The annual ceremony practiced in the Indian town of Bhidawad sounds a bit like Pamplona's Running of the Bulls, except with cows, and instead of running away from them, you lie down and let the cows trample you. From Dunya News:
The ritual that is performed a day after the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, in Bhidawad village, about 75 kilometres from central temple town of Ujjain, is part of the ‘Gaay-Gauri Puja’ (Cow worship). The cows of the village were decorated and worshipped as devotees danced and took out a procession. After the prayer ceremony, some of the devotees lied down and let the cows trample them by running over them.
The fact that Hindus consider cows to be sacred has led to the odd situation in India in which millions of cows freely roam the streets, and all efforts to control their numbers are stymied by cow-rights groups.
That's an interesting topic (more info here), but the 1961 headline below implies an entirely different, and somewhat messier kind of problem.
Best use of cow dung I have ever seen
It’s in Amdavad
To counter 45 degrees heat temperatures and protect car from getting hot
Mrs. Sejal shah has plastered her car with cow dung
Traditionally, in rural India, there is a common practice of applying cow dung on floors and walls allowing it to dry, as it is believed that coating it makes the structure remain warm in winters and cold in summers. Also, as it is a regarded as a natural disinfectant and mosquito repellent, the practice is quite common in villages.
I have to say, Mrs. Sejal Shah did a very professional-looking job of applying the cow dung to her car.
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 22, 2019 -
Comments (5)
Category: Cows, Cars
Cows that attack have been a recurring theme on WU for quite a while (see here and here). Apparently, dead cows are just as dangerous as the living ones.
BERLIN (AP) — Police in southern Germany say a slaughterhouse worker suffered serious injuries after being kicked in the face by a dead cow.
In a statement, police said the cow was “killed according to regulations” early Thursday at an abattoir in Aalen, and hung from a meat hook for further processing.
Police said the carcass then kicked the man in the face, apparently due to a nerve impulse that experts say isn’t uncommon.
Dairy farmers can reduce mastitis by fitting their cows with "bras", according to Michael Battisti, a Syracuse, New York, dairy farmer, who outfits half of his 69-cow herd with brassiere-like harnesses to keep them from damaging low-hanging udders with their hooves... "They keep the udders clean and the teats tucked up out of the way so they won't get stepped on," says Battisti, who has used bras on his cows for several years.
Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram - July 2, 1977
Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.