WEBVTT - Listener Mail: Cat Comfort 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.280 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:10.200 My Heart Radio. Hey you welcome to Stuff to Blow 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:13.000 your Mind and listener Mail. My name is Robert Lamb 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.840 and I'm Joe McCormick, and it's Monday listener mail time. 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:19.760 We hope you are ready to hear some messages that 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:22.680 have slammed into our inbox over the past few days. 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:25.479 So Rob, if you're ready, I'll jump right in on 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:29.080 this message from Matt about our episodes on beans. Let's 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:37.400 do it. Matt says, good day, fellas love the recent 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.640 bean episodes. My family and I grow corn, wheat and 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:43.440 soybeans here in Ontario, so I was thrilled to see 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.360 you focus so much attention on the humble legume. I 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:48.320 thought I knew quite a bit about them before, but 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:51.640 learned much more. The mythical historical context of beans was 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.840 something I was largely unaware of and from particularly interesting. 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:58.360 Had a couple of thoughts. You mentioned the use of 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.560 a couple of different beans slash lagoons in the developing 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:05.320 plant protein market. There's a huge push here in Canada 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:08.600 to capitalize on this for many different crops, particularly in 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:13.039 the West, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans, and a bunch more. Each 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:16.360 one has a lot of potential uses beyond what's already current, 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.280 and not just for food products destined for direct human consumption. 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:24.360 On a related note, I think looking into how useful beans, grains, 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.800 and other field crops are in industrial processing would be 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:31.679 a neat subject. Like animal byproducts, they are in many 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.840 things we use or depend on every day without realizing it. 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.080 The number of subsequent uses one particular crop can have 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.840 is another thing. For example, the use of barley grain 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.520 in beer production, then the subsequent use of the spent 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:50.440 mash as feed for livestock. That's interesting. One last thing. 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.640 The Listener mail episode contained a letter suggesting you cover 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:56.760 animal science. There's a lot of interesting work going on 0:01:56.800 --> 0:01:59.200 in this field in the agricultural space. I don't know 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.640 much about the met ecal side, but that's surely pretty 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:04.800 interesting too, so I would similarly suggest the subject. Thanks 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.080 again for your work, Matt, Well, thanks Matt. Yeah, I 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:16.160 think that's a great idea. Keep growing those chickpeas, all right. 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:19.200 Here's one that comes to us from Spencer. Spencer says Hi, Robert, Joe, 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:23.720 and Seth. I've listened to your show NonStop since, and 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.160 I adore the work y'all put out. I picked this 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:30.000 show up on the Alphabet and the Goddess episodes while 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:33.280 working on a sustainable vegetable farm, and I haven't looked back. 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:36.640 I recently switched from a career in farming to become 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:39.519 a high school science teacher, and I can proudly say 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:42.400 that you were pivotal in making that decision. Sharing in 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.720 the joy of investigating curiosities across the natural world, the 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:49.919 expansive universe, in our fascinating inner worlds has made such 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:52.720 an impact on me. I only hope to bring to 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:55.799 my students that same level of joy and curiosity. I'm 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:58.680 sure your work inspires all sorts of educators across the field. 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:04.120 At which field? The bean field? Oh wait, I just realized. 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.920 I think I think I told Matt to keep growing chickpeas. 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.120 But Matt didn't say he grew chickpeas. He said he 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:12.119 grew corn, wheat and soybeans. Sorry, Matt, keep growing those, 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:15.200 whichever one you like best. Grow the soybeans, love them? 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:19.720 Lagoon faux pas there make me tellfu Alright, anyway, this 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.120 this letter continues, I have two things I'd like to 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:24.880 share one. I recently listened to the two parter on 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.800 beans and found myself putting my farmer hat back on. Specifically, 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.799 when you spoke about the storage capacity of the lowly 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:34.360 being and how crucial that was to the development of 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:38.640 settled civilizations, I found myself going back to June afternoons 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:42.120 in the North Carolina muck. We would often soak dried 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:45.680 beans before planting them to assist their germination success. This 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:48.440 got me thinking about something that's always astounded me. How 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:52.640 does an inert, dried object so obstensibly not alive have 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:56.080 the capacity to live so vibrantly once it's in the 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.760 right conditions. I would love to hear an episode about 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:01.560 the magic of germ nation. Not just the mythical and 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.960 metaphorical connotations of seeds giving way to life, but how 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:08.200 is it that stale, crusty seeds can suddenly burst into lush, 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.640 green platforms. That's a great idea. I feel like that's 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.520 come up in bits and pieces on subjects in the past. 