1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:00,880 Speaker 1: Guess what will? 2 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:01,640 Speaker 2: What's that? Mango? 3 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,439 Speaker 1: So, I was looking online and I found this description 4 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 1: for a job that's definitely not for us, professional cat cuddler. 5 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. And first of all, 6 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 2: why is that a job? 7 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 1: So? I have no idea. And this posting is from 8 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: late January this year and it was put up by 9 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: a cat's only veterinary clinic in Ireland. But here's a 10 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: list of some of the questions you'd have to answer 11 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: to see if this job is right for you. And 12 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: these are all real. Are you a crazy cat person 13 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: and love cats already? I'm thinking that's enough? Right? Does 14 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: catitude come to you naturally? I wouldn't say we have 15 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: high catatude levels? No, have you counted kittens before you 16 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: go to sleep? Do you feed stray cats in your locality? 17 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:47,959 Speaker 1: Does pett and cats make you warm and fuzzy? 18 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:50,599 Speaker 3: I mean, I gotta be honest, Mango, I can't say 19 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 3: that any of those sound like me. 20 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: So I can't think of a job you're less suited for. 21 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: And the job basically involves calming down skittish cats and 22 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: mister me them into a zen like space so the 23 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: vets can see them but one of the biggest criticisms 24 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: of our show has been that we're not kind enough 25 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: to cats on the program. You are, of course scared 26 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 1: of them, and I have let's call it a healthy 27 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: respect for them. So I thought it was time for 28 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: a cat intervention, or a cat invention. We're gonna increase 29 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: our empathy of cats and try to understand them a 30 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: little better and maybe even call out some of their achievements. 31 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: And perhaps by the end of this all you and 32 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: I will be begging for that cat cuddling job. 33 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 3: Well I'm not sure I see that happening, but let's 34 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 3: dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. 35 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 3: I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my 36 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 3: good friend Mangesh how Ticketer and sitting behind that soundproof 37 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 3: glass surrounded by cat themed music albums, and there are 38 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 3: far more of these than I expected from him. But 39 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 3: he's got cat power. Cat Stevens, I think letti Grey 40 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 3: Acoustic Kitty, and I didn't see the album cover for this, 41 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,119 Speaker 3: but I swear is that Garfield's smooth Jazz I hear 42 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 3: playing in the background. 43 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: It is so Tristan was showing me this earlier it's 44 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: all Garfield inspired music, but my favorite is fat is 45 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: where It's at, you know, because Garfield eats a lot. 46 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 3: Right, Thanks for explaining that that guy has the best 47 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 3: taste in novelty albums, and that of course is our 48 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 3: friend and producer Tristan McNeil nw Mango. As you know, 49 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 3: we've gotten some criticism about not being cat friendly enough 50 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 3: on the show, and I have to be honest, it's 51 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 3: a little bit surprising how much we've heard from listeners 52 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 3: about this. 53 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it was really shocking to me too, 54 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: and I actually love all animals, or at least most 55 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: furry animals. And you know this, but maybe some listeners don't. 56 00:02:57,880 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: There was a long period of my life where I've 57 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: dreamed of the becase vet. And also, for the record, 58 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: we had cats on a bunch of covers of Mental 59 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: Flos Plus. The first story I wrote on mentalfloss dot 60 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: com was about a cat piano, so I had no 61 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: idea when he came across this anti cat. 62 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 2: That's right, you wrote. 63 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 3: About what was it called the cats and Clavier. It 64 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 3: was this musical instrument that I think it was invented 65 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 3: to cheer up a prince or something. 66 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 2: Is that right. 67 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, So it was like a piano, but instead of strings, 68 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: you just put kittens in a box behind each key 69 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: and it was supposed to gently prod the kitten to 70 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 1: meyow in tune. And there was this modern version of 71 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: it that was made with toy cats all tuned to 72 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: different notes with this dude playing over the rainbow on 73 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: them by squeezing them in order. I mean, there's a 74 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: video of this on YouTube, but all that meowing isn't 75 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: exactly music, but it's also not not music either. 76 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 3: I have definitely seen that video a few times and 77 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 3: it's pretty great. And you know, it is interesting how 78 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 3: polarizing cats are. And for the record, I should say 79 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 3: I don't hate cats. I just happened to be terrified 80 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 3: of cats. 81 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 2: When I was growing up. 82 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 3: I was across the street from Triplet Boys. They had 83 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 3: a family cat, and not intentionally, but just by being 84 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 3: Triplet Boys, they tortured this cat, and the cat decided 85 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 3: to take out all of its anger on me for 86 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 3: some reason, attacked me every time I came over there. 