Bag Balm is a gooey, tan translucent substance. It is used to protect
cow teats from the
deleterious (I love that word) effects of dry cold wind; i.e. to prevent
chapped teats. This, as you might imagine, is not only extremely painful for the cow (not least because when a cow can't be
milked it hurts) but also bad in terms of
revenue for the
dairy farmer. Well, some enterprising folks up in
Lyndonville, Vermont have the answer. This stuff is to regular
mentholated ointment what
Fat Man is to a
hand grenade. It's damn near impenetrable. It's also extremely useful for
clearing the sinuses or protecting the lips (human lips) from chill. So, all true Vermonters keep a can of
Bag Balm handy, even if they own nary a single solitary
moo.
In addition, if you are ever in Lyndonville Vermont, look down near the Cumberland Farms on Rt. 5/Railroad St; there's an enormous can of Bag Balm protruding from the building in which it was originally made.