Goat

The domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe.

The goat is a member of the family Bovidae and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat. Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species, and have been used for their milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world. In 2011, there were more than 924 million live goats around the globe, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Female goats are referred to as "does" or "nannies", intact males as "bucks", "billies", or "rams" and their offspring are "kids". Castrated males are "wethers". Goat meat from younger animals is called "kid" or cabrito (Spanish), and from older animals is simply known as "goat" or sometimes called chevon (French), or in some areas "mutton" (which more often refers to adult sheep meat).

Etymology

The Modern English word goat comes from Old English gāt "she-goat, goat in general", which in turn derives from Proto-Germanic *gaitaz (cf. Dutch/Icelandic geit, German Geiß, and Gothic gaits), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰaidos meaning "young goat" (cf. Latin haedus "kid"), itself perhaps from a root meaning "jump" (assuming that Old Church Slavonic zajęcǐ "hare", Sanskrit jihīte "he moves" are related). To refer to the male, Old English used bucca (giving modern buck) until ousted by hegote, hegoote in the late 12th century. Nanny goat (females) originated in the 18th century and billy goat (for males) in the 19th.

Goats (webcomic)

Goats is a popular webcomic written and illustrated by Jonathan Rosenberg. The webcomic started April 1, 1997. On April 3, 2006, after nine years drawing the strip, Rosenberg became a full-time cartoonist making his living drawing Goats. Because of recent work on Scenes from a Multiverse, he has put it on hiatus. In 2012 Rosenberg raised more than $55.000 via Kickstarter to print Goats Book IV, relaunch the website and finish the story with Goats Book V. In August 19, 2014, 71 comics and all e-books were republished, while Kickstarter backers have yet to receive any merchandise.

Goats follows a (loose) plot surrounding the adventures of Rosenberg's cartoon alter ego, along with his friend/drinking buddy Phillip, and many characters including animals, celebrities, aliens and villains. Most of the strips are separated into story arcs, which have very different, though still coherent, plots. Except for the time that the world was destroyed, all of the strips fit into one continuous timeline.

Goats (film)

Goats is a 2012 comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Neil and written by Mark Poirier based on his novel, Goats. The film stars David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips, Keri Russell, Justin Kirk, and Ty Burrell. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2012, and was given a limited release in the United States on August 10, 2012.

Plot

Fifteen-year-old Ellis Whitman (Graham Phillips) is leaving his home in Tucson, Arizona for his freshman year at Gates Academy, an East Coast prep school. He leaves behind Wendy (Vera Farmiga), his flaky, New Age mother, and Goat Man (David Duchovny), a weed-smoking goat trekker and botanist. Goat Man is the only real father that Ellis has ever known, since his biological father, Frank (Ty Burrell), left when he was a baby.

Upon arriving Gates Academy, Ellis befriends his roommate Barney Cannel (Nicholas Lobue), a cross country runner, Rosenberg, who usually doesn't get anything higher than a C in his classes but is smart enough to sneak in marijuana. Ellis also takes an interest in Minnie (Dakota Johnson), a local girl who works in the school library; his friends often refer to her as a prostitute, according to rumors. Meanwhile, Goat Man and Wendy have been incommunicado, which Barney points out often. On a phone call, Ellis discovers that his mother has a new boyfriend named Bennet (Justin Kirk), who is rude and disrespectful.