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:18.000 I know, I know. Um. In a pair of episodes 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:21.479 we did about about natural fires, about like fires in 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.840 the forest, we talked about some germination that depends on 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:28.919 the stimulation of of a forest fire to get going. Yeah, yeah, 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.159 you know, you know, speaking of education and all, I 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:35.000 think I thought about this but ended up not mentioning 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:39.160 in the Beans articles Beans episodes rather, but it reminded 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.240 me of those the science experiments that I think a 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:44.360 lot of us uh conduct when we're children in school, 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.400 where you take the being and you have it in 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:49.240 the zip block bag with some like a wet paper towel, 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:53.599 and then you watch that germination process take place. Uh 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.040 you know, it's it's ultimately such a you know, magical 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.200 feeling and amazing spectacle to watch, and we kind of, 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:01.440 I don't know, we kind of forget it over time, 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:05.080 We forget how how amazing it is, uh that seeds 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:07.440 do what they do. It reminds me of in the 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:10.559 office Creed sprouting mung beans on a damp paper towel 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:14.120 in his desk. Oh man, we I don't think we 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:16.480 even't got to discussmong beans in those episodes. I had 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:18.400 like a few notes on mung beans and had some 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:21.200 a source highlighted, but I just don't think we had 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:23.600 time to get into it. Yeah, there are like tons 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:25.200 of beans we didn't have time to get into. I 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.560 guess We're coming back for three or four or five, six, 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:30.599 seven more episodes on beans. The beans saga continued. The 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.880 people want it alright, Spencer continues, though he had to 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:36.640 two things to bring up. That was just the first 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:39.960 number two. I went back into the vault and rediscovered 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.880 the excellent episode on teething. In this episode, you made 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:44.880 a call out to educators, what is it like to 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:47.320 teach children how to tease? I thought i'd chime in 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.680 with a unique take. Since I've been in a one 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:54.279 year teacher preparation program that started in a pandemic, I 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.520 have only interacted with my students through zoom and email. 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:01.799 You can imagine that impedes natural social relationships with anyone, 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:04.320 but I think this is especially important for young people 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:07.720 regarding teasing. I don't think you can tease others so 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:10.920 easily when you've only met online. Not to mention that 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:14.240 most students keep their cameras off. Yeah, it's also difficult 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:17.920 to gauge someone's off the record cues for a teasing moment. 0:06:18.200 --> 0:06:20.919 As a result, my classes have mostly taken a no 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:24.839 teasing policy. Sometimes a student will chime in a response 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:28.719 in the zoom chat to other students comments and it 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:31.640 just seems like bullying. There ain't much of a nuanced 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:35.000 way to delineate playful from harmful teasing when you're just 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:38.039 working with a chat lock. Oh yeah, I can absolutely 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:41.279 see that. Um. Obviously, good natured teasing can be a 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:43.200 lot of fun in person, and it's I think it's 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.640 an important thing for the development of kids to like, 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:47.880 you know, learn learn to tell the difference, to read 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:50.680 those subtle cues. But that's gonna be a lot harder 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:55.560 over the internet. Yeah, I mean it's harder for adults too. Yeah, 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:57.279 I mean I think a lot of us have probably 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:00.400 encountered that with using zoom for you know, special for 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.599 for social scenarios, catching up with friends and all like. 