The approach to Cow Tipping is quite simple, but relies on a number of scientific facts. Firstly, and most importantly, Cows sleep standing up. As they prepare to fall asleep, they lock their legs into position and remain that way. Secondly, by the principle of moments, a force applied towards the top of a sleeping cow, as far away from its feet as possible, will cause it to pivot about its hooves. Combining these two basic facts, Cow Tippers sneak into fields at night and push over sleeping cows.
Before you go out and try and apply these principles, there are several important practices that must be observed when Cow Tipping. Firstly, the aim of Cow Tipping is not to injure the cows. A responsible Cow Tipper always places some sort of padding (usually an old mattress or several cushions) on the ground where the cow is going to be tipped. A good test for whether the padding is thick enough is to give a friend a ‘piggy back' ride, and then allow yourself to fall forwards onto the mattress, keeping your body straight and not letting your arms break your fall. If it hurts, then more padding is required. Do not worry about not being able to retrieve the mattress. The cow will very rarely continue sleeping once tipped; it will tend to realign itself and continue to jump about the field, bucking and mooing
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