1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:27,479 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: the show Ridiculous Histories. Thank you so much for tuning in. Jeez, 3 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: we've got the energy here. We've got some meyows. That's 4 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:37,919 Speaker 1: our super producer, mister Max Williams. 5 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 2: Yeow. 6 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: So you're Noel Brown, I've been bullet Nola. Is safe 7 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: to say that all three of us enjoy the feline. 8 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 2: Enjoy is a strong word. I know I do enjoy 9 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 2: a good cat, but they're a little caddy. Really. The 10 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 2: only way to describe on this is they just like 11 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 2: they don't care about us. You found, Max, you found 12 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 2: a really great quote from Winston church Hill himself that 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,320 Speaker 2: dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, 14 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 2: and pigs treat us as equals. I'm not sure who 15 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 2: this is more insulting, too. I think it's the humans 16 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 2: that really come out on the losing end of this 17 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 2: particular expression. 18 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: I think he was probably insulting someone at a diplomatic function, 19 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: likely classic Winston. What was his other quote? You know, 20 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: someone said, you, sir, are drunk, and he said, very well, 21 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,639 Speaker 1: but tomorrow I'll be sober and you'll still be ugly. 22 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, And or it's good. But yeah, like we said, 23 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 2: cats are really like catty cat like not really, they 24 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 2: kind of are their own thing. You know if you've 25 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 2: seen the meme where it's like a cat like with 26 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 2: like bisecting and there's like a weird alien inside steering it. 27 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, and cats also not to get to brain stuff 28 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: about it. Check out the earlier videos on domestication. Cats 29 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: are arguably one of the only quote unquote domestic animals 30 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: that domesticated themselves. 31 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 2: Of course they like them. 32 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's classic cat. You may be surprised to realize 33 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 1: that given cats ancient history with humanity. Overall, cats are 34 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: pretty popular in most parts of the world. There is 35 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: purportedly one group of historical people that have perhaps popularized 36 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: our feline friends to the world overall. Caveat, caveat, caveat. 37 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: Let's go to Amy to Canon writing for Britannica, who says, quote, while. 38 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 2: Vikings don't exactly have a reputation for being cuddly, their 39 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 2: travel companions do. Yeah, I'm talking about cats. Vikings loved 40 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 2: a cat. 41 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: So in today's somewhat subjective and somewhat biased episode of 42 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History, we're going to talk about the origins of 43 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: what we call the house cat, and how Vikings may 44 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: have helped spread the cat as a pet around the world. 45 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: Again caveat kind of this one is family friendly. So 46 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: if you happen like us to have some cats in 47 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: your household, listen in and let's see if your cat approves. Also, 48 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: send us cat photos on a ridiculous historians on Facebook. 49 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 2: They'll probably wander away halfway through. It's okay, we're not offended. 50 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 2: We see you. Take a quick word from a tiny sponsor, 51 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 2: and then we'll be back with this tale. 52 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: We have returned. One reason that we're going to be 53 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: brief with the history of cats is because A there 54 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: are multiple great pieces of scholarship written about it. B 55 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: there are tons of podcasts out there that are probably 56 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: just about cats and see cats like without even introducing 57 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: the toxoplasmosis argument. A lot of people who are on 58 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: board with cats right about them. So cats are in 59 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: the historical record in a way that many other animals 60 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: simply are not. 61 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, and they're pictured in a lot of imagery surrounding 62 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 2: ancient civilizations. They figure into a lot of lore and 63 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 2: the kind of religious iconography as well. 64 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, If we go back to our pals of Britannica. 65 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: If we go way way back, Max, can we get 66 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: some way back music? 67 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 2: Perfect? Perfect? Oh, dang it. 68 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: All right, keep it it, Britannica says. After the non 69 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: avian dinosaurs became extinct, mammals became the dominant life forms. 