1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: a show for those interested in the big and bizarre 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: moments of history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: at a curious milestone from the early days of aviation. 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: The first time a cow was flown and milk inside 7 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: an airplane. The day was February thirty, A dairy cow 8 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: named Elm farm Ali became the first of her species 9 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: to travel by airplane. Although she was just two years 10 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: old at the time, Ali was already a cow of 11 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: many names. She had been known as Nellie j prior 12 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: to her flight, then had her name changed to Ali 13 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: for the big event, and afterward she was given the 14 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: nickname Sky Queen. Before she made history, Elm farm Ali 15 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: lived at Sunnymead Farms in Bismarck, Missouri. Then in early 16 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: ninety she was sold to the organizers of the International 17 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: Aircraft Exposition in St. Louis. That expo was held over 18 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: nine days and was sponsored by Shell Petroleum. It featured 19 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: exhibits on aviation, as well as air shows, races, and stunts. 20 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: One celebrity participant was Lieutenant Jimmy Doolittle. At the time, 21 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: he was a noted flying ace with a talent for racing, 22 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: but in later years he would earn the Medal of 23 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: Honor for his service in World War Two and go 24 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: on to retire as a four star general. Doolittle would 25 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: have had top billing at the exposition if not for 26 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: one other guest, whose own flight grabbed all the headlines. 27 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: The flying cow demonstration was motive faded by two factors. 28 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: First and foremost, it was a publicity stunt meant to 29 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 1: promote the fledgling aviation industry. The idea was to get 30 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: rural Americans more interested in the still new concept of 31 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: flying in an airplane, and for whatever reason, it was 32 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: decided the best way to win Middle America support was 33 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: to show them that planes could be used to fly 34 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 1: livestock between towns. One St. Louis paper described that mission 35 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: as quote blazing a trail for the transportation of livestock 36 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: by air. Needless to say, the air freight transportation of 37 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: cattle never quite caught on, but in this isolated case 38 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: in it at least made for an entertaining afternoon. Elm 39 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: farm Ali was known for her gentle nature, which is 40 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: what made her an ideal choice for the flight. After all, 41 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: there aren't a lot of thousand pound animals that would 42 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: tolerate being stuffed inside a cramped airplane. And speaking of 43 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: the plane, it was a Ford Trimotor aircraft, an early 44 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,640 Speaker 1: model plane capable of carrying either ten human passengers or 45 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: one cow and an attendant. True to its name, the 46 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: Trimotor had three engines, but even still, it's cruising speed 47 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: was just ninety miles per hour, and with a cow 48 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: on board, possibly a bit less. Thanks to Dolly's sweet disposition, 49 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: getting her on the plane was no problem and they 50 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: were able to safely make the flight from her farm 51 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: in Bismarck to the expo in St. Louis. The second 52 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: motivation for putting a cow on an airplane was even 53 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: weirder than the first. Reportedly, scientists wanted to observe the 54 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: cow's behavior as a way to determine the effects of 55 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: flight on animals. In particular, they were curious about whether 56 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: or not flying impacted the ability of a cow to 57 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: produce milk, and that was actually the other reason that 58 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,839 Speaker 1: Ali was chosen for the mission. She was considered an 59 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: uncommonly productive Guernsey cow, typically requiring three milkings per day. 60 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: If any cow was going to be open to the 61 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: idea of being milked in mid air, it was gonna 62 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: be elm farm Molli. The man for that particular job 63 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: was Ali's attendant, Ellsworth W. Bunce, a native of Wisconsin, 64 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: the dairy state. During the brief seventy two mile trip 65 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: from Bismarck to St. Louis, Ali became the first cow 66 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: milked in flight, and Bunce became the first man to 67 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: milk a cow in flight. It's unclear how many others, 68 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: if any, have joined that particular club, as believe it 69 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: or not, nobody seems to be keeping track. Still, scientists 70 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: and farmers alike would be pleased to learn that altitude 71 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 1: had no effect on Ali's milk production. Over the course 72 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: of the short flight, the cow lived up to her reputation, 73 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: producing a staggering twenty four a quarts of milk. Then, 74 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: because none of this was silly enough yet, that milk 75 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,040 Speaker 1: was carefully bottled and packaged into paper cartains, which were 76 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: then dropped from the plane as it flew over St. Louis. 77 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: To keep things from getting messy, tiny parachutes were attached 78 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: to the sky milk to make sure it reached the 79 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: ground safely. Famous aviator Charles Lindbergh reportedly drank a glass himself, 80 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,359 Speaker 1: though in his case Buntz had set aside a special 81 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,359 Speaker 1: court to give him. Once they had landed. When the 82 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: flight was over and Ali had greeted her adoring fans 83 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: at the expo, she was taken back to her former 84 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: home on Sunnymead Farms in Bismarck. She lived there for 85 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: eight pieceful years until she passed away from natural causes 86 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: at the age of ten. She was remembered by those 87 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: who knew her as a warm, friendly animal, a really 88 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 1: good cow. Ali a k a. Nellie j a k a. 89 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: The Sky Queen was born and raised in Bismarck, Missouri. However, 90 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,919 Speaker 1: today her legacy burns the brightest in Wisconsin, a state 91 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: renowned for its dairy output but also one that Ali 92 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: never stepped hoof in. Nonetheless, she's been honored there as 93 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: the subject of numerous stories, cartoons, poems, and paintings. Many 94 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: in the state also celebrate Elm Farm Mollie Day on 95 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: February eighteenth each year. The event often corresponds with dairy 96 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: festivals held in different towns. But if you want to 97 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: meet Ali's most ardent fans, look no further than the 98 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:39,919 Speaker 1: National Mustard Museum in Middletown, Wisconsin. It's founder and curator, 99 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: Barry Levinson, composed and performed in operetta devoted to Ali's 100 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: historic flight. It's called Madam Butterfat, and it features an 101 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: epic eight and a half minute medley titled the Bovine 102 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:59,840 Speaker 1: Cantata in B flat Major. It's definitely worth seeking out 103 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: the whole track for yourself, but for now, I'll leave 104 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: you with my favorite part, a closing section set to 105 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: the tune of Ode to Joy by Beethoven. Take it Away, 106 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: Barry praises all that out here more once Andre Piness 107 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: purs water, cream trees, these pine things weekend, I'm Gay 108 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: Bluesier and hopefully you now know a little more about 109 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can learn even 110 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 111 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d I h C Show, And if 112 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: you know of any other cow centric songs I should 113 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: know about, please send them my way at this day 114 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 115 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 116 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 117 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: history class. All we want to do so Carmel, we 118 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: falla la la la la la. Carry connects, make us 119 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: jolly falling la la la. For more podcasts from my 120 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 121 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.