Will Goats Really Eat Anything? (And Other Cool Goat Facts)

Watching videos of fainting goats says a lot about the type of person you are. Do you laugh? Feel a bit bad for them? Technically, neither is wrong, but you might be a horrible person if you make them faint on purpose.

Watching videos of fainting goats says a lot about the type of person you are. Do you laugh? Feel a bit bad for them? Technically, neither is wrong, but you might be a horrible person if you make them faint on purpose.

First, they don't actually faint — fainting goats are fully conscious through the whole episode. What's really happening is the brain is sending the body a signal that should trigger a fight or flight response. According to National Geographic, it's a genetic mutation called myotonia congenita that prevents their muscles from receiving a chemical telling them to move again after they tense up. Oh, and if someone does it to them repeatedly, they can develop serious stress issues, so knock it off.

The Guardian says we know exactly when they became a thing and why the mutation was encouraged to spread, too. In the 1880s, a Tennessee farm laborer came to the farm of a Dr. Mayberry. He had four goats with him, and they had a tendency to "faint." Mayberry saw something of an opportunity. Most goats love to jump, but the genetic condition these little guys came with meant they didn't jump or climb like their counterparts. They were easier to keep corralled, and since their offspring were still tasty, they became a favorite of farmers who were raising goats as a food source. So that adorable fainting trick that makes them an internet favorite also made them a slaughterhouse favorite.

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