14 DAY TRIAL // A bunch of cows have managed to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that one does not necessarily need matches, a bucket of gasoline, and opposable thumbs to be able to start a fire. On the contrary, all it takes is a digestive tract capable to cough out the right gases.
Not to beat about the bush, news from Germany says that, this past Monday, about 90 cows living at a dairy farm in the village of Rasdorf, Hesse, managed to set fire not just to their stalls, but also to a barn roof simply by farting one too many times.
For those unaware, flatulent cows release a chemical compound commonly referred to as methane whenever they choose to relieve themselves.
Apart from being a potent greenhouse gas, methane is fairly flammable. Hence the fact that, after the German cows spent some time farting as their hearts desired, all that was needed to start a fire was a spark.
The Local tells us that the spark that ignited the methane and caused the fire to occur was provided by static energy coming from a machine installed in the cows' stalls.
The machine in question was one used to massage the animals, and thus get them to produce more milk, the same source details.
Apparently, it was not long after the methane started reacting with the static energy from this massaging installation when the gas exploded, and the resulting flames engulfed the stalls and a nearby barn roof.
Firefighters were called at the scene, and they eventually managed to put out the fire. Of the 90 cows involved in this incident, just one had to be treated for injuries it sustained while the dairy farm was burning around it.
For the time being, it is still unclear whether the cows started the fire while trying to shoot a video for Adele's “I Set Fire to the Rain.” Hopefully, a more thorough investigation into this incident will sort out this mystery.