Talk:Cow tipping

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Articles for deletion This article was nominated for deletion on 2007-06-06. The result of the discussion was Keep.
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[edit] COW TIPPING DOES NOT EXIST!

COWS DO NOT SLEEP STANDING UP!! THIS ARTICLE IS A COMPLETE LIE!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wyzz7 (talk • contribs) 03:42, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The second sentence of this article says "In reality cows do not sleep standing up." --JayHenry (talk) 00:48, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Yes, it is a hoax, please emphasize this in the article.

"Cow tipping" is impossible; a hoax; something people in the country (like me) tell dumb city people who believe anything. However, it has gotten out of hand, and please make that clear in the article. All that BS regarding "abuse" lends credibility to the non-occurrence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.133.6.197 (talk) 11:19, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] I tip my cow, er, um, HAT to ya

I must first say that this article is one of the most surprising, and coolest, articles I've come across on Wikipedia yet. My two cents on this issue is that I used to help out on my grandfather's farm, where he raised cattle amongst other things, and I never saw a cow sleep standing up. So, if one were to be "tipped," I would say it would have to be when they were awake, and judging by how cows generally react to humans, I can't see that it would be easy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.211.242.223 (talk) 02:58, 3 October 2007 (UTC)


Cows do sleep standing up. and also eat in there sleep which even more werid. How do i know this you ask, My mates got a bar over one of his cow sheds. Many a time have we watch them a stupid at o clock in the morning. also i've seen them when going off roading and looking for for rabits/deer eating standing up. It's also possible to push them over when there asleep but it is diffcult to creep up on them when asleep. as when you normaly try this your normal drunk. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Simon123abc (talk • contribs) 18:00, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

It's extremely rare for a cow to sleep standing up. I helped at farms for many years. Royalbroil 03:26, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] How could anyone have thought about deleting this article?

This article is very useful. Working as a translator, I've seen cow tipping mentioned about a half-dozen times and it was never in a very contextualized way. No dictionary that I know of explains what cow tipping is, so I've actually searched it purposefully on Wikipedia and found this article. What makes Wikipedia so wonderfully useful is exactly the amount of explanations it has about things you won't find explained anywhere else on or off the Net. So congratulations to whoever thought of creating this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.34.173.71 (talk) 19:15, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] (email correspondence)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Cow_tipping/Archive2#.22e-mail.22


Wilson, Jerry D. and Cecilia A. Hernandez. Physics Laboratory Experiments. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.

Whilst this is a believable calculation - the data fed into it is suspect. 6 m/s is a rather fast running speed. Olympic sprinters manage around 9m/sec - but that's on a smooth running track with a racing start and specialised shoes, etc - not a couple of untrained kids in a cowpat-littered uneven field in the dark! If you back your speed down to a more reasonable 4 or even 5 m/s, the conclusion becomes that two humans cannot tip a cow. 66.137.234.217 15:21, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Richard Benedict Replies

Cows in the field that are tipped are usually beef feeder cattle weighing between 400 to 700 pounds not 1500 pounds as was stated in the referenced article (which used a suspiciously high weight for a cow that was to be tipped as well as a center of gravity that was suspiciously low). Using 750 pounds as a more realistic weight of the animal, (leaving the center of gravity in the same low position) the runners would only have to run at (13.4/2) or 6.7 mph (3m/s) to tip the animal. Thereby making the activity quite possible.


The real significance of this article however is not in the tipping or not tipping the cow but in the origin of the term "Urban Legend."

I propose that the term "Urban Legend" refer to a consensus of intellectuals that reside in an "Urban" environment who claim to know phenomena do not exist even though it can be demonstrated by calculation and experiment to exist in reality. The term "Urban Legend" will now mean "Ignoring truth that is obtainable to maintain an illusion that is ascetically attractive or politically correct but not true." In short "to be blind to truth".

Richard Benedict November 19, 2007

[edit] belief that cow tipping is fatal

I just wanted to mention that people I've met have believed that once tipped, a cow will not be able to get back up again, either because its legs or broken or just because it is too heavy to lift itself. I believed that too until I came here and found that cow tipping probably doesnt even exist. Haplolology Talk/Contributions 10:59, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why is cow tipping notable?

Wikipedia notability guidelines require articles to demonstrate that they are notable, yet the article in its current state only refers to varied-level references to its status as an urban myth propagated by hearsay. However, the popular recognition of the cow-tipping concept has been heavily influenced by at least a handful of seriously prominent allusions in popular fiction.

None of this is noted by the article, because of a hasty decision (now archived) to delete the whole of the "In popular culture" section. I propose that a section is reintroduced, either titled "In popular culture" as before, or perhaps "In fiction" to make clear that the listed references are merely contributors to the popularity of the myth. I suggest the section starts with the first, second and fourth entries on the list which I previously added, because these show that cow tipping has been (in order):

  • Parodied by a top-ten grossing animated film in a way that shows that the directors expects the audience to recognise the allusion
  • The main plot motivation of a whole feature film published by Paramount Pictures, who need no introduction, and directly depicted in its main trailer
  • The subject and name of an entire episode of a well-known animated television series (which endured 7 seasons and a feature film)

Each of these references is already mentioned in the articles on the source, and already link back to this article. You might also want to see the longer removed list which I agree tends to add little in the way of relevance or notability, and the whole of my original comment on the discussion which never got answered. BigBlueFish (talk) 02:44, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

So you're saying that mention of the urban legend in the Montreal Gazette and the Times Online doesn't satisfy notability, so we need to add a section noting every cartoon episode in which it appeared? Seems superfluous. --ZimZalaBim talk 03:53, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
Steady on; I am advocating noting just three significantly notable depictions of cow tipping in popular fiction, not "every cartoon episode". It seems clear to me that each reference does a lot more to demonstrate the notability than a couple of light relief articles buried away in the pack pages of a newspaper, which are primarily concerned with whether the myth can be executed in real life. A columnist is at liberty to share with his readers a myth that he happens to have heard of. It doesn't show that people have hypothesised, even in fiction, that the practice exists. Such references also add the same kind of value of knowledge to the subject as, say, List of fictional cats, which, at the risk of breaking WP:WAX, I would say has a fairly accepted role. BigBlueFish (talk) 16:49, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
I agree with BigBlueFish, this myth is notable because of its previlance in popular culture. Aside from the three mentioned references, one of the most remembered instances of cow tipping was in the movie Heathers. If a "In Popular Culture" section is re-added, this reference should be included. smithd 01:59, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wrong

The current article on cow tipping is entirely wrong. Cow tipping occurs during the process of milking a cow. Cows love the warmth of a human body and during the milking process will shift their weight onto the milker to gain the comfort of their warmth. Cow tipping is a practice engaged in by the milker in which he or she will extend an elbow into the cow's side causing mild discomfort which in turn causes the animal to give up its posture of leaning on the milker. Properly done it is not abusive to the animal. 65.86.187.146 (talk) 15:31, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Talk page semi-protected

As this talk page has been blanked by unregistered users 5 times in half an hour, and the user concerned is evading blocks, I have semi-protected it for 24 hours. Hut 8.5 20:19, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cow-tipping

I always thought it was like snip hunting. A bunch of drunks take an unsuspecting bar mate out to tip cows, but when everybody is supposed to push very hard, all but the one unknowing drunk run away, leaving the one innocent pushing on the cow ... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.211.189.211 (talk) 23:30, 1 March 2008 (UTC)