Cows Throughout History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Turkey

The first domesticated cattle descended from ox-like creatures named Aurochs. The modern European strain of cows (Bos Taurus) is named after the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey, the area where cows are believed to first have been domesticated.

The domestication of cattle were a significant step in civilization, because aside from milk and meat, cows also provided clothing, tools and shelter and were used for labor intensive agricultural tasks. Cattle were also used for wealth exchanges and religious sacrifices.

While European aurochs were the first to be domesticated, there was a second domestication in India around 7000 years ago, and possibly another in Africa around 8500 years ago. Taurine cattle can first be seen in Neolithic Europe around 6400 BCE.

Answer: Second (1493)

Columbus brought the cattle and other domesticated animals along on his second journey in 1493. The second journey was much larger than the first, with Columbus bringing two naos and 15 caravels. Columbus arrived in Dominica on November 3, 1493, and sailed the Caribbean as far west as western Cuba.

Descendants of the cattle that Columbus brought to the Americas still survive, and that has been established through genetic testing.

Conquistadors later introduced cattle in Mexico at Vera Cruz in 1525.

Answer: Abilene

Abilene was the first major cattle town in Kansas, between 1867 and 1871. It marked the end of the Chisholm Trail, a cattle route from Texas. Cattle were driven to Kansas where they could be loaded onto freight trains and shipped to Chicago, where most of the major meat processing companies were located.

Wichita was the major Cow Town between 1872 and 1877, and Dodge City was known as the "Queen of the Cow Towns" between 1877 and 1884. Newton and Ellsworth were also major cow shipping locations in the 1870s.

Answer: Catherine O'Leary

The O'Leary's lived at 137 DeKoven Street in Chicago, which is the site of the Chicago Fire Academy today. It is generally accepted that the fire began at their barn, but there is debate over what exactly started the fire. Some blame the O'Leary's cow, others a tenant who was smoking, and still other sources suggest embers from chimneys.

In any case, the fire spread rapidly, destroying several square miles of Chicago, killing hundreds, and causing millions in property damage. In a silver lining, the fire left a blank slate for architects, and the first skyscraper in Chicago (and the world) was built just over a decade later. Chicago would go on to become one of the world's premiere architectural cities.

Answer: Louis Pasteur

Pasteurization uses relatively low level heat (50 to to 60 centigrade) to kill of microbes. Initially Pasteur used the process to sterilize wine and beer. It was not until years later than it was used to process milk. But by the early part of the 20th century, pasteurization of milk was fairly commonplace.

Lavoisier was a chemist who helped discover hydrogen and oxygen. Chevreul is best known for his work with animal fats. Wurtz is a chemist who was a major advocate of the atomic theory in the late 19th century.

Answer: Grain mash from whiskey distilleries

Starting in the 1820s, grain distilleries would sell their leftover mash to dairy farmers. While the high calorie mash led cows to produce more milk, it was extremely low quality milk. Milk dealers would adulterate it with things like chalk to make it look whiter and, therefore, healthier. Fights to eliminate swill milk were a major battle for public health authorities in New York City during the 19th century.

Answer: Got a better job after voters rejected him for re-election

William Howard Taft is the president in question. The 27th President flamed out in one of the worst electoral defeats in American history, finishing third in a race with Woodrow Wilson and former president Theodore Roosevelt. Taft won only eight electoral votes in the 1912 election.

Taft had never really wanted the presidency, but his wife had wanted to be First Lady. The former president got his dream job in 1921, when Warren Harding nominated him to be the Tenth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Taft served nine years on the court before dying in February 1930.

Pauline Wayne was the last cow to reside at the White House, at least in the 20th century. She was returned to Wisconsin when Wilson became president.

Answer: Chicago

The first Special Milk Program took place in 15 Chicago schools in 1940. The distribution of milk in schools dramatically expanded when Harry Truman signed the National School Lunch Program into law in 1946. The Special Milk program peaked in the mid-1960s, when it was serving 3 billion half pints of milk annually.

Answer: Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis in cattle had been a major problem in Iowa for decades, and the Iowa legislature finally passed a law to deal with the issue in 1929. All cattle in the state were required to be tested for TB, and those that tested positive would be destroyed.

While the testing went well in most of the state, there was resistance in the southeastern part of Iowa. Ultimately, the Governor had to call in the National Guard to allow the testing to take place, at a final cost to the state of over $50,000.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a neurological disease that can be spread to humans, was first seen in the late 1980s. Louis Pasteur developed an anthrax vaccine in 1871, and anthrax outbreaks were relatively rare in the 20th century. Cows can get rabies, but there has been little resistance to rabies vaccination.

Answer: Chicago

The first Cow Parade was held in Chicago in 1999. Since then, the event has gone global, with events in London, Paris, and Tokyo among many other cities. It has also inspired other animal themed public art exhibits in many cities.

New York had a Cow Parade in 2000, and Houston and Kansas City in 2001.

The very first cow parade was held in Zurich in 1998. A Chicago businessman fell in love with the idea and decided to import it to the United States.