A cow riddle is:
Q: What do you call a cow on a trampoline?
A: A milk shake.
Versions of the riddle have been cited in print since at least 1996.
“What do you call a cow during an earthquake?"/"A milk shake” and “What do you call a cow in a tornado?"/"A milk shake” are similar riddles.
Google Books
February 1996, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 61. col. 2:
Dave: What is the world’s largest milk shake?
Tom: I don’t know. What?
Dave: A cow on a trampoline!
-- Laura Wylie, Amarillo, Tex.
7 April 1996, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, “At 50, Highlights Magazine clings to its childlike charm” by Ellen O’Brien, pg. K1, col. 5:
What’s the world’s biggest milkshake?
A cow on a trampoline.
Google Books
Squeaky Clean Jokes for Kids
By Bob Phillips and Steve Russo
EUgene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
1997
Pg. 98:
Myrtle: What is the world’s greatest milkshake?
Maynard: Who knows?
Myrtle: A cow on a trampoline.
Google Books
Fur, Feathers, and Fun!:
A Book of Animal Jokes
By Mark Ziegler
Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books
2006
Pg. 8:
What do you call a cow on a trampoline?
A milk shake.
Google Books
101 Amazing Jokes
By Jack Goldstein
Andrews UK Limited
2013
Pg. ?:
What do you get when you cross a cow with a trampoline?
A milkshake!
7 March 2013, Marco Island (FL) Sun Times, “Puzzles4Kids,” pg. B10, col. 3:
What do you get when you cross a cow with a trampoline?
A milkshake.
Google Books
Best Ever Classroom Jokes:
Because some of us never grow up
By Mike Haskins
London, UK: Pavilion Books
2015
Pg. ?:
What do you get if you cross a cow with a trampoline?
Milkshake!
Google Books
The Super, Epic, Mega Joke Book for Kids
By Whee Winn
Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderkidz
2016
Pg. ?:
What do you get when you cross a cow with a trampoline?
A milk shake!
Twitter
Shit Jokes
@ShitJokes
What do you call a cow on a trampoline?
A milk shake!
4:01 AM - 7 Nov 2017
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
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Entry in progress—BP (3/26)
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Entry in progress—BP (3/26)
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Entry in progress—BP (3/26)
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Entry in progress—BP (3/26)
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“It’s ok to mix peas and corn, but don’t call it ‘porn‘“ (3/26)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
This site is edited by Barry Popik.