70 00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: The first feline like mammal, the prolurus, evolved about thirty 71 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: million years ago, and it is currently believed that all 72 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: true cat species evolved from this small guy who was 73 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: a predator who looked a lot like a civet. Do 74 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: we remember what a civet looks like. 75 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,840 Speaker 2: Kind of like a cat like raccoon. They're pretty cute 76 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 2: and they're still around. Yeah, exactly. You can look up 77 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 2: a lot of pictures of civet. Some of them to 78 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 2: have i don't know, almost leopard like coats. Yeah, actually 79 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 2: most of them seem to have that pattern. Yeah. 80 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, they're cool guys. And if you look at cats 81 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: that resemble today's friendly felines, they first appear about five 82 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: point three to three point six million years ago, And 83 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,720 Speaker 1: it reminds me of the convergent evolution of the crab 84 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: like how most animal like many animals, at some point 85 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: tend to evolve into a crab like form, or like 86 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: how crocodiles hit they're winning formula and just never changed it. 87 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 2: If I mentioned to you that one of my nicknames 88 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 2: form my partner is the crab, she has evolved into 89 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 2: a crab like form, just tick with that and use 90 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 2: your imagination do what you will with it. 91 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: So a big thing with what we call the felids, 92 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: which is the group name felines fall under felid. The 93 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: big thing they have is I would say a flexibility, 94 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: a fluidity kind of natural inborn parkour cat like reflexes. 95 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: You might say, oh, just so, yeah, and there are 96 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: adaptations that occur. You can see many felids or felines 97 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: around the world who are evolved differently due to environmental pressures, 98 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: primarily the prey they chase. Because your average housecat is 99 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: an obligate carnivore, meaning that it must eat meat to 100 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:58,839 Speaker 1: survive for sure. 101 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 2: And I think we've all probably seen, however, quote unquote domesticated, 102 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 2: your house cat might be given the chance to run 103 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 2: around outside, they're likely gonna find something to kill and 104 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 2: gift it to you. 105 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, because they're worried about you. It's like our power lord, Yeah, 106 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: our Vogelbaum used to send me photos of the different 107 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: animals that her cat would kill into our outdoor cat 108 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: and bring to her sometimes in what she believed were 109 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: purposeful displays. 110 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 2: Oh, I had a cat that is no longer with 111 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 2: us years ago that I shared with my bestie and 112 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 2: roomy at the time, Frank. And it would, I swear 113 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 2: to God, it would be like Serial Killer tableaus, you know, 114 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 2: where it's like the mouse has been dissected and it's 115 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 2: dismembering parts are arranged in like a weird cruciform or 116 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 2: it's bizarre. 117 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: And so we know the we'll get to the vikings 118 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: in a second. What we need to established here first. 119 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,559 Speaker 1: So we've got the ancient history, the evolution. Next, where 120 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: do the humans and the cats meet largely unclear, but 121 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: we know ever since recorded human history about fifteen ten 122 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: thousand years ago, with the rise of agriculture in the 123 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: Middle East, in the Tigris, Euphrates and so on, the 124 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: cat was always there. Definitely, people ate cats, Definitely, people 125 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: used cat fur as of pelt. But a partnership began, 126 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: and it was what we would call a symbiotic relationship, 127 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:47,199 Speaker 1: meaning both sides of the partnership gained some value from 128 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: their interaction, humans were no longer a hunter gatherers. We're 129 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: all sitting in the same place. We're growing crops. We're 130 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: hoping those crops will keep us alive through winter. What 131 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 1: comes along with word grain rats, dude, rodents nice. 132 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 2: They love that stuff, especially if it gets moist or 133 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 2: whatever and starts to emit like a bit of a 134 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 2: stronger smell. You're gonna get some mice, some rodents, some rats, 135 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 2: and as we know, cats are really good at hunting 136 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 2: those guys down and torturing and murdering them. 137 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: Obligate carnivores again, So now the human outpost become a 138 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: easy way to find your own smaller prey. Right, it's 139 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:38,199 Speaker 1: not necessarily that the cats liked the humans. It's that 140 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: it's that the cats liked a predictable food resource. 141 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 2: And that relationship is largely continued to the right. 142 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: It reminds me of the old, the old question that 143 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: is still debated in modern evenings. What is the most 144 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: successful life form on the planet. If you measure it 145 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: by wait, it may be the ants. If you measure 146 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: it by behavior, well, the housecats doesn't have to do 147 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: a lot of work for itself. As a matter of fact, 148 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: housecats are a menace to surrounded wildlife if they're outdoors. 149 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 2: Birds especially if I'm not mistaken right, they can actually 150 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 2: decimate entire populations of certain species. Yeah, they can endanger 151 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 2: worse than those wind turbines everyone's always screaming about. 