87 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 3: So I just wanted to put that out there. But 88 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 3: it has been really weird as we just make these 89 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 3: little jokes about cats on the show. These I guess 90 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 3: we think of them as like throwaway comments, and then 91 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 3: the angry letters that we hear from people about I 92 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 3: don't know if I can listen to this show because 93 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 3: you guys hate cats, but we apparently are not alone 94 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 3: in this polarizing world of cats. I actually found this 95 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 3: quote by the American writer Carl Van Vectim, and he 96 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 3: wrote a book called Tiger in the House, which is 97 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 3: really all about house cats. And here's how he talks 98 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 3: about people's strong feelings about cats. And I actually really 99 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 3: like this quote. So he says, one is permitted to 100 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 3: assume an attitude of placid indifference in some matters, you know, elephants, cockatoos, 101 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 3: hg well Sweden, roast beef, pouccini, even Mormonism. But in 102 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 3: the matter of cats, it seems necessary to take a 103 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 3: firm stand. The cat himself insists upon this. He invariably 104 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 3: inspires strong feelings. He is indeed the only animal who 105 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 3: does well. 106 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: It is true that cats definitely inspire strong feelings. And 107 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,159 Speaker 1: when we've joked on the show about not being cat lovers, 108 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,799 Speaker 1: people have ridden in and said, you know who also 109 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: hated cats? Hitler and also Napoleon, and Mussolini, and I 110 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: looked this up. It's true they were cat hitters. I mean, 111 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: I'm sure all three of them also hated like broccoli 112 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: and homework, so it doesn't really mean that much, like 113 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: a lot of people dislike a lot of things. But 114 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,480 Speaker 1: I was intrigued by the comments, so I looked up 115 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: other famous cat haters in history, and it's not a 116 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: good look for us to be perceived this way. So 117 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: in addition to Napoleon and Mussolini, you've got Genghis Khan 118 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: Stalin also hated cats. Caesar Alexander the Great, Eisenhower, for 119 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: some reason, is on the list, but frankly, I'm a 120 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: little surprised that Pollpond and Ediemine aren't on there as well. 121 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:09,480 Speaker 1: To around out, the list. 122 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 2: Has a lot of terrible people. 123 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 3: I mean, aside from Eisenhower, who we love for building 124 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 3: highways and infrastructure. 125 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: Of course love infrastructure. 126 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 2: I love infrastructure. 127 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 3: But yeah, I think what's worse than the list of 128 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 3: horrible people is when cat fans tell you about all 129 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 3: the great people who were obsessed with cats. You've got 130 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 3: Abe Lincoln, who was notorious for his love of cats, 131 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 3: and his wife Mary Todd once said that cats were 132 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 3: his only hobby. Also, they've got the prophet Mohammed, Nikola, Tesla, 133 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,679 Speaker 3: Saint Francis of ASSISI, Mark Twain, Florence Nightingale, Catherine the Great, 134 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,039 Speaker 3: Charles Mingus, and all of the Brontes. 135 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: All the Brontes, even Branwell Bronte. 136 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 2: I checked up on this mango. They got Branwell. 137 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: Well. Obviously, of those two sample sets, I'd rather be 138 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: associated with the cat lovers than the cat haters. But 139 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: I was trying to figure out why it is that 140 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: dictators and world conquerors don't like cats. And here's one 141 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: theory about it that I found that's popular on cat sites, 142 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: and it goes like this quote. It might just be 143 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: that cat people who have dreams of dominating the world 144 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: can't get used to the idea that cats won't submit 145 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: to them. 146 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 3: So is the idea that cats are just too independent 147 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 3: minded for dictators or what exactly? 148 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: And truthfully, that's also a big part of what cat 149 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: people like about cats, their total independence. Right, Like people 150 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: are always saying cats have more personality than dogs and 151 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: that they're less needy and they're like a little more 152 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: badass and rock and roll or something. And in fact, 153 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: this is a little off topic, but one of the 154 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: cat origin stories I read, and this is an Islamic 155 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: tale I believe, is that Noah was on his arc 156 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: and during the storm, he became really afraid that the 157 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: mice on board would eat all the food, or even worse, 158 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: that they'd nibble through the floors and create these holes 159 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: in the arc, kind of just like putting all the 160 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: other animals in jeopardies. So he prayed for a solution, 161 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: and God answered his wishes by having a lion sneeze, 162 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: and out of both nostrils from that sneeze emerged two cats, 163 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: which is I guess how cats came to be. And 164 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: I mean, it's kind of a sweet origin story in 165 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: terms of myths, but I feel like you can interpret 166 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: the story in two ways, right, Like cats are either 167 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: God's gift to humanity, like what adorable little god bless 168 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: yous they are, or no one needed a ruthless killing 169 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: machine on a ship and God provided cats. 170 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 3: I think I might lean toward the ladder, but I'm 171 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 3: gonna be careful. I don't need any more hate mail 172 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 3: about this. But I have a different question here, mago, 173 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 3: like how useless is every other animal on the arc, Like, 174 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 3: why couldn't any of the owls on board pitch in 175 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 3: for this effort? 