Monday, July 21, 2008

Cats do not want you to read this


File this tidbit of information under the "things to try out on someone else's cat" category. From the amazingly entertaining book pictured to your right.

"What is the best floor of a building to throw a cat from?

Any of them above the 7th floor. Here's why:
Higher than the 7th floor it doesn't really matter as long as its oxygen holds out. Like many small animals, cats have a nonfatal terminal velocity - in cats this is about 60 mph. Once they relax, they orient themselves, spread out and parachute to earth like squirrels. Terminal velocity is the point at which a body's weight equalizes against the resistance of the air and it stops accelerating - in humans it's about 120 mph, reached in free fall from about 1,800 ft.

There are cats on record that have fallen thirty stories or more without ill effects. One cat is known to have been deliberately thrown out of a Cessna aircraft at 800 feet that survived."


A Cessna aircraft!? Who the hell made that a Saturday morning activity?
- Mow lawn
- Clean gutters
- Release Buttercup from 800 feet

Naturally, I turned to YouTube for any visual evidence supporting such wild claims. No Cessna aircraft footage available. Cat vs. Tree will have to do. Make sure to stick around for the slow motion replay and the post-fall cat interview

2 comments:

Anna said...

Well, you've got five cats at home to practice on, though I suspect Fatty would just fall asleep mid-flight. Or at least leave a sizable crater in the ground...

A link for you: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/favorite_venues/03/02/mccallum.allen/index.html?bcnn=yes

dmccallie said...

And Cissy would rip you to shreds before you ever let go...