152 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: I want a wind turban so bad. 153 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,440 Speaker 2: I like Kyri, I like really going hard on calling 154 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 2: them a turban instead of tur I just something about 155 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 2: the mouthfeel if that doesn't for me. 156 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: So Eventually, way before people knew about toxo plasmosis gandhi, 157 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: people started worshiping cats. They attain socio religious significance. Cats 158 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: held a huge status in Egypt. There are even gods 159 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: that are that are anthropomorphic. 160 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 2: Cats, I would argue, do in no small part to 161 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 2: their mind controllabilities. Yeah. 162 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: Also they do protect the grain, They do protect the granaries. 163 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 1: So this is we can see why this would be 164 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: religiously important. Cats in each in Egypt were cherished pets. 165 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: They were seeing as sort of the protectors of life 166 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,959 Speaker 1: and stability. They were good luck. 167 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 2: Well, I mean, anytime we see a force of nature 168 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 2: that either provides or has the potential to destroy food 169 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:39,079 Speaker 2: sources or infrastructure, of these kind of civilizations. There often 170 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 2: is some religious connection that pops up, you know, a 171 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 2: bit of worship just to make sure that because if 172 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 2: we lost the cats, maybe the mice would take over everything. 173 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 2: There is that very functional kind of respect and appreciation 174 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 2: and need for these things that in the way they 175 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 2: kind of do business. The Egyptians converted would seem to 176 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 2: worship a kind of need to work worship them. 177 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, Egyptian royalty was known to adorn their cats in 178 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:10,320 Speaker 1: gold trappings people in the lower classes that not one 179 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: percenters made in war jewelry depicting cats. There are also 180 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: apocryphal accounts of Egyptian forces. Because Egypt was an expansionist 181 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: empire for a lot of times, there were apocryphal accounts 182 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: of Egyptian forces turning back and refusing to fight because 183 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: the opposing force strapped cats onto the bodies of the soldiers. 184 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, Kamakazi cats. 185 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: They were like, we can't kill the cats. 186 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 2: Oh, that's that's a very different kind of again, it's 187 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 2: like a reverse of that kind of apocryphal. Apocryphal. It's 188 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 2: like the cat equivalent of human shields. 189 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: It's bizarre, Yes, the cat equivalent the the other stuff 190 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: we do in terms of physical record of history is 191 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,239 Speaker 1: that cats were deified such that they might be mummified 192 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 1: and preserved along with their loved ones, or if they 193 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: were a beloved cat. There were also little mouse mummies 194 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: that were mummified, So the cats had a snack in 195 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:14,439 Speaker 1: the afterlife. 196 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 2: Do you think they just keep eating it over and 197 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,959 Speaker 2: over and over again the one mouse that gets mummified. 198 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 2: It seems like a real hellish existence after LifeWise for 199 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 2: that roadent. 200 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: Huh, Yeah, not great for the mouse. Also, we know 201 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 1: cats have been clearly deified or prized in other cultures. 202 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 2: If you go back. 203 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: Not too far north in the Mediterranean, you'll see cretion 204 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: wall tiles dating back to sixteen hundred BCE that depict 205 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,680 Speaker 1: cats who are trained to hunt for the humans. 206 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's crete right, the island of crete in Greece. 207 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 2: That you also saw a lot of pictions in other 208 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 2: art and in literature that indicates cats were there from 209 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 2: the fifth century BC on. Now to mention in China, 210 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 2: where we also saw cats featured in some kind of 211 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 2: tile functional tiles from five hundred BC. 212 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, and people in Arab populations and the nation of Japan, 213 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: they didn't meet the cat until about six hundred CE 214 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 1: as far as we know, which I do draw exception 215 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: to the scholarship they're regarding Arab communities because the Middle 216 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,800 Speaker 1: East is not that far away from Egypt. So I 217 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 1: do believe what we're looking at there is just physical record. 218 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: The earliest again record of cats, if you go a 219 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: little further north in Britain, dates to about nine to 220 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: thirty six CE, when the Prince of South Central Wales 221 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: sounds like every time I hear south Central, I feel 222 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 1: like the guy has a rap album. But Uedel Da 223 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: made a law protecting cats. Specifically, you can kill other animals. 224 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 1: Badgers are fair game, but guys be cool about the cats. 225 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 2: Cool cats, be cool cats. 226 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, And this is where it gets us to 227 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: the turnin aal to the focus of today's episode. 