176 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: I know, well, I mean, the truth is cats are 177 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: incredible hunting machines. And I read this crazy story in 178 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: the New York Times from five years ago, and that's 179 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: when the Smithsonians Conservation Biology Institute teamed up with the 180 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 1: US Fish and Wildlife Service to do some research on cats. 181 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: And they wanted to identify how much wildlife these cats 182 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: were killing every year, so they used cameras and created 183 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 1: this new math model, and basically they were stunned by 184 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: the results. So listen to this between feral and domestic cats. 185 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: The domestic ones, you know, are the ones that get 186 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: to roam out doors while sleeping indoors. Together, they kill 187 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: about two point four billion birds every year. And also 188 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: they killed twelve point three billion mammals a year. Wow, 189 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: and most of those things like shrews and chipmunks and 190 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 1: bowls along with mice. 191 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 3: I kind of want to know how they came up 192 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 3: with that estimate of twelve point three billion mammals, But 193 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 3: either way, it's insane and terrifying. So I don't understand, Like, 194 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 3: why would this make me like cats more so. 195 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: We've talked about this on the program before, but those 196 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: mousers are also keeping places like Disney parks and houses 197 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: and also city streets more free of vermin. And also 198 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: I've read this thing about how there are all these 199 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: cat islands in Japan that are super popular as tourist destinations, 200 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,079 Speaker 1: just places where there are all these feral cats, And 201 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: initially I was thinking, like, who wants to go to 202 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 1: these islands? But one of the arguments I was reading 203 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: online that I had actually never thought about was most 204 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: people can go to a cat island and not be 205 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,199 Speaker 1: terrified because these small feral cats aren't going. 206 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 2: To bother you. 207 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:16,679 Speaker 1: They just don't care about you. But you know, if 208 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:18,719 Speaker 1: you went to a wild dog island and there were 209 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: just wild packs of you know, feral dogs there, you'd 210 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: be terrified. Like, yeah, you'd want to call animal control 211 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: because roaming packs of wild dogs aren't fun. But you know, 212 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: the cats don't have that herd mentality. 213 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 3: I mean, that's an interesting point. But to be fair, 214 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 3: if you put the word feral in front of any animal, 215 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 3: like I don't want to be near those and I 216 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 3: have no desire to hang out with I don't know 217 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 3: like Australia's feral camel population or any of these other animals. 218 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 3: But yeah, you started talking about cat origins and killer cats, 219 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 3: and you were talking about how cat lovers tend to 220 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 3: love the animals independence, And actually I had a story 221 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 3: that I wanted to share just real quick. You know, so, 222 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 3: while free thinking critters might be great for pet owners, 223 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 3: they're not great for filmmakers. I was reading this inner 224 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 3: with the Cohen brothers about filming Inside Lewyn Davis, and 225 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 3: they were talking about how hard it was to shoot 226 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 3: the cat in the movie. So here's a quote from 227 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 3: an NPR interview that Ethan Cohen did, and he says, 228 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,119 Speaker 3: the whole exercise of shooting a cat is pretty nightmarish 229 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 3: because they don't care about anything. They don't want to 230 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 3: do what you want them to do. As the animal 231 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,440 Speaker 3: trainer said to us, a dog wants to please you. 232 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 3: A cat only wants to please itself. It was just 233 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,559 Speaker 3: this long, painstaking, frustrating day shooting the cat. 234 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: Which to me is a little refreshing. You know that 235 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: cats don't want to be seen as film stars. But 236 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: you know, I've seen lowin Davis and I loved it. 237 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: But how do they get all those shots eventually? Like, 238 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:39,079 Speaker 1: I'm guessing they didn't use CGI. 239 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 3: Well, first of all, they used a lot of cats, 240 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 3: and a cat trainer told them specifically to use a 241 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,679 Speaker 3: marmalade orange tabby because it's easier to get a lot of. 242 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:48,320 Speaker 2: Them on hand. 243 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 3: So they had three or four cats ready for each scene, 244 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 3: and essentially they had to find cats that had a 245 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,839 Speaker 3: predisposition for doing whatever it was that they were looking for. 246 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 3: So like, if you needed a fidgety cat to jump 247 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 3: out of someone's hand, you have to find a cat 248 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:03,439 Speaker 3: that tends to do that all the time and hates 249 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 3: to be held. So you get that type of cat 250 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 3: for one angle. But then you know, if you want 251 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 3: them to rub against the table or run down a 252 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 3: fire escape, you need to find the cat that wants 253 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 3: to do that naturally. And even then when they had 254 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,199 Speaker 3: those cats on hand, the cats rarely did what they wanted. 