Danger Ahead: Falling Cow Zone

Slippery pavement's not the only hazard for the unwitting motorist these days. Beware of of the Falling Cow Zone. A little reminder, courtesy of DBKP and RidesAPaleHorse.

What's with all the falling cows? Three stories about cows falling from the sky.

THE STORY:
From Seattle Pilot::

A Chelan County fire chief says a couple were lucky they weren't killed by a cow that fell off a cliff and smashed their minivan.

District 5 Chief Arnold Baker says they missed being killed by a matter of inches Sunday as they drove on Highway 150 near Manson.

The 600-pound cow fell about 200 feet and landed on the hood of the minivan carrying Charles Everson Jr. and his wife Linda of Westland, Mich., who were in the area celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary. They were checked at Lake Chelan Community Hospital as a precaution. The van was heavily damaged, including a broken windshield

Lest you think this is a freak phenomenon, here's one from lsst year in the U.K. from The Guardian:

A woman sunbathing at Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight had a narrow escape when a cow fell 16 metres (50ft) off a cliff to its death and landed where she had been lying moments earlier.

Sally Brown, 51, of Cowes, had just picked up her body board when she heard a loud noise as the animal hurtled down a cliff. She said later: "It would have killed me if it landed on me." Jane Phillips, of Compton Farm, apologised, adding: "It doesn't bear thinking about what would have happened if it had landed on her." Her husband Den covered the dead cow with a canvas until it could be moved at low tide.

And finally, one last look at the Falling Cow Syndrome in legend. This from Flat Rock:

According to Reuters, the dazed crew of a Japanese trawler was plucked out of the Sea of Japan earlier this year clinging to the wreckage of their sunken ship. The rescue was followed by immediate imprisonment once authorities questioned the sailors about their ship's loss. To a man they claimed that a cow falling out of a clear blue sky had struck the trawler amidships, shattering its hull and sinking the vessel within minutes.

The men remained in prison for several weeks - until the Russian Air Force reluctantly informed Japanese authorities that the crew of one of their cargo planes had apparently stolen a cow wandering at the edge of a Siberian airfield, forced the cow into the plane's hold, and hastily taken off for home.

Okay, so the last one is an urban legend, but that still three stories of falling cows, two which are legit.

As if there's not enough to worry about.

by Mondoreb
[image:RidesAPaleHorse]




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