228 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 2: Vikings cats, Yeah, it would seem like not necessarily a 229 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 2: match made in Valhalla. As we mentioned, Vikings are not 230 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 2: particularly known for their cuddly and animal loving natures, but 231 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 2: you know what, cats, that's sort of a bit of 232 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 2: a misnomer about them too. They can be pretty vicious, 233 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 2: with the whole serial killer displays and just the inherent 234 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 2: carnivorous nature. 235 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, a cat is sort of a Viking when you 236 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: think about it. 237 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, especially when you put those horned helmet on it 238 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 2: and give it a little braid. Yeah. 239 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you've seen doctor Vankman. That's the name of 240 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: one of my cats. So Vikings, like sailing. The domestic 241 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: house cat is notoriously statistically not going to be a 242 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: fan of water. The issue is the size of the boats. 243 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: If we go to Weston Williams writing for Christian Science Monitor, 244 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: we see that Egyptian cats were often taken a board 245 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 1: watercraft to deal with mice and rats. So it makes 246 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: sense if your ship is large enough to have a cat, 247 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: who is your ratting officer? 248 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 2: You know? 249 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, if I can jump in real quick. I actually 250 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 3: learned this when I was younger, so I think I've 251 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,280 Speaker 3: told you all. My dad grew ubout boat doc. Basically 252 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 3: like he grew up on a lake in this Great 253 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 3: Lakes Chain up in Michigan, and I remember like talking 254 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 3: to him saying something about kats on. It's like, Dad, 255 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 3: why would a cat ever be on a boat? And 256 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 3: he told me this fact. I'm like, oh, that makes sense. 257 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 3: They mus not like it when the boat goes down, 258 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 3: and he's like Max, no one likes when the boat 259 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 3: goes down. 260 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,199 Speaker 2: Well, that''s all the true. And in my mind I'm 261 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 2: thinking too, like this would be largely while the boats 262 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 2: are docked, right, or would there be a seafaring cat 263 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 2: that would like go out on the voyage. 264 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: There are seafaring cats even now. Some of the most 265 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: famous seafaring cats in uh other wars in World War 266 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: One and World War Two, they were they were considered 267 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: part of the crew and they also got promoted if 268 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: they killed enough. 269 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:38,399 Speaker 2: Vermin, I love the idea of a seafaring cat wearing 270 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,439 Speaker 2: a little naval uniform and like steering the ship, you know, 271 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 2: behind the giant wheel. 272 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:45,959 Speaker 3: I know we have an episode about that years back now, 273 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 3: I don't remember how long ago, but about a heroic 274 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 3: animals and a lot of them were cats. 275 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: M h they were. They know what's going on. So 276 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 1: let's go to Eva Marie Geigel, who is a paleo 277 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:04,680 Speaker 1: geneticist at the Institute jus Manolde. And this person led 278 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:10,679 Speaker 1: one of the biggest studies about the interaction of cats 279 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: with the early humans. It was published in Nature dot com. 280 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: It's the palaeogenetics of Cat dispersal in the ancient world. 281 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: It's gourse, it's got yeah, it's got a lot of authors. 282 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 2: And they told ABC in an interview, we found the 283 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 2: first time that in prehistoric times, cats from the Near 284 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,960 Speaker 2: East and in classical times from Egypt accompanied people on 285 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,359 Speaker 2: their journeys, thereby conquering the ancient world. They were the 286 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 2: ancestors of our present day domestic cats all over the world. 287 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: And the study is pretty smart. They analyzed mitochondrial DNA 288 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: from the remains of cats across Europe, the Middle East, 289 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 1: and Africa. They looked at two hundred cat to davers 290 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:00,479 Speaker 1: cat davers, and the cats lived anywhere from fifteen thousand 291 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: years ago to the seventeen hundreds. The cats that had 292 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: that mitochondrial DNA indicating origin in Egypt. They were found 293 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: as far north as Viking sites, especially one in northern 294 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: Germany dating between the eighth and eleventh century. And let's 295 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,600 Speaker 1: pause here to bust a myth. The Vikings were not 296 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 1: just picking on northern Europe. They made it to northern America, 297 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: they made it to Greenland and Iceland. They had extensive 298 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,879 Speaker 1: or they were part of an extensive trade network going 299 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 1: down to North Africa, going out to western Eurasia. 300 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 2: They got around. 301 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: It's not just some dudes on a boat having a 302 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 1: bad day, doing psychoactive substances and behaving as though they 303 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: were angry bears. 304 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 2: Shout out deserved zo angry bears. Wasn't that like a 305 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 2: phone game? No, that's angry birds. I'm sorry. Angry bears 306 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 2: is good, though we can't get sued. Surely they did 307 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 2: flappy bird, you know, it's close enough. 