255 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 3: The Cohen Brothers actually compared the experience to having to 256 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 3: film a vulture and true grit. They said the vulture 257 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,439 Speaker 3: was awful, and they said that was even by vulture standards, 258 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 3: And even though the experience was really frustrating, they'd take 259 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 3: filming a vulture scene over a cat scene any day. 260 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,560 Speaker 1: So that is ridiculous, and I do love that story. 261 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: But here's the thing, and maybe it's something that'll increase 262 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,839 Speaker 1: our own empathy for cats, But I don't actually think 263 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: it's a cat's fault that they're so independent. 264 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 2: And why is that? 265 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,839 Speaker 1: Because there's a theory that cats aren't actually domesticated animals. 266 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: They've never had to be domesticated. But even more than that, 267 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: the theory goes, these clever, adorable beasts have over a 268 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,719 Speaker 1: thousands of years, actually domesticated us. But before we talk 269 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 1: about that, let's take a little break. 270 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 3: Welcome back to Part Time Genius, and we're talking cats. So, Mango, 271 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 3: I know you were going to tell us about cats 272 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 3: and domestication, but before we talk about a cat in 273 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,160 Speaker 3: a household, let's talk about cats breaking up households. And 274 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 3: you know that totally unfair reputation they got for causing 275 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 3: divorces in America. 276 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: So I obviously know people are attached to their animals, 277 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: but I had never heard about this trend. So what's 278 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: the scoop? 279 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 3: Well, this comes from Natalie Zareli at Atlas Obscura, and 280 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 3: she reports that once the married Women's Property Act took 281 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 3: hold in America, there was actually an uptick in the 282 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 3: number of divorces, and essentially unhappy couples weren't doomed to 283 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,319 Speaker 3: stay together, but you still had to have someone at 284 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 3: fault and it had to be irreconcilables. So a big 285 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 3: strategy from the nineteen tens going forward were couples that 286 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 3: they just started blaming their cats. That's pretty crazy. I'd 287 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 3: never heard of that, you know. 288 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 1: I actually remember one of our friends from college had 289 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: a grandmother who got divorced, and he told me that 290 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: the couple staged her walking in on him with another woman, 291 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: and it was purely so that they had a traumatic 292 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: story to tell. The New York courtse But you know, 293 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: just blaming a cat would have been so much easier. 294 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say that would have been a lot easier. 295 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 3: There's actually a story from this piece in nineteen oh 296 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 3: three where a man told the judge this horror story. 297 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 3: He says a cat met him at every turn, with 298 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 3: an angry and a chorus of blood curdling mews. Apparently 299 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 3: he'd find cats in his bed sheets, and when he 300 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 3: tried to escape them, he was too scared to leave 301 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 3: the bed, you know, lest he should expose his bare 302 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 3: feet to the claws of numerous pussies and provoke a 303 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 3: melody that would ring in his ears for the rest 304 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:52,880 Speaker 3: of the day. 305 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: So that feels so dramatic. 306 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 3: Well, he really had to sell it to the judge. 307 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 3: And you know, if the judge asked why the husband 308 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 3: and didn't just get rid of the cats. Often there'd 309 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,360 Speaker 3: be some story about his wife being involved in like 310 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,600 Speaker 3: the ASPCA, which I guess felt virtuous or something. 311 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: So, I mean there were lots of these stories. 312 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 3: Oh, there's tons of these stories. There's actually also a 313 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 3: Civil War veteran who claims he could never sit in 314 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 3: his easy chair because a cat was always there hissing 315 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 3: at him. There was another there was a wife that 316 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 3: said she didn't mind her husband's profanity, but it was 317 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 3: too much when he heaved the family cat at her, 318 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 3: and looking at that case, apparently she wanted twelve hundred 319 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 3: dollars for the humiliation of being beamed by the family cat. 320 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:35,359 Speaker 2: Just unbelievable. 321 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 3: There was also another dude who was upset that his 322 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 3: wife kept fifty cats around the house and gave them 323 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 3: more attention than him. 324 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 1: Well, I mean fifty cats would need a lot of attention. 325 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 3: Well, in court, she testified that she only had fifteen cats, 326 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 3: but you know, since her husband didn't come home most nights, 327 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 3: they were both interested in splitting up. And you know, 328 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 3: most of these stories were either made up or just 329 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 3: greatly exaggerated. 330 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: So how long did this cat blaming go on for? 331 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 3: According to the article, cats were scapegoats for really about 332 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 3: a century, and it wasn't until nineteen sixty nine, when 333 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 3: no fault divorce laws started becoming adopted by states that 334 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 3: suddenly all the cat blaming disappeared from the newspaper stories. 335 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: Which is pretty insane. And you know, you feel sorry 336 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: for the cats. 337 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 3: I know it's true, it's weird to say that, but 338 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 3: I actually do feel a little sorry for them. But 339 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 3: you were going to talk a little bit about this 340 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 3: idea that cats aren't really domesticated. 