For the Beavis and Butt-Head episode, see Cow Tipping (Beavis and Butt-Head episode).
Cow tipping is the purported activity of sneaking up on any unsuspecting or sleeping upright cow and pushing it over for entertainment. The practice of cow tipping is generally considered an urban legend[1] and stories of such feats viewed as tall tales.[2] The implication that rural citizens seek such entertainment due to lack of alternatives is viewed as a stereotype.[3][4] The concept of cow tipping apparently developed in the 1970s, though tales of animals that cannot rise if they fall has historical antecedents dating to the Roman Empire.
Cows routinely lie down and can easily regain their footing unless sick or injured. Scientific studies have been conducted to determine if cow tipping is theoretically possible, with varying conclusions. All agree that cows are large animals that are difficult to surprise and will generally resist attempts to be tipped. Estimates suggest a force of between 3,000 and 4,000 newtons (670 and 900 pounds-force) is needed, and that at least four and possibly as many as fourteen people would be required to achieve this. In real-life situations where cattle have to be laid on the ground, or "cast", such as for branding, hoof care or veterinary treatment, either rope restraints are required or specialized mechanical equipment is used that confines the cow and then tips it over. On rare occasions, cattle can lie down or fall down in proximity to a ditch or hill that restricts their normal ability to rise without help. Cow tipping has many references in popular culture and is also used as a figure of speech.
^Zotti, Ed (1996). Brunvand, Jan Harold (ed.). American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. New York and London: Garland Publishing. p. 354. ISBN 0-8153-3350-1. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2016 – via Google Books.
^Cite error: The named reference Eaton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Winter, Sam A. (March 6, 2003). "Who You Calling a Hick?: Treatise of a Disgruntled Kansan". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
^Ward, Philip (2012). The Book of Common Fallacies: Falsehoods, Misconceptions, Flawed Facts, and Half-Truths That Are Ruining Your Life. New York, N.Y.: Skyhorse Publishing. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-61608-336-6. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2015 – via Google Books. In his article at the Harvard Crimson, John Larew insists that since he arrived at college, every time he has told someone (especially someone from the city) where he grew up (deep in the country), they inevitably ask what he does for fun, and whether or not he's been cow tipping...[T]he New York Times... perpetuates the mistake when the editor writes 'Saturday night is associated with pleasure and abandon, with toppling cows in rural Pennsylvania'.
Cowtipping is the purported activity of sneaking up on any unsuspecting or sleeping upright cow and pushing it over for entertainment. The practice of...
called tipping Tipping (surname) Tipping baronets, a title in the Baronetage of England Norsk Tipping, the national lottery of Norway Cowtipping, a rumored...
from the original on 15 April 2016. Collins, Nick (6 September 2013). "Cowtipping myth dispelled". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26...
for a friend's zine, and by a photograph from the Wikipedia article on cowtipping. She had been interested in Wikipedia before beginning the project, having...
Cape Henlopen State Park. Cowtipping is the purported activity of sneaking up on any unsuspecting or sleeping upright cow and pushing it over for entertainment...
media related to Fox tossing. Bear baiting Bullfighting Cock throwing Cowtipping Fox hunting Goose pulling Haggis hurling Sacheverell Sitwell. The Hunters...
Pennsylvania-based Observer-Reporter. He has also published numerous books including CowTipping and Night Fruit Army. In the 1990s, he and Jim Krenn provided voice talents...
Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. Close, John Weir (2013-10-15). A Giant Cow-Tipping by Savages: The Boom, Bust, and Boom Culture of M&A. St. Martin's Press...
farming of livestock, but also in such circumstances as dog fighting, cowtipping, horse racing, circus acts, and other entertainment industries and practices...
Retrieved on 14 December 2011. Emery, David. "Florida to Consider Ban on CowTipping". About.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 7 June...
elephant, with a caption stating that elephants lacked knees – compare cowtipping). Europeans also interpreted descriptions of howdahs to mean that Indian...
said to work in a jam butty mine. This appears to be a similar concept. Cowtipping Drop bear Jackalope Snipe hunt Spaghetti tree Wild haggis "Molasses"...
Abuser", "Two Kirks, a Khan and a Pizza Place", "Who Poop Last?!", "CowTipping", "Zombie Idol" Cast: Abraham Benrubi, Michael Benyaer, Alex Borstein...
A cannulated cow or fistulated cow refers to a cow that has been surgically fitted with a cannula. A cannula acts as a porthole-like device that allows...
1142/S2010139213500109. SSRN 1116409. Close, John Weir (2013-10-15). A Giant Cow-tipping by Savages: The Boom, Bust, and Boom Culture of M&A. New York: Palgrave...
dogs when mating. It is described in the Kama Sutra as the cow position or the congress of a cow, and is listed in The Perfumed Garden. The posture adopted...
Tyrannosaurus could have used a hunting strategy similar in concept to "cowtipping" against Triceratops, where the Tyrannosaurus would ambush and knock...
Box Calendar. Mead, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4238-1612-6 Rubes CowTipping: You Can't Keep a Good Cow Down! Running Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7624-4008-5 Holtz...
mother's side and Scottish on his father's. Redroad completed the films CowTipping: The Militant Indian Waiter (1991) and Haircuts Hurt (1992) because of...
formations that included a corn maze and a sad farmer, and an enactment of "cowtipping". The performance was taken by many as insulting farmers, the state of...
Anthriscus sylvestris, known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial...
Year Title Notes 1994 Beavis and Butt-head TV series: Episodes "CowTipping" and "Health Club" (co-written with J. Stewart Burns) 1995 Newtisms First...