308 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: The Vikings did wear cat pelts, probably when the cat died. 309 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 1: They didn't have the same reverence as the rulers of 310 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: ancient Egypt. However, we do know that cats were an 311 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:26,479 Speaker 1: important part of Norse mythology, especially because of Freya, the 312 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: goddess of love. They were super into carriages for their 313 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,800 Speaker 1: like Nordic countries were super into carriages. So Freya had 314 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:41,400 Speaker 1: two cats that pulled her carriage and powerful cats. Man right, 315 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: and there's another myth we wanted to shout out in particular. 316 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 2: Oh, just that, I think it's interesting. In thor in 317 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 2: you know, Norse mythology, visited Outgard. He attempted to lift 318 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 2: Loki's cats outguard Loki's cat, and it actually turned out 319 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 2: to be the mid guard serpent or the world serpent 320 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 2: you might remember from the God of War game. I 321 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 2: believe it's the third one God of War Valhalla, if 322 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,160 Speaker 2: I'm not mistaken that I still haven't finished, but there's 323 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 2: this crazy serpent that encircles the world, and I believe 324 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 2: that's the mid Guard Serpent. Also, Freya is an important 325 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 2: character in that game as well, And I want to 326 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 2: say at some point in the God of War games 327 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 2: you do meet some kind of giant cat, but maybe 328 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 2: I'm misremembering that. But it's a very cool game and 329 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 2: certainly takes some liberties with the mythology, but has some interesting, 330 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,399 Speaker 2: you know, kind of bits in there that you might 331 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 2: find interesting if you're into this kind of stuff. 332 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: And out Guard Loki, to be clear, is not the 333 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: same as Loki Loki. Out Guard Loki is. I guess 334 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: it would translate to like the trickster of the Outlands. 335 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: He's a Jotna, I believe they call it, which is 336 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,640 Speaker 1: somewhat kind of similar to a nepheline. 337 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 2: Different show. But then there's Jodenheim as well, which is 338 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:00,919 Speaker 2: the Land of the Giants game as well, which I 339 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 2: think is also accurate mythology. 340 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and so if we're asking what these cats 341 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: look like. You might be listening to this episode with 342 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: doing your what's the bad guy the inspector gadget? 343 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 2: Doctor Claw? 344 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: Doctor Stan nailed it, thank you. Doctor Claw always has 345 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: a cat on his arm rest. If you are in an. 346 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 2: It all comes from Blowfelds and James Bonds, and you 347 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 2: know doctor Evil has the cat and stroking the cat. 348 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 2: It's it's a classic villain thing. 349 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 1: If you're stroking the cat like one of our favorite 350 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: villains right now, you may be wondering, Hey, did these 351 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 1: Viking cats look like my little chonker? Uh? Not really? 352 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mentioned earlier that I love the idea of 353 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 2: of them having a horned helmet and sporting a little 354 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 2: cat beard or at the very least a braid. But 355 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 2: not only did they not deck them out in that way, 356 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,360 Speaker 2: they would not have exactly resembled what we know as 357 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 2: the domestic fewline today. 358 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, they would have been smaller, which makes a little 359 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,919 Speaker 1: bit of sense. If you go to if you go 360 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,199 Speaker 1: to Sarah Pruit from History, or if you go to 361 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 1: our pal Emily Underwood, you will find that domestic cats 362 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 1: in Denmark especially have increased significantly in size since the 363 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: Viking Age. Most animals tend to become smaller when they 364 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:36,879 Speaker 1: are domesticated. That's why dogs are almost always smaller than wolves. 365 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 2: Interesting, but in the case of the cats, sort of 366 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 2: the opposite thing occurred, right, It's interesting. I don't quite understand. 367 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: Why they've grown about sixteen percent bigger on average since 368 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: what we call the Viking Era. 369 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, Emily Underwood in that study we mentioned before, had 370 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 2: this to say about it. By two hundred CE, the 371 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,760 Speaker 2: people of Iron Age, Denmark, were keeping cats charred human 372 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,120 Speaker 2: bones in a cremation grave. From that period, researchers discovered 373 00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 2: a cat ankle bone with a drill hole, suggesting it 374 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 2: was worn as an amulet. 