341 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, so, you know, aside from that lion sneezing theory 342 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: about cats, researchers have actually found cat bones near human 343 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: bones for a while. There's a New Yorker piece on this, 344 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: but in China, by analyzing the bones and teeth of 345 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: cat skeletons from about five thousand years ago, scientists can 346 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 1: actually show that cats were eating rodents and grains as 347 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: well as leftovers from human meals. And basically cats were opportunistic, right, 348 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: Like they realized that rodents were plentiful around these farmers' 349 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: stores of grain, so they ingratiated themselves, and people were 350 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: opportunistic realized that cats would kill off the disease carrying 351 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 1: vermin for them, and it was relatively little investment, Like 352 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: they didn't actually have to train the cats. All they 353 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: had to do was give them some shelter and like 354 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,440 Speaker 1: a little extra food to eat, and then just lean 355 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: on their natural instincts. It was totally symbiotic. But you know, 356 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: cats were never bred for traits the way dogs or 357 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:21,920 Speaker 1: cattle were. Like, you know, you look at a dogsund 358 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 1: and you see how that dog was bred to go 359 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: after badgers, right, it was supposed to chase badgers down 360 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: badger holes and it's fearless, but it's also shape for that, 361 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 1: with that sort of long noodleized shape. And you know, 362 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: cat breeding is a relatively recent phenomenon by comparison. 363 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 3: So I mean, are there ways to prove out this 364 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 3: theory that cats are only semi domesticated? 365 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, there definitely are So there's this geneticist that Washington 366 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: University in Saint Louis named Wesley Warren, and apparently he 367 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: and his colleagues looked at DNA from wildcats and breeds 368 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: of domestic cats. And this is from the New Yorker again. 369 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: The research showed that genetically cats have actually diverged far 370 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: less from their wildcat and than dogs have from wolves. 371 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: You know, you can kind of see this in the wild, right, 372 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: Like house cats are better hunters than dogs, they can 373 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: also fend for themselves in the wild, and according to 374 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: the Peace feral cats have even routinely bred with their 375 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,159 Speaker 1: wildcat cousins. And according to Warren quote it's not the 376 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 1: true differentiation you see between wolf and dog by comparison. 377 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: His belief is that the modern cat isn't fully domesticated. 378 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 3: That is pretty interesting, and to be honest, it kind 379 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 3: of explains why I don't fully trust them and I 380 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 3: do still almost feel sorry for them. 381 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,160 Speaker 1: Though, well you shouldn't feel too sorry for them, because 382 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: some people like to joke that these wildcats have actually 383 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: domesticated us, and you know, they've obviously stayed aloof while 384 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: were keeping them shelter and putting scratching posts in our 385 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 1: houses and allow them to go to the bathroom indoors. 386 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,000 Speaker 1: But the biggest argument for them having trained us is 387 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: that they've conditioned humans to feed them on demand with 388 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: something called solicitation purring. So this comes from the journal 389 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,679 Speaker 1: Current Biology. But scientist Karen McComb from the University of 390 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: Sussex analyze the acoustic structure of cat purs and she 391 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: actually realized that cats dramatically exaggerate their purrs all to 392 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: elicit this emotional response from humans. Apparently it's the same 393 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: frequency that babies cry. And it isn't all cats that 394 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: do this, it's just cats that have one on one 395 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: relationships with humans. 396 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 3: That is pretty manipulative. I mean it's impressive, but it's 397 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 3: pretty manipulative. 398 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean they've got us on a tight leash. 399 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: And also they have a behavior where they rub up 400 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:31,920 Speaker 1: against our legs. As you know, we pull a can 401 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: out to get their food, and that's supposedly rewarding us 402 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: for being good to them. But there's one more thing 403 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:40,640 Speaker 1: that people say it as feline's clever control over humans, 404 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,120 Speaker 1: and that's that we actually taste test their food for. 405 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,920 Speaker 3: Them, you know, I know, we talked about humans taste 406 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,439 Speaker 3: testing dog food before, but I can't remember it, Like, 407 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 3: why do they do that again? 408 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: So this comes from a Brocky University study from Canada. 409 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: But basically, the pet food industry has noticed over the 410 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,880 Speaker 1: years that cats are fussy eaters and they're quote unreliable, 411 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: expensive test subjects in the pursuit of more appealing cat 412 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: food flavors, and the study basically showed that human taste 413 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: panels are you know, a much more cost effective way 414 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: to test can cat food. Apparently, the paper lists of 415 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:17,320 Speaker 1: methodology for human testers to quote profile the flavor and 416 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:21,200 Speaker 1: texture of a range of cat food products, including evaluating 417 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: meat chunk and gravy to gel constituents gross. So, you know, 418 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 1: if we're going to keep keeping our feline masters happy, 419 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: more people are gonna have to get into the cat 420 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:32,959 Speaker 1: food tasting business. 