It’s a basic tenet of the news business that you can get away with a lot of things in a metropolitan area like the Bay Area that you would never try in a place like Chico. But those lines may be blurring.

Associated Press moved a story Tuesday about a barn explosion in Germany that was probably caused by methane gas created by the cows in the barn. The San Francisco Chronicle web site put the following headline on the story: “Cow flatulence blamed for barn explosion.”

The Chico Enterprise Record had a more earthy take on the story: “Cow farts cause barn to explode in Germany.”