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:06.960 It's not the same in so many ways. Anyway, Spencer continues, 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:09.479 I wonder what the virtual year of education will do 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.239 to our young people, still in their most formative periods 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:15.720 of social and emotional development. Well, this got rather long winded. 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:18.800 Hope y'all are well. Please keep sharing your curiosity, joy 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.720 and humor with us. It is so necessary. Cheers Spencer, 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.920 ps weirdhouses dope. Well, thank you, Spencer, thanks for for 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:28.920 writing in with all those thoughts. Yeah, I mean especially, 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:33.440 I mean, yeah, open question on what the the the 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:38.920 the Tela era of of education and work and socialization, 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:42.200 like what how will we look back on this a 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:46.280 year from now, two years from now, etcetera. UM, it's uh, 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:48.880 it's gonna it's gonna be interesting to to discuss it 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.560 in in here here folks analyzing it. But congrats on 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.960 your move into teaching. That's awesome. Helps sprout those young minds. 0:07:56.000 --> 0:08:04.080 Like mung beans on a damp paper towel, Yes here 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.440 we got one that's sort of beans, but maybe edges 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:08.480 into weird house cinema. I don't know. This is from 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:12.600 someone who calls themselves the Golden Sardine. Fair enough, call 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:15.680 yourself what you want to call yourself, Okay, doky, golden 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:18.520 Sardine says, how do you again? I guess I don't 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:21.240 remember the last time they say. Today, I was listening 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:23.440 to your two parter about beans when you mentioned the 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:27.720 lack of bean themed horror in cinema. That's right, Yeah, 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.440 I can only think of one horror movie related to beans, 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.560 and that would be My Name is Bruce, starring Bruce Campbell. 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:36.240 I like to think of it as the unofficial Evil 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:39.000 Dead for The gist of the plot is that a 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.800 bean curd demon is released in a small town. The 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.600 town folks then decided to kidnap Bruce Campbell due to 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:49.640 his extensive demon fighting experience hijinksin sue. It might not 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:53.280 be weird house material, but it's at least worth a watch. Anyways. 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:55.600 I enjoy the show and look forward to future episodes. 0:08:55.720 --> 0:09:00.200 The Golden Sardine. Um, I haven't seen that movie. I 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:03.120 do enjoy Bruce Campbell and he's a He's a delightful 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.120 ham But that sounds like that's played for comedy, and 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:07.760 that's not what I had in mind when I was 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:09.640 saying there should be more being horror. I mean, like 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.800 straight scary being horror. Well, this was not an example 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:14.960 I was familiar with, but I think it's a solid one. 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.320 But it reminds me of another example. And this is 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.680 not a straight horror film. It's more of a like 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.400 a fantasy film for all ages, but it is. But 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:28.319 it is by Takashi Mickay, who is kind of a 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:31.480 notable Japanese filmmaker because of some of the more I 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:34.959 guess extreme and troubling material that he's created over the years. 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.880 But this one The Great Yokai War from two thousand 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.599 five is as I remember it, and it's been a 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:44.240 little bit more of a family fantasy affair with a 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:47.199 bunch of Japanese spirits and there's like an evil guy 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:50.920 that kind of looks like m Bison that they're opposing, 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.840 and I think they if I remember correctly, they end 0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:57.120 up using a zuki beans to defeat the enemy, like 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:59.959 a zuki beans are the are the are the final 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:03.120 weapon they turned to and it successfully rids them of 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:05.720 the demon horror. Well, that sounds interesting, but you're saying 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:08.120 that that's probably sort of played for for comedy two. 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.600 Mika is all over the map in terms of genre 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:15.120 and tone, right, Like he does extremely dark, serious, violent, 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:19.040 nasty horror and like family movies and musicals and comedies 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.880 and stuff. It's it's like everything right, Yeah, Like this 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.360 is a pretty pretty far away from like Audition or 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.320 something like that. This one I think is for the 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.760 for the family. Um, it was played for laughs, but 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.280 it also I think was clearly getting into some of 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.920 those traditions we were talking about earlier about the idea 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.600 that beings have this innate power to dispel demons. If 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:42.359 you're listening. Whoever you are, film Gearmo del Toro or whatever. Yeah, 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:51.560 give give us the straight dark bean horror. All right, 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:54.319 here's one. This one comes to us from Wonco. Uh. 