# Why do the Olympic Google Doodles feature a pig? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751 "2008-08-12T17:17:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/1 "2008-08-12T17:17:51Z")
Does anyone know? I checked and we’re currently in the Year of the Rat. So the obvious Chinese zodiac connection is out. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/2 "2008-08-12T17:38:49Z")
Looks like a cow to me (notice the horn?). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/3 "2008-08-12T17:46:51Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] Looks like a cow to me (notice the horn?). [/QUOTE] Yesterday’s doodle is clearly a pig: [http://www.google.com/logos/olympics08\_diving.gif](http://www.google.com/logos/olympics08_diving.gif) But if it is a cow, that raises another question, why a cow? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/4 "2008-08-12T17:50:33Z")
Maybe it’s an ox, and they’re going through the Chinese zodiac animals. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/5 "2008-08-12T18:06:06Z")
China has a few different cartoon-character Olympic mascots this year. I’m guessing the pig is one of them. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/6 "2008-08-12T18:12:33Z")
Also, by using common farm animals as their “athletes”, they theoretically avoid possibly offending any racial, religious, political, or ethnic groups because their types either were or were not included in GoogleArt during the course of the Olympics. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/7 "2008-08-12T18:20:03Z")
This [cycling logo](http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Lw_4dP4gjx0J:googleseoexpert.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/google-cycling-logo-beijing-2008-olympic-games-logo-by-toprankseo-blog/+google+logo+olympic+08&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us) is a sheep. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/8 "2008-08-12T18:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Also, by using common farm animals as their “athletes”, they theoretically avoid possibly offending any racial, religious, political, or ethnic groups because their types either were or were not included in GoogleArt during the course of the Olympics. [/QUOTE] No sacred cows, eh? ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/9 "2008-08-12T18:31:08Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] No sacred cows, eh? [/QUOTE] That certainly is not my ox to gore. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/10 "2008-08-12T18:41:52Z")
[QUOTE=RiverRunner] That certainly is not my ox to gore. [/QUOTE] Chicken! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/11 "2008-08-12T18:46:20Z")
[QUOTE=RiverRunner] That certainly is not my ox to gore. [/QUOTE] Heh, it does look like Al Gore. Couldn’t Google just be cycling through the Chinese zodiac? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/12 "2008-08-12T19:07:00Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] But if it is a cow, that raises another question, why a cow? [/QUOTE] Next you’ll be asking about ducks, and I don’t know why-a no chicken. The water has to go somewhere! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/13 "2008-08-12T22:17:21Z")
they are using the horoscope animals. i saw the monkey today. the mascots for the games are from feng shui. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/14 "2008-08-12T23:34:04Z")
The real Olympic mascots have [quite a complicated story to them](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuwa). I’m pretty sure pigs are considered cute in China. Cartoon pigs are a common decoration on things like disposable cups, lunch boxes, kids chopsticks, etc. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/15 "2008-08-13T00:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=even sven] I’m pretty sure pigs are considered cute in China. Cartoon pigs are a common decoration on things like disposable cups, lunch boxes, kids chopsticks, etc. [/QUOTE] Daryl Cagle said in his editorial cartoonist’s blog that the best way to get a Chinese audience to laugh was to show them a cartoon that included a pig. It didn’t matter what the political message of the cartoon was, or even if the subject meant anything at all in China, they loved cartoons that showed pigs. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/16 "2008-08-13T01:30:54Z")
It’s the Olym-pig. **groaaan** ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-olympic-google-doodles-feature-a-pig/459751/17 "2008-08-14T23:30:18Z")
[QUOTE=SpoilerVirgin] Daryl Cagle said in his editorial cartoonist’s blog that the best way to get a Chinese audience to laugh was to show them a cartoon that included a pig. It didn’t matter what the political message of the cartoon was, or even if the subject meant anything at all in China, they loved cartoons that showed pigs. [/QUOTE] huh! cows are funny in the states. there are many cows in the far side collections. this am on google i saw a dragon and rat playing basketball. rat will def. have to rely on cunning to win that match.