into American Folklore and will always be with us. Maybe mythbusters will give it a shot. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cow-tipping-real/398499.md?page=2)