421 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 2: Well, I definitely have. 422 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 3: Come away with some understanding of why cats act the 423 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,720 Speaker 3: way they do, and maybe even a little admiration for 424 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:41,920 Speaker 3: how they manipulate this. But why don't we talk about 425 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,360 Speaker 3: how cats became so popular in the first place. Let's 426 00:20:45,359 --> 00:21:01,000 Speaker 3: take a quick break first, back to part time Genius 427 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 3: where we're talking cats. All right, Mango so obviously we 428 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,120 Speaker 3: know that the Internet has done a lot for cat appreciation, 429 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 3: and you know, you had grumpy cat Little bubb ruling 430 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 3: the Internet for a while, and all that I can 431 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 3: has cheeseburger memes being such a big thing. 432 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 2: For a while. 433 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 3: But actually, looking back, Time Magazine kind of predicted this 434 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 3: trend way back in nineteen eighty one, right. 435 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: That's right, and you and I found an old Time 436 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: magazine cover story from nineteen eighty one that declared that 437 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: cats were the hot new thing. But I'd almost argue 438 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 1: that the thing that truly brought cats to the level 439 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: of popularity and endearment they're at now isn't the Internet 440 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: or Morris or even Garfield. 441 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 3: Comics, which are some of the things that are in 442 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 3: this Time article, and I do think we should talk about. 443 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 1: Them, definitely. But one of the things I saw that 444 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: writer Paul Ford points to is the rise of kitty litter, 445 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,399 Speaker 1: which is actually a relatively recent invention. I didn't realize this. 446 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,920 Speaker 1: It only came about in nineteen forty seven. 447 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 2: So what were people doing before then? 448 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 1: So I had the same question, And basically they had 449 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,119 Speaker 1: sandboxes outside, or they'd let their cats go in the 450 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,679 Speaker 1: yard Anyway, the story's pretty interesting and Ford wrote this 451 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: up for Medium. But basically, this woman's sandbox for a 452 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: cat was frozen, so she came to buy some sawdust 453 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: from a local mill in Michigan. And the guy's name 454 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: was ed Low. He had been working for his dad's 455 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 1: mill at the time, and when she described what she 456 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,919 Speaker 1: wanted for her cat, he gave her an alternative. He 457 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: had this kiln dried granulated clay that they just started 458 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,199 Speaker 1: using for grease bills at the mill, and when she 459 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 1: came back for more, he started labeling it kitty litter 460 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: and tried marketing it. But what's amazing is what a 461 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 1: business it became. So, according to his obit in the 462 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: New York Times, he sold the product to Ralston Purina 463 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: for two hundred million dollars. And listen to this, he 464 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:46,639 Speaker 1: owned twenty two homes, a private railroad, a stable of quarterhouses, 465 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: and an entire Michigan town. Isn't that incredible? 466 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:50,560 Speaker 2: That is crazy? 467 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 3: So basically kitty letter changed how we interacted with cats. 468 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, so, like all cats were indoor, outdoor cats until 469 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,440 Speaker 1: the advent of kitty litter, and then slow more and 470 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 1: more cats became housebound. But it's also starting to think 471 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: about how much kitty litter we use. So according to 472 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:10,440 Speaker 1: Ford's research, about twenty companies Strip mine about four billion 473 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: pounds in the necessary clay each year, four billion pounds. 474 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: And by comparison, Ford sites the Great Pyramid of Giza 475 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: only weighs thirteen billion pounds. 476 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:22,399 Speaker 2: I like that, that's the comparison to use. 477 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 3: So all right, so then you're saying, with three or 478 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 3: four years of work, you could actually build this impressive 479 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 3: pyramid of kitty letter then, which is amazing. But all right, well, 480 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 3: let's talk about this time article because it is pretty. 481 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: Fun blind for it. So this piece basically argued that 482 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties were this time that really primed the 483 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:41,399 Speaker 1: world to love cats, right. 484 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, And here are just a few of the indicators 485 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,960 Speaker 3: they show that cats were on the rise. So the 486 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 3: point you made earlier, these cat litter boxes in the 487 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,440 Speaker 3: eighties were now odor proof and kickproof, and that made 488 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 3: keeping a box where your cat poops in the house 489 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:56,640 Speaker 3: far more appealing than it previously was. There were also 490 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,200 Speaker 3: three different Garfield books on the bestseller list, which means 491 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 3: cat humor had truly arrived. 492 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 2: I'm not sure what. 493 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 3: It says about the taste of people in the nineteen eighties, 494 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 3: that three of them were on the bestseller list, and the 495 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 3: California suddenly there were a cat everything. You could find, 496 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 3: a cat resort at, a cat department store, a cat 497 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 3: rest home, a rent a cat agency, a cat dating service. 498 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 3: I have no idea what that is, but it was 499 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 3: one of the things. Cats psychics, cat acting coaches, and 500 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:28,119 Speaker 3: of course a special annual contest to judge cats mea house. 