As reported by Daily Mail, pandemic-induced isolation has inspired a new craze: cow cuddling. It seems that multitudes of folks starved for physical contact with another living creature are willing to pay $75 an hour to bond with a bovine, with “cuddle farms” in Arizona, New York and Hawaii booked for months in advance.
Advocates maintain that the benefits are not purely subjective: cuddling, especially with a large mammal such as a cow, with a slower heartbeat, has been shown to reduce stress by releasing oxytocin, they say.