Famous Bovines Online Trivia | Thematic Animals

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which bison was the model for the US buffalo nickel coin?

Answer: Black Diamond

Black Diamond was technically a bison and not a buffalo, as buffaloes are mainly found in India and Africa, and not in the United States. He weighed more than 1500 pounds and was a resident of New York's Bronx Zoo. The buffalo nickel first went into circulation in 1913, and was minted until 1938.

A few years after the nickel commenced circulation, Black Diamond was sent to a meat-packing company which rejected all offers to save him, and began selling "Black Diamond" steaks instead.

2. What was the name of the original model for Elsie the Cow, the famous Jersey mascot of the Borden Company?

Answer: You'll Do Lobelia

You'll Do Lobelia was born in 1932 on a farm in Massachusetts. She was selected to be Borden's spokescow in 1939. In 1940 Elsie got a husband named Elmer who was the mascot for Elmer's glue. Lobelia was so popular that she traveled all over the United States by first class on trains or chartered airplanes. Lobelia was seriously injured in a truck accident in 1941, and had to be put to sleep.

3. Who was the divine cow of plenty in Hindu mythology who could fulfil all the wishes and desires of her owner?

Answer: Kamadhenu

Kamadhenu was considered the mother of all cows. She was said to have emerged during the churning of the celestial ocean of milk and became the property of the sage Vashishta. Kamadhenu is a symbol of prosperity, and the cow in general is a symbol of purity, motherhood, and non-violence.

4. Which Guernsey became the first cow to fly in an airplane in 1930?

Answer: Elm Farm Ollie

She was milked during her flight and was reported to have produced 24 quarts of milk on board. This happened at the International Air Exposition at St. Louis on February 18, 1930 and Elm Farm Ollie flew about 72 miles between St. Louis and Bismarck, Missouri.

The purpose of this trip was to observe how flight affected animals. The milk was sealed in cartons and dropped from the airplane over St. Louis. Small parachutes were attached to the cartons to prevent spills.

5. What was the name of the calf that Billy Crystal helped deliver in the movie "City Slickers" and eventually brought home to New York City?

Answer: Norman

"City Slickers" was a 1991 movie in which three men, facing various crises, signed up for a cattle drive vacation in the Southwest. Mitch (played by Billy Crystal) helped birth Norman and formed a special bonding with him. He eventually prevented Norman from being slaughtered by buying him and taking him to a petting zoo in New York City.

6. Which ancient Egyptian goddess, depicted as a cow, was the goddess of happiness, love, motherhood, music, beauty, and women?

Answer: Hathor

Hathor was a very ancient goddess and has been pictured, among other things, as a woman with cow's horns with the sun between them and a cow with the sun's disk between her horns. Besides being called the Mother of Mothers and the Celestial Nurse, she was also credited with being the Mistress of Drunkenness and was connected with romance, fertility and erotic dancing.

7. What was the name of the lilac Simmental who first appeared in 1901 in Switzerland during the years of the Art Nouveau movement, and was the symbol for a brand of chocolate?

Answer: The Milka Cow

The original Milka cow which appeared in 1901, was white on a lilac background. The cow symbol was withdrawn in 1930 but reappeared in 1971. Kraft Jacobs Suchard the owners of the Milka brand actually patented the shade of lilac that was used on the cow.

It was said that when a large number of German children were asked to draw a cow, a considerable part of the group colored the cow lilac!

8. Who was the giant blue ox belonging to Paul Bunyan, the mythical giant lumberjack in American folklore?

Answer: Babe

Paul Bunyan was reported to have found a baby ox in the snow during a very cold winter, so cold that the snow and ox were both blue. Paul took the ox home and made him warm, but Babe continued to stay blue. Babe soon grew into a very big ox and ate thirty bales of hay. Babe hauled the logs that Paul cut, but would only do so when there was snow on the ground.

The pair were credited with creating, among other things, the Grand Canyon and Puget Sound.

9. In a story by Munro Leaf, who was the Spanish bull who preferred smelling flowers over fighting?

Answer: Ferdinand

Ferdinand was a gentle bull who would rather sit quietly under a tree than run and fight like other bulls. That was until he sat on a bumblebee on the very day that men from Madrid come to pick the best bull for a bullfight. "The Story of Ferdinand" was written in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War and was considered to be a pacifist book by supporters of General Franco.

It was banned in several countries including Nazi Germany as critics felt it contained too many left-wing sympathies.

10. In Greek mythology Zeus disguised himself as a great white bull when he fell in love with Europa. What was the name of this bull?

Answer: Taurus

Europa was the daughter of King Agenor of Tyre and was constantly under guard. Zeus turned himself into a gentle and handsome bull and mingled with other bulls grazing by the sea. Europa was amazed by the bull and was eventually taken to Crete where Zeus revealed his true form.

She bore Zeus three sons. Only the front of the bull can be seen in the constellation Taurus; the back is supposedly under water as Zeus carried Europa across the sea.

Source: Author aginor

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Famous Bovines Trivia Quiz

Here are ten questions on some famous cows, bulls, and other bovines, both real and fictional.

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