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:58.400 This one is titled Cats and Humans in Boxes. Hello again, 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.000 Robert and Joe. I'm writing in today with an interesting 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:04.040 counterpoint to the cats love boxes argument. The wife and 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.800 I live in the employee of three cats. Two of 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:09.280 them will climb into a box as expected, but the third, 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:12.760 who is blind, actually has a borderline fear response. My 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.000 theory is that the box is a sudden change to 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:17.720 her accustomed environment. If we leave it for a while, 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:20.160 she will begin to investigate. But I have never seen 0:11:20.200 --> 0:11:22.920 her climb into one, nor will she use an enclosed 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:26.000 litter box. Thanks again, keep up the great work. Welcome. 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:29.160 That's interesting. I've never heard of that before. I mean, 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.760 sometimes I feel like, you know, the cats are just 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.120 they're going to break the rules. They're going to break 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.640 your expectations of them. If there's something that is considered 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:39.600 like a general rule of cats, well a cat will 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.679 come along and violate that rule. Cats love boxes. No, 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:45.200 you someone out there, you will have the cap that 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.080 of whrrors boxes And there's nothing you can do about it, 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:56.839 because cats ultimately have the final say. Okay, another one 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.480 about the two parter we did about cats and boxes 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:03.800 and humans in boxes. This one is from Simon. Simon says, Hi, guys, 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:05.720 love the podcast. Just wanted to give you a heads 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:10.560 up on pronunciation from a recent show. The A text 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.480 about how to become an anchor s came up and 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.440 I called it the on cream we's the a n 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:20.240 c r E n E and then w I S 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:24.080 s E. But Simon says, the oncream wee popped up 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:26.839 and you pronounced both words with a silent final e. 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:30.880 The consensus pronunciation would have those final volves voiced, rather 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:34.960 like a German speaker might pronounce porsche. I think so. 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:37.960 I believe it would be on crena wesa I guess 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:41.280 if if Simon is correct. A great and entertaining resource 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.800 for old English pronunciation is the History of English podcast, 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.640 where this book appears in episode one oh three. Again, 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:55.520 love the work. Thanks Simon. All right, we had an 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:58.360 email here from Josh and uh, it's a good email. 0:12:58.400 --> 0:12:59.680 I'm not going to read the whole thing, but I 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.719 do to just to highlight a couple of things they 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.840 bring up that are pretty solid about cats in their boxes. 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.240 Because Josh brings up the idea of opening a drawer 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:10.400 and then taking things out of the drawer, you turn 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:14.000 around cats in the drawer. I have also observed this 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.360 as well, if the drawer is open and it is 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:19.120 not like completely stuffed, if the cat is around, the 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:21.079 cat will just appear. It will summon the cat out 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:23.840 of out of midair, and then she will climb into 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:26.559 the drawer. The The other thing that Josh brings up 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:30.680 is that they think that their own cat when it 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:34.079 comes to sitting on papers, you know, be at mortgage documents, 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:38.160 medical bills, etcetera. They say, um, quote, I think this 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.320 is because she can kill two birds with one stone, 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:42.680 she gets to sit on paper and she gets to 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:46.720 demand my attention. Uh. And the Josh also included pictures 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:50.920 of the cat doing just this. Yeah, I hypothesized something 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:53.160 like this when we were talking about cats on squares 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.880 and stuff that I wonder if a significant amount of 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:59.560 this is just that the cat notices you paying attention 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.240 to a square of paper or even a square you've 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.080 laid down with tape or something like that, and the 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.520 cat is trying to be in your center of attention. Yeah, 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:10.400 I don't know. It seems to be the case at times. 