If I had a COW

CD rates are disgusting. I know the economy is majorly sucking right now, but I'd make more interest burying my money in the ground.

Does anyone remember when teen heart throb sensation Zac Efron was just a nerdy gap-toothed kid on the CW's Summerland? Because I do.
Yesterday I was entirely to excited to get home and Google about chickens laying eggs. I'm not sure what my thought process was, but it entered my mind on the way home. I remember someone telling me that the hen lays an egg and then in order for it to be fertilized, the rooster like, sprays it or something. More importantly, I wanted to know how long it took for a chicken to form an egg and then lay it. This is what I find out, because I know you are dying to know:

Chickens lay eggs regardless to whether or not a rooster is present. If a rooster mates with a hen, then she will lay a fertilized egg that can become a chicken. If a rooster does not mate with a hen, then the egg will not be able to become a chicken. Elementary physics, I know. But I had it in my head somewhere that fertilization occurred after the laying of the egg. But it doesn't. That was a misconception (haha, conception...).

Typically, a hen can lay one egg every 3-4 days. The older the hen is, the larger the eggs she lays. Also, the older the hen, the more frequently she lays eggs. It's possible for a hen to lay an egg everyday. I guess it just takes practice. Egg laying has something to do with light and some gland in chicken eyes and blah blah blah Google it for yourself.

All of this was utterly fascinating to me, and it reminded me of the time when I was twelve years old and really wanted a pet pygmy goat. I check out this blue bound cover from 1955 on goat care, gestation, lactation, etc. from the library. I learned all about goat cheese and everything you ever needed to know. Sad to say, but I never actually got a goat. However, it was at this point in my life that I realized an important fact about cows that I was previously blind to. Cows don't just give milk because we want them to. They have to give birth first. Then they start lactating. They dry up after a while, and so then they need to have a new calf in order to give milk again. It's surprising how many people don't know this. They think cows can give milk for years and years without anything happening in between.

Speaking of cows, I want one. Not a cow, but a COW--computers on wheels. This is what people call the movable laptop carts that schools have. Most carry 10-30 computers. If I had a COW then teaching would be grand.