Cows get a bad rap for being...not the sharpest tools in the shed. They're actually fascinating animals. See if yourself with these amazing facts about cows.
 
Think you learned everything you need to know about cows in grade school? They make milk, cheese, butter, are fairly stupid, and fun to tip?



Well, think again!

These gentle creatures, (and might we say delicious food-producers), have some pretty interesting personal features. 

Test your knowledge about cows and see just how many of these 5 unusual facts about cows you knew already...

1. Super Vision and Smell
This sounds legitimately like something out of a super-hero film. Cows have the amazing superpower of seeing in 360 vision!

Just think how neat it would be if you could see the world in panoramic view like these fascinating bovines. This crazy talent allows cows to better keep an eye out for predators.

Of course, with this 360-degree sight, it's no wonder cows typically turn their head sideways to get a clear vision of you in better singular focus. They have to cut out all the other distractions somehow.

What are cows other super-heifer trait? A hyped sense of smell.
That's right, cows can pick up on many scents that are up to 6 miles away from them. Pretty sure Spider-Man can't do that.

2. Huge Stomach Capacity
You thought your ability to "tuck it away" on Thanksgiving was something to write home about--cows have four stomachs, and boy can they eat!

Cows can hold a whopping 50 GALLONS of food at once. This can be stored in the "rumen" or main stomach area. Just think of how much 50 gallons of water is--whew! 

3. Teeth Oddities
Unlike hardy horses and other large mammals, cows have no front teeth up top. This means, to chew the massive amounts of grass they eat each day, they have to mash it with their bottom teeth against their top gums.

Despite their lack of upper-front chompers, cows still have a large number of teeth. 32 to be exact. 

These 32 teeth are put to work, chewing an astounding 40-50 times every minute! That's a tired jaw.

Another interesting tooth-related tidbit? George Washington's dentures were made out of cow teeth, along with walrus and hippo. Weird.

4. Cow Origins
Did you know the first cow arrived in the United States way back in 1611? Originally, large bovines were domesticated in parts of Europe and in India.

Now, Australia's livestock exporters and other dairies transport livestock to the U.S. to help with the ever-shrinking herd size. Unfortunately, the number of cows in U.S. herds is lower than it's been since the early 1950s.

5. Holy Hamburger
Those of you vegetarians out there may not love this crazy fact. One cow can produce enough ground beef to make up to 2,000 quarter-pound hamburgers!

This American favorite food made it's first appearance back in 1904 at the World's Fair in St. Louis. Before that time, in the 1800s, almost every American family owned their own cow for food production.

More Crazy Facts About Cows
Did these 5 crazy facts about cows convince you that these underappreciated animals are actually quite intriguing?

If not, learn more about cows and the food they produce. Read how eating meat and dairy might actually be as harmful to you as smoking.