March 1st is National Pigs Day: Facts About Pigs

On March 1^st the world will gather together to celebrate National Pigs day. Okay, maybe no one really celebrates iNational Pigs Day but the folks down in Lubbock should be, and why not? That's where the holiday all started.

Her name was Ellen Stanley and back in 1972 she created National Pigs Day. By why would anyone in their right mind create a holiday for pigs? They're dirty creatures and on top of that, pigs aren't good for anything but eating, right? That's where most people are wrong which is exactly why Stanley created this holiday. She admired the creatures and thought of pigs as very intelligent. But just how admirable are pigs?

First look at the dirt. Pigs can't sweat so they use mud as a cooling device. So maybe being dirty isn't such a bad thing. At least they put it to good use to help themselves out. Some find it gross that they'll eat just about anything. Perhaps a better way to look at it is pigs will never go hungry. Whether they are lost in an area full of dead trees, or out in a field full of flowers, pigs will always have something they can eat. That's pretty smart, but then again, that is the way God designed them, not something they choose.

Just how intelligent are pigs then? Did you know they are considered smarter than dogs? If you were to ask one of the 1997 undergrads at Penn State University, they'd agree that pigs are very intelligent. They conducted a research project that involved training pigs to play a game on a TV using the pigs snout on a joystick. They've also trained pigs to turn lights on and off. By doing all this they begin understanding a pig better.

You now know that their dirtiness is used for their benefit and that they are quite intelligent animals, but there must be more reasons to dedicate a day to them, right? You're in luck, because there's still more. There are some European countries that use them to find truffles buried in the ground because their snout is a sensitive sense organ so they have an impeccable sense of smell.