1. Domestic cows date from 10,000 years ago. They descend from aurochs (wild oxen).
2. A cow’s heartbeat is 60-70 per minute. When eating, it chews at least 50 times a minute, eating about 100 pounds of food a day.
3. Cows can walk upstairs but not downstairs.
4. The bovine genome was mapped in 2009, revealing that cows and humans have 80% of genes in common.
5. A cow’s methane emission averages 70-120kg per year, causing global warming equal to burning about 220 gallons of petrol.
6. Bulls are not angered by the colour red; in fact, cattle are red/green colour-blind.
7. In Somerset in 1841, 737 cows were milked to make a 9ft diameter cheese for Queen Victoria.
8. Google Earth images showed in 2008 that cows tend to align north-south when eating or resting. On this there are two theories: they don’t like the sun and wind in their faces; or it has to do with their magnetic sense.
9. The earliest record shows the word ‘cowboy’ used in 1735, but ‘cowherd’ in 1018 (give or take a year or two).
