Can You Believe This?

[Kent]

The story related below raises a number of questions. The watch, Elgin serial number 951129 is a 16-size, 11-jewel, gilt, Elgin grade No. 92 hunting movement.

Do you believe the story? There was no report of a missing watch.

Does anybody reading this have the watch now?

An 1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. catalog sheet lists an 18-size watch of otherwise similar description in a 14K case for between $31-$68. Was the watch in question really worth more than a $40 cow?

Is this thread getting too carried away in the first post?

 

[Surf Monkey]

The implication is that the watch caused the cow's death, which I don't believe. Cows have stomachs like steel. A little watch wouldn't kill one. No how, no way.

That said, the article only implies that the watch was the cause. If something else killed the cow, then I see no reason why it couldn't have eaten a watch. Cows have been known to eat all sorts of things.

Another highly questionable element of the article: that the watch would still be worth anything approaching $40. Even if it was in a pure gold case, that wouldn't amount to $40 back then, would it? And the watch itself would be ruined, movement, face, hands and all after being inside a cow. No question about that.

So no. I don't believe the story.

 

[RRPocketWatch]

True or Not.....Still makes for interesting reading! Hope somebody has it! We can send it to a lab and have it CSI'ed for the proof I like it Kent!

 

[51Cards]

Agreed with Surf... the immediate thought I had was that it would be completely ruined. If nothing else it would be gummed up, but I'm sure stomach acid would completely destroy the movement in minutes. I could see the watch being worth more than the cow though.

 

[Clint Geller]

There was an old cow who swallowed a watch

Why she swallowed the watch

I couldn't say much


There was an old cow who swallowed a watch

If you sold it now

It wouldn't bring scratch!


Udderly amazing!

 

[Bill B]

Interestingly enough cows have very weak stomach acid that is why they have 4 of them to process their food. The first stomach is storage for regurgitation so they can chew their cud and has little if any acid. If it was found stuck between the first and second it could have punctured the stomach wall and caused bleeding or an infection that killed the cow. The only thing that would have been damaged would be the iron parts after sometime.

 

[terry hall]

a MOOOO ving story

 

[Surf Monkey]

Interestingly enough cows have very weak stomach acid that is why they have 4 of them to process their food. The first stomach is storage for regurgitation so they can chew their cud and has little if any acid. If it was found stuck between the first and second it could have punctured the stomach wall and caused bleeding or an infection that killed the cow. The only thing that would have been damaged would be the iron parts after sometime.

The acidity isn't what I'd think of as the main problem. Moisture is. I can't imagine that it would emerge intact after spending who knows how many days, weeks, months saturated with liquid and contaminants. Besides, it doesn't take a very strong acid to promote corrosion, so I'd fully expect it to be a lost cause. I will concede that given the right circumstances it could probably kill the cow, but I bet it would be a bit of a long shot. I'd expect it to pass right through.

 

[Larry Treiman]

The story may have said it was a cow, but it sounds like a lot of "BULL" to me!

Larry

 

[BOBSTER]

The story is quite possible and other examples seen today in other animals, if the watch became logged in the intestinal track the animal would die in 24 hours or less. Because of the weight of the watch, it would have taken a fast track to the intestinal track and would have been protected by the veg. matter. There is not much fluid intestinal track or stomach of a cow and 99% solids. There would be hardly any damage to the watch. If this was the case, the cause of death would have been easily determined.

 

[Bryan Eyring]

Farmer's first name is Angus - a coincidence?

 

[Joe Kendall]

OK I just have to add two cents on this one. I think I have more then a little expertise in the subject. The subject of cows that is. In my real life I am a dead animal veterinarian (a veterinary toxicologist/pathologist). It is my job to figure out what killed an animal. I've necropsied (the animal term for autopsy) many cows and it is amazing what you will find in there rumens (the first compartment of the four compartment stomach). Usually these are called incidental findings as they bare no relation to what killed the animal. The exceptions are when an animal consumes something sharp like a bit of wire which then perforates the stomach and may even migrate to the heart, resulting in a massive internal infection and the animal’s demise. This is called "hardware disease". In this case however the watch, implied in the article at least, was primarily intact so would be an incidental finding. Also because of the weight of the watch it would have fallen to the bottom of the rumen and in all likely hood remained there for the natural life of the animal, not passing further down the intestinal tract. In remaining in the rumen it would not have been decomposed due to acid as the rumen is relatively neutral in pH. The rumen however is a big fermentation vat and with time moisture would have seeped into the watch resulting in corrosion.

Hope this isn't a case of too much information for some people. Hey at least it is after dinner for most. Think I'll go have a snack.

Joe

 

[Kent]

Here's another "news item" that makes one wonder what the editor was thinking!

 

[Kent]

Here's yet another story!

 

[Kevin W.]

That guy should buy a lottery ticket, talk about luck.

 

[doug sinclair]

A lot of years ago, my late father who was a watchmaker, had an instructor from a local technical institute bring him in a pocket watch for repair. The watch was repaired, and then picked it up. It was only a short time later that the watch came back, not running. My Dad checked it to find it was badly magnetized! He demagnetized it and sent the guy on his way. He returned a short while later, same problem. My Dad told him about the problem of exposing his watch to a permanent magnet, at which time, the light came on! The guy reached into his sweater pocket and removed a cylindrical magnet about 4 inches long and an inch in diameter. He said, "like this?" He raised cattle, and this magnet thing was used on a cord to lower into a cow's stomach to remove ferrous metal objects. Needless to say, that was the last time Dad had to de-magnetize the guy's watch. I wonder if horses have such problems. I never hear of it. But then horses are much smarter than cattle, and likely wouldn't eat a nail, or whatever.

This reminds me of the story of a fellow whose puppy ate a roll of pennies. He rushed a very sick little dog to the vet who recommended the pup be left over night. The fellow called the next day for a progress report to be told there was "no change yet!"

 

[AbslomRob]

I've read that while pocket watch cases weren't "waterproof" in today's sense, good watchmakers would "seal" the threads of the case, the crown and the edge of the crystal with a bit of beeswax or other such substances to help prevent moisture and dust from getting in.

 

[Jeff Hess]

As to the first post, no way would it kill the cow.

I sold a "waterfproof" watch to the head of the LArge Animal department at the University of Illinois a few years back. He needed since he was always sticking his arm way into live cows bodys for this test or that test.

He also had a heard of cows on the University farm that all had big holes cut in them and flaps of skin covering the holes. These holes were in various parts of the cows. The cows would walk along eating, chewing cud, mooing, etc with big holes in their sides. The scientist and his students would every day lift a flap and reach in and analyze what was in that portion of the cow.

They fed them all kinds of weird stuff in their experiments and the cows lived and walked around with weird food in them and holes in their sides.

No way a little watch would have hurt the cow.

Jeff, gross story of the year department