One bright Wednesday morning, 11The phone number of emergency services in the USA. In the UK, it is 999. operators in the US state of NebraskaA state in the midwestern USA with a population of nearly 2 million. received a strange phone call. The caller told them there was a car driving through the city of Norfolk with a cow in the passenger seat.

Police duly attended the scene, expecting to find a calf tucked into the car. Instead they were greeted by an enormous WatusiA former name for the Tutsi people of Africa, who traditionally herd cattle. bull sticking out of the windscreen.

The bull's name, the owner happily told them, is Howdy Doody, and he behaves just like a one-tonne dog: he likes treats and walks and even responds to basic commands.

As the story broke, amidst all the hilarity, on this side of the pond there was also a touch of sadness - and envy.

Britain, say some observers, was the birthplace of individual liberty, the principle that everyone should be allowed to do whatever they like as long as it does not harm anyone else.

Our foremost 19th-Century philosopher, John Stuart MillA 19th-Century English philosopher who wrote extensively about freedom and democracy. He is regarded as the father of modern liberalism., took this to its extremes, writing strongly in defence of our right to be eccentric. He argued that eccentricity makes a society more daring and inventive, and more willing to resist overbearing authority.

Some Americans certainly seem to know the value of nonconformity. One journalist, writing in the Washington Post, declared that the Howdy Doody incident is "what makes America great". The police at the scene were less impressed, dispatching the animal straight back home.

But here in the birthplace of personal freedom, some lament, Howdy Doodies are a dying breed. Once, they say, we had such wonderful eccentrics as the fifth Duke of Portland, who was so shy that he built an entire house underground, connected to the outside world by a series of tunnels so he would never have to see anyone.

So what killed the great British eccentric?

Some believe the answer is political. Writer Alan Bennett claims World War Two put an end to eccentricity. It could only be sustained, he argues, for as long as people had comfortable, sheltered lives. In the grim post-war years, all they could focus on was survival.

In these days of economic crisis, social decay, and collapsing schools, some suggest, it is hard to find the will to be silly.

Others say the problem has to do with culture. In the 1960s, thinker Herbert MarcuseA German philosopher who was a member of the Frankfurt School. His writings on modern society were influenced by Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. argued that the rise of mass mediaMedia that reaches a large audience, such as television, radio, newspapers, the Internet and more. was making everyone more conformist. Because they all watched the same films and TV shows and took up the same hobbies, people just came to think more and more alike.¹

UrbanisationThe increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. It is predicted that by 2050 three billion people will live in cities. may also have played its part. During the Industrial RevolutionA period of sudden, rapid industrialisation that transforms a country from an agricultural to an industrial economy., people started moving out from the centre of cities to the suburbs. Many writers portrayed these new neighbourhoods as hives of conformity, where staring eyes forced people to live respectable, middle-class lives.

But others think we should not mourn the loss of eccentricity. People who want to live as recluses or drive cows around, they say, are doing nothing useful for the rest of society. They should be helping to make it a better place, not indulging their own whims.

Yes: Eccentric people are cleverer and more inventive. And they just make life a lot more fun. Being a bit nonconformist could do us all good.

No: People who think they are wacky are often really just annoying and disruptive. Even when they are not, they do very little for their fellow citizens. If people took life more seriously it would be better for everyone.

Or... There is no real conflict between being wacky and being serious. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued true maturity meant regaining "the seriousness that one had as a child at play". We can be both serious and playful.

911 - The phone number of emergency services in the USA. In the UK, it is 999.

Nebraska - A state in the midwestern USA with a population of nearly 2 million.

Watusi - A former name for the Tutsi people of Africa, who traditionally herd cattle.

John Stuart Mill - A 19th-Century English philosopher who wrote extensively about freedom and democracy. He is regarded as the father of modern liberalism.

Herbert Marcuse - A German philosopher who was a member of the Frankfurt School. His writings on modern society were influenced by Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud.

Mass media - Media that reaches a large audience, such as television, radio, newspapers, the Internet and more.

Urbanisation - The increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. It is predicted that by 2050 three billion people will live in cities.

Industrial Revolution - A period of sudden, rapid industrialisation that transforms a country from an agricultural to an industrial economy.