Here's one for you: according to a new study by the University of Leicester, cows will produce milk more effectively if you pipe the soothing tunes of R.E.M. into their pasture. Yep, seriously.
We don't know what is more interesting, the fact that this is apparently true or the fact that the University of Leicester deemed this an effective use of their time. Feckin' students. Apparently though, tests have concluded that R.E.M.'s music helps cows relax, increasing their oxytocin output which in turn can boost a cow's milk production by a whopping 3% - which essentially renders this study udderly meaningless.
Still though, a potential playlist to increase your farm's milk production should include great R.E.M. hits from their first album ('Moomer'), or perhaps 'It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Bovine)'.
Source: Grist.org