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:12.679 I know that there are times where the cat want 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:15.720 I have. I can relate to a cat wanting my 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:18.040 attention like it wants to be fed. She wants to 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:21.320 be fed, so she is going to be conspicuous by 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:24.760 where she is, you know, generally underfoot or crawling on me, 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:26.840 that sort of thing. Okay, I got one more though 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:29.280 about the when you say cats sitting in drawers. I 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.320 just remembered a friend of mine had a cat who 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:34.120 loved to sit in the bathroom sink. And so if 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:35.840 you're at his house, every time you go to the 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.000 bathroom you go to wash your hands, the cats there 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:40.680 in the sink and will not move. Uh So the 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:42.760 question is do you turn on the water or not? 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.040 It seems like it would be cruel to do so, 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:47.320 But how else are you gonna wash your hands. I 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:49.640 have a friend who used to have a cat like 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:51.560 this that you would go to the sink and the 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.760 cat would be at the sink, and this cat wanted 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:56.480 you to turn the water on because it also wanted 0:14:56.520 --> 0:15:01.800 to drink the water from the sink. Sure not soapy water, no, No, no, 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.360 the fresh water from this pickett nice, but they didn't 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:06.240 know how to do it themselves. So you know, it's like, 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:08.360 clearly go in there. When a human is in there, 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:10.400 they're going to turn it on. And maybe from the 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:12.280 cat's point of view, that's why the humans here, Like 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.320 at last, a human has come to give me water 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:26.040 from the faucet. Alright. Actually, a number of listeners got 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.560 in touch about their about their cats. I'm gonna mentioned 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:31.880 parts of another email here. This one we got from 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:35.920 longtime listener shel Dean. Sheldean mentions having four cats in 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.520 her house, and she says they all love boxes to 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:42.520 some extent. But our oldest cat, Lily, she's fourteen, basically 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:45.080 lives in a box in the kitchen. We've always thought 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.200 it was a warmth thing, only it's in a corner 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:51.320 under the radiator. But your episode has made me reconsider this. 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:55.160 It might also be a social thing. Uh. The Sheldean 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:57.960 says that apparently she's the dominant cat, though that's based 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.280 on some slew things she did based on a cat 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:02.440 behavior article she read on the internet, So maybe we 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.840 should take that with a grain of salt um. But 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.640 she says, regardless, the other three cats are male, and 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.160 two of them fight with Lily, So I think her 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:14.760 behavior might also have a social component. In her box, 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:17.480 she's out of the way and safe, so that that 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:19.040 might connect to the thing we talked about in the 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:22.840 episode where a possible reason cats might see boxes among 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:26.280 the many others is just a way of mediating social conflict, 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:27.960 you know, in the box. Getting in the box could 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.920 essentially just be an avoidance behavior to to avoid conflicts. 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:34.920 Sheldean also says, uh, I think this is picking up 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:36.920 on the story I had from my childhood where when 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.040 we used to take our cat to the vetch, we 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:41.640 would take her in a in a cardboard cat carrier 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:43.520 that had like air holes and everything. But it wasn't 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.480 like the plastic and metal crates of today. It was 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:50.200 made a cardboard and Sheldean says Joe regarding the cat carriers, 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:53.000 I can tell you that before immigrating, my cats regarded 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.600 the cat carriers with dismay when they came out, but 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:58.120 they would still enter them to explore, which was when 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:00.800 I would trap them. Since they're very long flight to 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.119 another country. They now regard the carriers with utter terror. 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:06.600 It's a bit sad that it was so obviously a 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.800 terrifying experience for them. Fortunately, we now have a vet 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:11.840 who comes to us, so we only need to haul 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.960 out the carriers in an emergency. And touching on the 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:18.480 need for warmth, we have hammock beds hanging off radiators 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:20.280 in our home, and I think if I could fit 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.200 in one, I'd find them extremely warm. But the cats 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.719 love the radiators, and she attaches a picture for us 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:28.800 to look at, and so that goes along with what 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.320 we've been talking about about how often cats will will 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:34.400 seek out, you know, a hot computer or radiator or anything, 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.679 because in