- Purple Cow
The purple cow initially became famous as a chimerical referent in a short humorous verse, but has since come to refer to a diverse range of other things, including sports teams, food, wine, and tobacco products, as well as marketing practices in general. Yet all these examples retain the common theme of a sense of something out of the ordinary.
In literature
Purple Cow is the name of a well-known poem by
Gelett Burgess , written in 1895:I never saw a purple cow;
I never hope to see one;
but I can tell you anyhow;
I'd rather see than be one! [ [http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/8/4/6/18464/18464.htm Gutenberg etext.] ]It was often quoted, and many of his contemporaries aped the poem. One such example, by Englishman Robert S. Kane, typically lacked quite the same bouncy panache:
The purple cow
I have unfortunately seen.
It is as you'd expect
crossed with an aubergine.
Standing in a field
or laid out on a plate
it is as you'd expect:
cross, and a mistake. [Goss, John. (ed). "The Oxford book of comic verse". OUP: 1995.]Famously, Burgess became somewhat exasperated with the success of his poem, and being constantly reminded of it. He penned an almost as well-known riposte a few years later in 1897:
Having become associated with this verse, he wrote the following "Confession: and a Portrait Too, Upon a Background that I Rue" in
The Lark , number 24 (April 1, 1897).Ah, yes, I wrote the "Purple Cow"—
I'm Sorry, now, I wrote it;
But I can tell you Anyhow
I'll Kill you if you Quote it! [ [http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/8/4/6/18464/18464.htm Gutenberg etext.] ]However, it has, in its own small way, become a classic, and parodic versions are common, [ [http://www.angryox.com/weird/poetry/ Purple Cow Parodies] ] and are still being produced today:
I've never seen a purple cow.
My eyes with tears are full.
I've never seen a purple cow,
And I'm a purple bull. [ [http://wordcraft.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/332607094/m/7576070291 Wordcraft.] ]I've never seen a purple cow.
I never hope to see one.
But from the milk we're getting now,
There certainly must be one!and by Ogden Nash:
I've never seen an abominable snowman,
I'm hoping not to see one,
I'm also hoping, if I do,
That it will be a wee one.In competition
The
University of Montevallo holds College Night every year for homecoming, in which the Purple Team (Cows) competes against the Gold Team (Lions).The Purple Cow is also the mascot for
Williams College .In food and beverage
Purple cow may also refer to an
ice cream soda made with grape soda or grape juice. It may also refer to a mixed drink containing vodka and grape juice, much like a screwdriver, with grape juice substituted for orange juice.
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