"A Brief Illustrated History of the Navy Goat" Topic
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Editor in Chief Bill | 15 Dec 2014 3:06 p.m. PST |
Pacing the sidelines at the weekend's Army-Navy game will be the U.S. Naval Academy's famous goat mascot, Bill XXXIII. At first blush, a goat seems to be an unusual mascot for the Navy as opposed to something fiercer and maritime — like a shark or barracuda — but goats have a long history with sailors that led to their revered position at USNA.Like other popular pets such as cats and dogs that have been welcomed on ships since the earliest days of sailing, goats also served a practical role on the waves. Since ships spent months at sea, the crews needed a source for fresh dairy products, meat, leather and fiber. Goats offered advantages over cows. They required less space and goat's was sure-footedness was better suited for rough seas. A half-ton cow being tossed in a storm could be as dangerous as a loose cannon. Goats also spared ships from having to store the enormous amount of special feed that would have been needed for cows because goats would at least try to eat anything placed in front of them. Crews would feed goats scraps of whatever was available, giving goats another purpose by turning them into the ship's garbage disposal… link |
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