11/18/2003: Cow magnets

[Undertoad]

Sometimes an IotD is an ordinary photo of something unusual and this is the case today. From here, via everlasting blort, these are cow magnets.

(And we've had lively conversations about livestock, and this sorta fits into that realm too.)

Cows, it turns out, are dumb. How dumb? As they graze, they often wind up picking up more than just grass. They'll also eat dirt and rocks and pieces of metal that are lying around -- loose nails, staples, fencing wire, bailing wire.

We human smarties are sensible enough to stop eating if we chomp down on bailing wire. We spit it right out and make a bitter face. Cows, on the other hand, will often just swallow it, because their attitude is that they'll cough up all this meal and chew it later, whether it's good eats or not.

But the metal bits can cause problems, when they get stuck. And thus, the cow magnet. Put one of these magnets in their first stomach, and any metal crap the cow eats will stick to the magnet and just stay there, out of the way.

One magnet lasts the entire life of the cow. As long as you aren't grazing them near a thumbtack factory.