So What is a Cow Chip Anyway?

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In my last post, I quoted my mother-in-law's grandmother, who had made a funny comment. She said that some women would wear a "cow chip" on their head if they thought it was in fashion. I wondered if many myLotters would be familiar with the term 'cow chip'. I'm certain that a few people had no idea what I was talking about. A cow chip is a dried out, somewhat flattened piece of cow dung. Most are a round or oval shape, usually twice the size of an adult hand. The woman who made the cow chip comment was born in the late 1800's. Several generations of her family were farmers and ranchers in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, USA. So those folks were very familiar with finding "cow chips" in their fields. Some people call them "cow patties." Cow chips were often used to start fires in the old days, if firewood was scarce. There are several places in the US and worldwide that now hold annual festivals and cow chip throwing contests to celebrate their cattle farming culture and history! Beaver County, Oklahoma is one of them (photo). Another is in the Perm Region of Russia. Would you participate in a cow chip throwing contest? I might, if they were dried out well enough!