Most cliches have enough truth to them that, while the use of the phrase is monotonous and ineffective, there is at least some logic behind using it. That’s apparently not the case with the ever-popular like a bull in a china shop.

Based on a recent episode of The Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters program, bulls are apparently discerning and respectful shoppers when it comes to china. In an episode when they tested whether red was a color that infuriated bulls (it’s not), they also set up a mock china shop to see how the bulls would react, fully expecting that grandma’s china would soon look like the windows of a home that had had the misfortune of being located along the 18th fairway during the Beer and Vodka Semi-pro Golf Tournament.

The staff set up rows of shelves loaded with plates inside of a bull pen, and the bull walked up and down the aisle as if he were shopping for the perfect wedding gift. Even when a second bull was added to the pen, the china was left largely unscathed as the bulls dodged deftly down the aisle and between the rows of china.

To me, what was busted was another cliche.

–Paul