Once again I apologise for the lack of posts here at Standinaqueue, but I’m afraid I have these last few days been suffering from a full blown bout of man-flu. This means that there’s been plenty of time for Newsround and Homes Under the Hammer, but a lack of opportunities to stand in a queue. Luckily for all of us the lovely Dr David Brand has been giving the debate of queuing animals some more thought and has come up with this:
I’ve discovered this picture from South Africa of “Holstein cows waiting to be milked” -only the title should clearly be “Holstein cows Queuing to be milked“.
So, following on from the recent scholarly discussion in this Blog about which animals (if any) queue, we now have incontrovertible proof that cows queue.
It’s difficult to tell from the picture what the cows are thinking, or whether they’re pleased to be featured on Standinaqueue.
I hope you’re all as excited by this as I am.
January 16, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Further to Dr Brand’s discovery, I have found some anecdotal evidence here.
January 16, 2007 at 5:59 pm
I love milk
January 16, 2007 at 10:04 pm
I think these are the mother of all queuing creatures. I’m glad all those hours were not wasted falling asleep to david attenborough.
January 16, 2007 at 11:21 pm
That’s an amazing find BitsofBobs. Thank you.
So now we have queuing lobsters and queuing cows. Brilliant.
January 17, 2007 at 3:52 pm
That’s falling asleep “to” david attenborough…not “with” although I bet he has some great pillow talk.
January 17, 2007 at 5:52 pm
But his voice is so soothing. I would always fall asleep first.
January 17, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I think that I would quite happily share a bed with David Attenborough in order to listen to his dulcet tones.
I wonder if he does any audio books.
January 17, 2007 at 8:19 pm
he hogs the duvet though
January 18, 2007 at 12:06 am
I too love milk, Gary Wood.
From milk you can get cream.
From cream you can make butter.
You can spread the butter onto the dimply side of Ryvitas, spread honey on top of that, and enjoy a delcious, high-calorie treat.
January 18, 2007 at 12:16 am
William Deed, I am green with envy. I scoured the Web for a good photo, and only managed to find a second-rate picture.
You then casually produce a beautiful, rustic, Irish view, with cows that look highly intelligent.
However, I have to say that I think that your cows are not actually Queuing; they are just walking along in a line. A genuine Queue has to be stationary from time to time.
Similarly, those amazing spiny lobsters are just walking along in a line. The blurb beside the picture may refer to the moving lines as Queues, but that just shows how little the Americans understand such things.
BitsofBobs (what an unusual name), I don’t think those spiny lobsters can really be the mother of all queuing creatues – they certainly aren’t my Mother.
January 18, 2007 at 12:51 am
I would like to see a queue of ryvitas
January 19, 2007 at 4:01 pm
By looking at the photo, I don’t think they like getting their photos taken.
January 19, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I’m not sure Travis.
Wouldn’t they face the camera and smile?
January 19, 2007 at 8:19 pm
What do you mean Gary Wood?
January 20, 2007 at 4:14 am
Wait…..
I thought it said they like having their photo taken.
Sorry
Must get glasses.
Gary Wood
January 20, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Travis,
Are you by any chance the Travis who was Servalan’s henchman in Blake’s Seven?
January 21, 2007 at 7:16 am
Not to my knowledge.
January 22, 2007 at 9:39 pm
What a relief!
He had a vicious death laser instead of a first finger, and was a really nasty piece of work, as you can see:
http://shipofdreams.me.uk/b7/travis/avalon/avalon13.jpg
I’m sure, Mr. Travis, that you are much nicer, and that you do not have a death laser instead of a finger.
January 26, 2007 at 8:59 am
I am sorry I happened upon this late, but the mother of all non-human queuers (in my opinon), beating out bovines, are an aggregation of creatures called concatenating caterpillars.
Scroll down to the third photo at
http://www.millhouse.nl/2002-3-10.html
I am sorry I do not know the species name and this is the best photo I could come up with.
January 26, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Thank you for this fascinating and impressive information, Melody McFarland.
However, I feel compelled to remark, once again, that moving along in a column is not Queuing. A Queue must be stationary from time to time.
I’m sure that William Deed – the Duke of Queue – would endorse my statement (wouldn’t you, William Deed?).
January 26, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Well, if we’ve said no to the lobsters then we may have to say no to the caterpillars too.
The cows stay.
January 26, 2007 at 9:20 pm
How do we know if they are moving?
“Duke of Queue” tell me
January 26, 2007 at 9:55 pm
If what are moving?
January 27, 2007 at 12:21 am
Ah, I see. Yes, I believe the caterpillars move and have a definite destination.
January 27, 2007 at 1:54 pm
A change in name, this site is really progressing.
January 28, 2007 at 1:34 am
Do cows enjoy standing in a queue? It’s mooooooot.
January 28, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Melody Mcfarland, if the caterpillars had a definite destination, let us suppose a very big tasty leaf, and they took turns in taking bites out of said leaf, then I think we could call this queuing.
Especially as they would have to queue up along the branch to reach the leaf.
Unfortunately for us all, it seems that these caterpillars line up in order to imitate a snake. And therefore do not constitute a queue.
January 28, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Bossy, it would seem that if we accept the anecdotal evidence that cows are noticeably agitated by queue jumpers, then I think it would be fair to say that cows enjoy the rules put in place whenever they partake in the act of queuing.
July 1, 2007 at 2:11 am
Carriage horses queue, too. They line up, wait in place for extended periods of time, understand that when the queue-er in front of them moves up they are to move up accordingly, and even get impatient at other horses that don’t move up promptly in the carriage stand.
January 11, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Milk Feels Pain!!