501 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 3: And then at that time you had Mars, the cat, 502 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 3: who was officially declared a celebrity cat, you know, essentially 503 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 3: the feline Burt Reynolds, if you will. And then, as 504 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 3: the story reported, cats were quickly gaining on dogs. According 505 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 3: to the article, thirty four million cats had worked their 506 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 3: way into homes, which was a fifty five percent increase 507 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,120 Speaker 3: over the last decade. If you look at those numbers now, 508 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 3: some reports have cats that closer to ninety five million 509 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 3: cats and homes, you know, plus the thirty or forty 510 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 3: million feral community cats that you know, they're the ones 511 00:24:58,280 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 3: that keep rodents at bay. 512 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:01,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess for all. 513 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 1: The jokes about this cat trend, like cats have really 514 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: grown on us as a culture, and while you and 515 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,400 Speaker 1: I might not be cat people yet, I do think 516 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 1: we have to grudgingly admit that they're pretty amazing creatures. 517 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:14,520 Speaker 3: I mean, I'm not sure I'm there just yet, but 518 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,399 Speaker 3: maybe after a few amazing facts. 519 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 2: So let's start the fact off. 520 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 1: Did you know that jazz musician Charles Mingus trained his 521 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,679 Speaker 1: cat Nightlife to go on the toilet. In fact, he 522 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: even wrote a step by step manuel called the Charles 523 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,400 Speaker 1: Mingus Catalog for Toilet Training your Cat. 524 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,360 Speaker 3: Well, there is at least one thing you cannot train 525 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 3: a cat to do, and that's hold a candle for you. 526 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 3: According to the folks at QI, Dante desperately tried teaching 527 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 3: his cat to hold a candle for him so he 528 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 3: could write at night, but to no avail, I. 529 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,199 Speaker 1: Mean, stupid Dante, Like, why wouldn't you just get a 530 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: candle holder? 531 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 2: It doesn't make It never occurred to him for some reason. 532 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,120 Speaker 1: So you know, I know will always talk about cats 533 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:03,680 Speaker 1: incredible ability to land on their feet, but did you 534 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:07,240 Speaker 1: know that cats can survive falls from sixty feet? Now, 535 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 1: obviously this isn't a suggestion for listeners to go test 536 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 1: this out on their cat, far from it, But in 537 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: a nineteen eighty seven study on cats that had fallen 538 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: from tall buildings. Apparently ninety percent of them survived, though 539 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: they did have injuries. And this comes from an old 540 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 1: pal bill domain. But the study found that cats that 541 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,720 Speaker 1: fell from heights of seven to thirty two stories were 542 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,160 Speaker 1: less likely to die than those that fell from two 543 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 1: to six stories, which. 544 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 2: Makes no sense. So do scientists know why this is? 545 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,120 Speaker 1: So there's actually a lot of theories, and there's been 546 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: a lot of research into it. And part of it 547 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,639 Speaker 1: might be that because cat's bodies act as a bit 548 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 1: of a parachute, and part of it might be that 549 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,919 Speaker 1: cats relax once they've fallen in a certain distance. And 550 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: you know, the reason babies and stumpmen often survive accidents 551 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 1: is that they bounce because they don't tense up their muscles. 552 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 3: I mean, I always love that buttered cat paradox, you know, 553 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 3: because cats always land on their feet, and butter bread 554 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 3: always lands faced. So like, if you tie a piece 555 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 3: of buttered bread to a cat's back and then drop it, 556 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,679 Speaker 3: will the cat just like hover above the floor. 557 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,680 Speaker 1: I love that. So here's a quick one about cats 558 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: making the world a better place. So in two thousand 559 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:16,639 Speaker 1: and seven, the New York Times board that Thailand was 560 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,439 Speaker 1: shaming wayward cops. You know, these were the officers who 561 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,440 Speaker 1: were littering, or parking in the wrong place, or even 562 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,159 Speaker 1: showing little abuses of power. And they did this with 563 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: an unusual method. They started making them wear pink Hello 564 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:32,720 Speaker 1: Kitty armbands, and, as a police chief told The Times 565 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: after the policy came out, police were scared, it will 566 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: be very embarrassing to walk around with Hello Kitty on 567 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: your arm. What's strange, though, is that this is actually 568 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,600 Speaker 1: the second variation on this armband technique. So there was 569 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: a previous iteration where they gave bad cops plaid armbands, 570 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 1: but unfortunately they were seen as like gestures of pride 571 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: or something, and they started taking them home and treating 572 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 1: them like metals. 573 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 3: All right, well, here's a strange bit of science. According 574 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 3: to new scientists, cats don't understand the cause and effect 575 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 3: of tugging on a string. 