How well did you know sheep?

Sheep like to stick together. That's what makes them easier to herd. Did you have all these facts together? Maybe you need a border collie in your head.

How many of these sheep facts did you know? Here are the true/false answers.

1. Sheep can see behind them without turning their heads. True. They have at least 300 degrees of vision. Hard to sneak up on.
2. There are no gay sheep. False. About eight percent of male sheep prefer the company of other male sheep.
3. In New Zealand, there are more people than sheep. False. Sheep outnumber people seven to one. That means there are seven sheep for every Kiwi h2g2er.
4. The first cloned sheep was named for an American singer.True. Dolly was named for Ms Parton. It is not recorded whether she went after a ewe named Jolene.
5. A sheep export ban was one of the causes of the American Revolution. True. King George III put a ban on sheep exports, to bolster the home woollen industry. This added to his other outrageous acts against the colonists (according to them).
6. Sheep can recognise humans by their faces. True. And each other's, too. Show them a mugbook.
7. The wool industry in Britain dates from the 17th Century. False. It goes back much further than that. By the time the Romans arrived, British wool was already famous.
8. Feta is the only cheese made from sheep's milk.False. There are many kinds of sheep's cheese, including sheep's ricotta.
9. Christopher Columbus' family was in the wool business. True. The wool industry helped finance his voyages.
10. An American president actually used sheep for a lawnmower. True. Woodrow Wilson set them out on the White House lawn during World War I.

Would you make a good representative for the wool business? Share these facts with your friends, and be glad March is finally over.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

31.03.14 Front Page

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