# what is pig-iron
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 2, 2000, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395 "2000-11-02T16:22:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kevals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevals)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/1 "2000-11-02T16:22:36Z")
I was watching tv the other day and noticed a commercial for a pick-up truck where they say that your truck’s suspension should be able to tell the difference between a half-ton of pig-iron and a baby. My question is what the hell is pig iron? And what the hell do pigs have to do with iron.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/2 "2000-11-02T16:32:58Z")
It is what I thought…From [m-w.com](http://m-w.com):
> [@](#):
>
> Main Entry: pig iron
> Function: noun
> Date: 1665
> : crude iron that is the direct product of the blast furnace and is refined to produce steel, wrought iron, or ingot iron
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### Author:  [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/3 "2000-11-02T16:34:29Z")
Large, oblong cast ingots are known as “pigs”; I imagine (although I’m not sure) because of their rough resemblance to a napping sow.
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### Author:  [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/4 "2000-11-02T16:43:39Z")
Pig iron is cast into ingots by pouring into moulds conected by channels. The arrangement of the channels/ingots resembled piglets suckling.
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### Author:  [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/5 "2000-11-02T17:06:42Z")
The above is correct about iron having been poured into a main channel which then ran off into perpindicular side channels. The main channel is the sow, and the secondaries are the piglets. The main channel (sow) actually does “feed” the “piglets” in a sense. It made the cooled iron Pig and piglets into man-transportable ingots, as opposed to one huge shapless mass of iron. It is also a hell of a lot easier for a smith to work a piglet or part thereof into something useful (like a plowshare or whatever) as opposed to a big ass chunk of iron the size and weight of an anvil or larger. They still sometimes use the term “pig iron” today to refer to iron right out of the furnace and otherwise unprocessed or unforged.
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### Author:  [@zen101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zen101)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/6 "2000-11-02T20:19:50Z")
You are all wrong. Pig Iron is the strongest member of the Zoo Crew. Geez! None of you knew that? Probably don’t know who Captain Carrot is either.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/7 "2000-11-02T20:43:03Z")
There’s still no plausible real-life reason for a family pickup truck to be used to haul unrefined, unwrought bars of pig iron. But I guess it sounded more manly than anything else they could think of.
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### Author:  [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/8 "2000-11-02T20:54:59Z")
I swear I’ve answered this before, but it’s what you have to pay toll for on the _Rock Island Line_ as opposed to livestock which rides for free.
[SINGING]I fooled you, I fooled you
I got pig iron, I got all pig iron…[/SINGING]
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### Author:  [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/9 "2000-11-02T21:34:51Z")
A Pig Iron is what you use to take the wrinkles out of a sow’s birthday suit! Sheesh!
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### Author:  [@kevals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevals)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2000, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/10 "2000-11-02T23:51:09Z")
wow, I never imagined so many allusions to pigs associated with iron. It sounds good i guess, but what kind of a whack came up with that? Geez these here iron moulds sure look like a sow and her piglets??? WTF? But whatever, sounds good to me, I know pig tasts real goood, i mean bacon? c’mon, I guess I can see how the forgers would day dream of pig and associate their work with them. Why not?
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### Author:  [@Walrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walrus)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2000, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-pig-iron/39395/11 "2000-11-06T19:22:43Z")
You are all wrong. Pig Iron is the strongest member of the Zoo Crew. Geez! None of you knew that? Probably don’t know who Captain Carrot is either.
* * *
zen101
D.F.A.
Yeah?
Captain Carrot is the day-to-day commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch…
Fabricate Deium Punc…