576 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:04,880 Speaker 1: You'll have to explain what do you mean by this. 577 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:05,399 Speaker 2: Well, there was a. 578 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 3: Study at Canterbury christ Church University in the UK, and 579 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 3: there was a team of researchers and what they did 580 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 3: was they attach fish or biscuit trees to the end 581 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 3: of one string, and then they put another string with 582 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,000 Speaker 3: no treat attached, And according to the researchers, the cats 583 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 3: couldn't see the cause and effect. The story states, chimps, parrots, ravens, 584 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 3: they all understand that tugging on one end of a 585 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:29,439 Speaker 3: string will bring a treat closer. But cats don't, and 586 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 3: they aren't alone. So pigeons and human infants also don't 587 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 3: pick up on this, and for the record, neither do dogs. 588 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: So speaking of cats and dogs, do you know that 589 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 1: if your dog is overweight, there's actually a good chance 590 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: you'll be overweight too? And in twenty ten, the Journal 591 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 1: of Public Health Nutrition published a study from Ansterdam that 592 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: showed that there's a significant relationship between overweight dogs and 593 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: the BMI of their owners. But if your cat is overweight, 594 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: it's not a good predictor of whether you'll be overweight. 595 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: It's because you and your cat are just you know, 596 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: on your own, living your best lives. 597 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,720 Speaker 2: Is that what it is? Okay? All right, Well here's 598 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:05,440 Speaker 2: a strange one. 599 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 3: So Japan is obsessed with cats, right, and that's no 600 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,120 Speaker 3: surprise obviously. It's the land of waving porcelain cats that 601 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,520 Speaker 3: sit in stores and responsible for Hello Kitty. I think 602 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 3: it's where cat cafes started. But now also they have 603 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 3: cat bars and cat cafe train cars, so they are 604 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 3: definitely cat obsessed. There's even a hand lotion that's now 605 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 3: cat paw scented, so your hands can smell more like 606 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 3: the bottom of your cats. 607 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 2: I don't know why. 608 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 3: People want this, but it is available now. But you 609 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:34,360 Speaker 3: know how cats make biscuits in the morning, right. 610 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's when they kind of like wake you up 611 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 1: and gently need on owner's chests in the morning for attention. 612 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:41,959 Speaker 3: So the craziest story I read is that there's a 613 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 3: spa in Japan where they offer these cat treatments as 614 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,240 Speaker 3: back massages. You can actually pay to have a cat 615 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 3: need your back. It was really hard for me to 616 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 3: even just say that statement. 617 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 2: So terrible. 618 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: It's both amazing and terrifying to me. So do you 619 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:01,719 Speaker 1: know that cats aren't actually the only creatures they get 620 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,320 Speaker 1: hair balls? Cows and rabbits get them too. 621 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 3: Oh that's weird, all right. So here's one about Mark Twain, 622 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 3: the notorious cat lover. As we mentioned earlier. Now, one 623 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 3: thing he truly enjoyed was giving his cat strange names. 624 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 3: So here are a few of them. He had Apollinaris, Beeesel, 625 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 3: bub blatherskite, buffalo bill, Satan, sour mash, soapy sal pestilence, 626 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 3: and Bambino. And actually add one more fact about Twain. 627 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,959 Speaker 3: Apparently Bambino escaped one day and Twain was so worried 628 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 3: that he did what any cat lover would do, and 629 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 3: he put an ad in the New York newspapers and 630 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:37,120 Speaker 3: offered a five dollars reward for this. It was a 631 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 3: large and intensely black cat. Now, Bambino showed up on 632 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 3: his own in a few days, but putting an ad 633 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 3: in the paper was a huge mistake. Years later, people 634 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 3: were still using it as an excuse to try to 635 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 3: meet Mark Twain. They would just show op at his 636 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 3: door with like random cat that they claimed, we're definitely Bambino. 637 00:30:57,840 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: Well, you know, I thought I had you with my 638 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,160 Speaker 1: Hello Candy fact. I think you best to be with 639 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:04,640 Speaker 1: that Mark Twain one to two. So I'm actually gonna 640 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: give you the Cat Fact Trophy today. 641 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 2: Wow, it is truly an honor. 642 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,960 Speaker 3: And listeners, I hope you've enjoyed today's list of facts 643 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 3: about cats. If we have forgotten any great fact, please 644 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:16,040 Speaker 3: send those to us. We'd love to hear from you 645 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 3: part Time Genius and HowStuffWorks dot com. You can also 646 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 3: call our fact hotline one eight four four pt Genius 647 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 3: or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. 648 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:26,480 Speaker 2: I hope we have redeemed. 649 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 3: Ourselves a little bit with all the cat lovers out 650 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 3: there with today's episode. I have a bit more respect 651 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 3: for cats now. But thank you guys for listening. Thanks 652 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 3: again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production of 653 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 3: How Stuff Works and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant 654 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 3: people who do the important things we couldn't even begin 655 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 3: to understand. 656 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 1: Christa McNeil does the editing thing. 657 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 3: Noel Brown made the theme song and does the mixy 658 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 3: mixy sound thing. Jerry Roland does the exact producer thing. 659 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 3: Gabeluesier is our lead researcher, with support from the research 660 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,280 Speaker 3: army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eves. 661 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 1: Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves. 662 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 3: If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, 663 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 3: And if you really really like what you've heard. 664 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 2: Maybe you could leave a good review for us. Do 665 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:20,480 Speaker 2: we forget Jason Jason who