Jul 25, 2023 - Culture

This year's Ohio State Fair butter cow honors 4 inventors

Alissa Widman Neese

A cow sculpted in butter, next to a phonograph and Thomas Edison holding a light bulb — Ohio's most famous inventor, Thomas Edison, next to the traditional butter cow and calf. Photo: Courtesy of American Dairy Association Mideast

This year's butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair celebrates Ohio inventors who helped "moo-ve" the world forward.

What to expect: Alongside the traditional cow and calf, it features: Garrett Morgan, of Cleveland, with a three-position traffic signal; Josephine Cochrane, born in Ashtabula County, with a hand-powered dishwasher; Thomas Edison, born in Milan, with a lightbulb and phonograph; and James Spangler, of Canton, with a portable vacuum cleaner.

By the numbers: The display took about 450 hours and 2,000 pounds of butter to sculpt, per the American Dairy Association Mideast.

The cooler is kept at a chilly 46°F.

Of note: The lightbulb and traffic signal in the display light up using electricity.

Go deeper: What happens to the butter cow after the Ohio State Fair?

The butter cow in the foreground, with butter-sculpted Thomas Edison and James Spangler, inventor of the vacuum, in the background — James Spangler, inventor of the vacuum, rounds out the display of Ohio inventors. Photo: Courtesy of American Dairy Association Mideast

A woman in a black hoodie smooths out the face of the Josephine Cochran butter sculpture — Columbus artist Erin Birum carves fine details into the sculpture of Josephine Cochrane, inventor of the dishwasher. Photo: Courtesy of American Dairy Association Mideast

A butter sculpture of Garrett Morgan holding the pole of a traffic signal, with the red illuminated — Garrett Morgan, known for adding a caution light to traffic signals to improve safety, also invented the gas mask. Photo: Courtesy of American Dairy Association Mideast

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This year's Ohio State Fair butter cow honors 4 inventors

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