general, if your house is comfortable for humans 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.120 to be in, it's probably too cold for cats. They're 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:43.520 their therm neutral temperature is much higher than the average 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:46.679 humans is, you know, on the difference between cats, it 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.760 is interesting to to hear from someone who owns a cat, 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:52.920 first of all, earlier that the cat wants to drink 0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:55.520 water from a tap. Part of me is just like, 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.360 what was what is that like to have a cat 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:01.440 that will drink water? That is that not part of 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:05.000 some meat already? Because it's it's uh, it's always a 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:06.920 struggle to make sure that our cat has enough water, 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:10.840 uh in its body, because it doesn't seem interested in 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.600 any water that is not part of meat already. And 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:16.200 then this idea that like the cap being drawn to 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:19.679 the radiator, like we we got this heating pad for 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:21.920 the pet. You know, it's kept it like a low 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:26.000 temperature to provide some heat, and at best she'll lay 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:28.840 next to it sometimes like like you know, maybe just 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.200 picking up on some of the ambient heat. But other 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:33.840 times she seems to be actively avoiding it, as if 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:36.040 to say, I do not like this. This is this 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:39.119 is unnatural, and I refuse to set on it. I 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:41.560 don't know, maybe we're doing something wrong. I'm sorry having 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:44.080 cat problems, man, No no, no, no, I mean she's 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:46.080 she's all right at the moment. I mean she is 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.080 in general a problem. But um but you know if 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.360 she's great too, so what can you do? One last 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.159 thing Sheldean mentions is the idea that you raised in 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:58.400 the Cats and Squares episode, uh Rob about the possibility 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:00.920 And I still think this is a very very good 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.679 idea that that should be explored more, the possibility that 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:06.760 maybe a lot of cats that live in houses like 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:09.800 squares and sheets of paper and things like that on 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:13.320 the ground. Uh, not as an instinctual thing about being 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:16.359 a cat, but as a conditioned behavior where they've become 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.720 accustomed to sitting on a square of sunlight that pours 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:22.439 through the window onto the floor to get warm, and 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:24.919 so now they always think, oh, a square on the floor, 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:27.000 that that that that will be warm. I do think 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:30.400 that that that seems very plausible to me. And Sheldean 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:34.240 says that indeed her cats do follow the squares of 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:37.399 sun all around the house. That would this would be 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:40.600 an interesting one to see some some sort of experimentation 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:45.360 take place, ye figuring out exactly to what extent uh 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:50.199 they're drawn to the you know, the geometric aspects of 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:52.200 the light as opposed to just the presence of light 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:55.439 and warmth. Anyway, Sheldean says, hopefully you guys already know 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:57.399 that I love the show and appreciate all the effort 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:00.720 you put in. Best wishes, Sheldan, Uh, Sheldon, Oh, And 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:04.280 Sheldon has a ps about the the collective noun for cats, 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.439 which she claims, I don't know if she's she's teasing 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:08.840 us here. She says, the collective noun for cats is 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:12.720 a clouder c l O W D E er that 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:16.119 sounds made up, and that for kittens it is a 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:19.360 kindle also sounds made up. I don't know. I'll take 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:26.119 your word for it, all right. This one comes to 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.600 us from Carlton. Hello, Robin Joe. I wanted to share 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:33.480 a connection to your artifact episode titled the Toad Vomit Miracle. 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:36.840 I'm a middle school reading specialist and I use a 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:39.960 program with my students to help improve their comprehension which 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:43.399 features short, high interest passages. One of them, which happens 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:46.520 to be a student favorite, is called frog Vomit. I 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:49.439 have included the text below. The program is grounded in 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:53.320 dual coding theory to help facilitate improvements in reading comprehension 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:56.679 through the use of mental imagery. In order to accomplish this, 0:20:57.200 --> 0:21:00.720 the students spend lots of time reading, visualized and talking 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:05.120 about passages written to stimulate visual imagery. The striking imagery 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:08.000