Unless you happen to be a dairy farmer, today marks a holiday that you’re probably not too familiar with. It’s Cow Appreciation Day. Now, for those of you who are thinking, “wait, is that a real thing?,” I can assure you that it absolutely is. This holiday started in 1995, and was originally advertised by southern restaurant chain Chick-fil-A with the slogan “Eat More Chicken.” Over the years, the so-called “Cow Campaign” has continued to grow, evolving from an advertising ploy into a grassroots movement to educate communities about the mistreatment of industrially farmed cows and encourage vegetarian eating choices. As of 2011, the Chick-fil-A cows had amassed over a half million fans on Facebook alone.
So what’s exactly so special about cows? Well there’s definitely a few things that are pretty neat and interesting. First off, cows are a lot smarter than most people think. They’re even capable of storing long-term spatial memory, so they know how to return to their favorite streams or grazing patches and can always locate their offspring. Second, cow’s actually make friends similar to the way that humans do. They pick their associates judiciously and will graze with, play with, mate with, and even groom their closest chosen companions. And lastly, they have body art! That’s right, cows can have septum rings. In fact, in the earlier days of contemporary septum piercings when primarily young men had this type of piercing, it was even nicknamed a “bull ring.”
So maybe we aren’t so different after all. So whether you eat cow, wear cow, or even hug cow, today is the best time to appreciate cow. (And also a great time to stock up on septum jewelry. Just sayin!)
