February 18 marks one of the most wonderfully bizarre anniversaries in aviation history: Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day. Yes — this is a real thing, and yes — it’s exactly what it sounds like.
On February 18, 1930, a calm‑natured, high‑producing Guernsey cow named Nellie Jay — later known as Elm Farm Ollie — became the first cow ever flown in an airplane and the first to be milked mid‑flight. She boarded a Ford Trimotor in Bismarck, Missouri, and took to the skies on a 72‑mile trip to the International Aviation Exhibition in St. Louis.
The purpose? A scientific study on whether altitude affected milk production… and, let’s be honest, a whole lot of publicity. As Ollie was milked in the air, her fresh milk was sealed in paper cartons and parachuted down to spectators below. Aviation history has never been quite the same.
The flight also served as a demonstration of the Ford Trimotor’s capabilities — and an attempt to convince farmers that livestock could be transported by air. (Spoiler: that part didn’t really catch on.) But Ollie’s achievement? That one stuck. Her airborne milking remains one of the most charming footnotes in both farming and aviation lore.
Before you take off into your day, here’s your Tillsonburg fuel update:
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Pioneer: $124.9
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Esso: $128.9
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Shell: $124.9
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Petro Canada: $124.9
And if you’re wondering whether any other cows have followed in Ollie’s hoofprints — no need. She remains the undisputed queen of the skies, the Amelia Earhart of dairy, and the only cow to ever earn frequent flyer and frequent milker status in the same trip.
