Chick-fil-A's so-called "Cow Appreciation Day" involved giving chicken flesh to people who dressed up as cows. We think cows (and chickens) deserve better than that, so here's our new and improved Cow Appreciation Day. We're giving away The Compassionate Cook, our back-by-popular-demand, original vegan cookbook, featuring more than 225 recipes in which no cows, chickens, or any other animals were harmed. Just take the quiz below to learn why intelligent, sensitive cows aren't milk machines and then enter for your chance to win:

1. Just like people, cows are known to ________ when a loved one dies or is separated from them. 

2. True or False: Cows' sense of smell is even stronger in some ways than that of most dogs—they can detect scents up to 5 miles away.

3. This picture is of: 

A) a pipe cutter

B) one of the torture devices used in the Saw films

C) a guillotine dehorner, used by dairy farmers to chop off cows' sensitive horns

D) a Halloween haunted house prop

4. In nature, cows may nurse their calves for up to _____ years.

5.  After years of being kept almost constantly, forcibly pregnant and having their beloved babies repeatedly taken away from them so that their milk can be sold instead, when cows' milk production wanes, they are: 

A) put out to pasture on the farm to live out their days

B) retired to a sanctuary

C) feted with cake and alfalfa-flavored ice cream

D) sent to slaughter 

6. True or False: A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint—no two cows' spots are exactly the same.

7. Guys, get ready to squirm: Male calves who are taken from their mothers are usually _______ without so much as an aspirin.

8. True or False: Like people, cows communicate with each other using different vocal sounds, body positions, and subtle facial expressions.

9. A dairy industry study reports that by the time they are killed, nearly _____ percent of cows are lame because of the intensive confinement to the concrete floors of milking barns, the strain of being kept almost constantly pregnant, and being made to stand ankle-deep in their own dung.

A) 10

B) 20

C) 30

D) 40

10.  True or False: Bovines love a good brain teaser, such as figuring out how to open a gate's latch to let themselves out, and they get so excited that some even kick up their heels when they figure out the solution. 

*****

Check out the answer key below to see how you did, and then repost some of these interesting cow facts to show your friends why it's sour to steal cows' milk.

To enter to win The Compassionate Cook, just leave a comment telling us how you did on the quiz. A winner will be chosen at random. (Your score on the quiz does not affect your chances of winning.)

The contest will end on October 25, 2012, and we'll contact the winner by October 29, 2012. By commenting here, you're acknowledging that you've read and you agree to our contest terms and conditions and our privacy policy and you're also agreeing to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal info in accordance with those policies as well as to receiving e-mails from us.

Answers: 1) shed tears 2) True 3) C 4) three 5) D 6) True 7) castrated 8) True 9) D 10) True

If you're a PETA expert, you might remember our classic "Carnivore Picnic" billboard. If not—or if you'd just like to brush up on your PETA trivia—guess which of the captions below accompanied this classic PETA image (answer after the jump):

Caption One
"Timmy, can you please pass me the rotten carcass?"
"Well, gee whiz, Suzie—of course. One charred slab of flesh, coming right up!"

Caption Two
What's the difference between these teen picnickers and a pack of hungry cheetahs?
Silverware.

Caption Three
The carnivorous pack had gathered for the kill.

Think you have an even better caption for this classic PETA billboard? Leave a comment and let us know!

Written by Liz Graffeo

Pop quiz—Tokyo's bustling Shibuya Crossing is famous for:

1. a. The statue of Hachikō, a dog who used to wait at Shibuya Station every day for his guardian to return from work.
2. b. Its appearance in scenes from the Bill Murray/Scarlett Johansson movie Lost in Translation.
3. c. Being the home of one of the busiest Starbucks coffeehouses in the world.
4. d. Being the site of a recent PETA Asia-Pacific Lettuce Ladies demonstration.
5. e. All of the above.

All of you who answered "e" would get a big, sloppy wet kiss from Hachikō if he were still with us, but since he isn't, you'll have to content yourselves with a pretty picture of the Lettuce Ladies in action:

Written by Alisa Mullins

Need some brushing up on your ABCs? Animal Birth Control, that is. Now's your chance! Meet Amber, PETA's sexy new student who has a big heart for homeless animals and some hot tricks up her sleeve.

Check out PETA's Striptease Quiz and see if you have the smarts to get 10 out of 10 questions right. You'll be quizzed on everything from the importance of spaying and neutering to the significance of adopting from animal shelters instead of pet shops. If you study hard and get 100 on the quiz, I promise there'll be a reward for you in the end.

After you've aced the quiz (I know you will), fill out the contest form below and you will be entered to win an ABC T-shirt.

You have until September 17, 2008, to enter to win the T-shirt. We will contact the winner on September 18, 2008. Be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA's privacy policy before you comment—you're acknowledging that you have read and agree to both by entering.

Written by Christine Doré

Hey, I didn’t write the title for this post, so don’t take it out on me. It’s actually a reference to a feature that appeared in everyone’s favorite quarterly publication, Animal Times, this fall. And I thought it was pretty damn cute.

For most of the regular commenters, this quiz isn’t mandatory—feel free to just skim through and look for the funny parts. But Halo Snipe, the bad Steve, Dr. C, and Mars: I’m expecting you all to post your scores. I’m guessing you four aren’t PETA members already, but if you’ve just been waiting for that extra incentive, Animal Times comes free when you donate $16 or more.

Anyway here it is. No cheating (answers after the jump).