375 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, the Viking the quote continues, the Vikings, who were 376 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: farmers as well as seafairy marauders. They raised cats for 377 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:21,160 Speaker 1: their warm fur and to control pests. So by about 378 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: eight fifty to ten fifty CE, cat pelts started bringing 379 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: a high price in Denmark. There was also the study 380 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: doesn't get super into this, but there was also still 381 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 1: that old Egyptian influence, the idea, the idea that a 382 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,200 Speaker 1: cat could be good luck. 383 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 2: One percent pro It continues. As time went on, cats 384 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:48,240 Speaker 2: spread to rural settlements and estates as well as towns, 385 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 2: and as the new study shows, they began to grow 386 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 2: in size, fascinating. While it's not yet clear why exactly 387 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 2: this growth occurred, so okay, no one knows, it was 388 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 2: a good question. It may have something to do with 389 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 2: increase access to food, okay, and better living conditions, especially 390 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,720 Speaker 2: after more and more people began treating cats as beloved 391 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 2: house pets rather than strictly rodent hunters or sources of fur. 392 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 2: Ben I would pose the question though, but that's the same. 393 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 2: That's also true of dogs. And yet dogs got smaller. 394 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 1: Dogs got smaller, but dogs also, Oh, let's do an 395 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: episode on domestication. 396 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely, going on the list. 397 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 1: All right, well, I'm putting it on the list now. 398 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,400 Speaker 1: And while we're while we're talking about this, we have 399 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: to say again, it does appear that vikings had an 400 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: intense relationship with cats, and vikings, you know, got around, 401 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: and when they got around, they had to bring their 402 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: cats living or dead. We know that, we know that 403 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 1: increased consistent access to food over time does lead to 404 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: in some cases, it does lead to a larger body size. 405 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 1: We know, for instance, if you look at the Korean peninsula. 406 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 1: In the case of the humans, access to food during 407 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: formative growth periods and adolescents makes a big difference in 408 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: your size and your height. 409 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:22,400 Speaker 2: When this isn't to say that these were just chunkier cats, 410 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 2: and this is an evolutionary right, bigger frame in general. Right, 411 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 2: And you know, we certainly have little cats today. But 412 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:31,919 Speaker 2: then we also have like the kind of cats that 413 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 2: I think are in your stable, the mancoons, the really 414 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:39,880 Speaker 2: big chunky boys that are absolutely gorgeous, but like kind 415 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,400 Speaker 2: of dog like in their frames and in their behaviors. 416 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,919 Speaker 2: Got oh interesting, So they're a little more loyal are 417 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 2: they're a little less cat purely cat like man? 418 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: You know, everybody is their own I guess if I can. 419 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,959 Speaker 3: Jump in real quick one funny. So Sylvia is incredibly 420 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 3: cat then at the same time non cridly cat. One 421 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 3: of the weird like dog like traits she does is 422 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,960 Speaker 3: she like waits at the door for me, so like 423 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 3: when I get home, she's at the door. If I 424 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:11,879 Speaker 3: go out for a walk, Like we have these glass 425 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 3: doors on our back porch, and if I go on 426 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 3: a walk, I usually go out there and come back 427 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 3: and she'll be sitting right there. Waiting for you. She's 428 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 3: an indoor only cat. 429 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,040 Speaker 2: She's just waiting for you to die so she can 430 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:24,880 Speaker 2: eat your eyeballs. Actually, the dogs are faster to do that, 431 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:30,200 Speaker 2: is that right? I love my cats, but they also 432 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 2: scare me a little bit. I'm not gonna lie. 433 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: It's also unpleasant that I know that fact. But guys, 434 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: just don't die around your pets. Parties find at parties, 435 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 1: thank you, nol. We also know, we also know that 436 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: cats have a kind of body size awareness that differs 437 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: from the body size awareness of humans. 438 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:56,879 Speaker 2: This is a term that I'd never run across before. 439 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 2: This is a whole kind of school of thinking. This 440 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 2: is this idea of body size awareness, and that's exactly right, 441 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 2: like how it can inform the way a creature moves. 442 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, the cats are famous for being able to maneuver 443 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 1: their bodies through apertures that would land on their feet. Yeah, 444 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: for landing on their feet. Again to the point about parkour, right, 445 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:25,360 Speaker 1: cats a very good at parkour. And cats also are 446 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,640 Speaker 1: more flexible when it comes to getting into an aperture. 447 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 1: And also you know that's how they can get into 448 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:37,600 Speaker 1: the mousehole. You know what I mean? 449 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 2: I mean, dude, even my fattiest of catties can do 450 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:45,320 Speaker 2: some serious leaping and with precision, you know. And it's 451 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 2: no accident that this idea of cats having nine lives 452 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 2: is such a thing, because they really do land on 453 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 2: their feet and they can jump from heights and not 454 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 2: be injured. 455 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,960 Speaker 1: It's a lot of fur also, and I appreciate you 456 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: shout out, oh the cat with a thousand names, and 457 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 1: then also doctor Vankman, because they're chonky boys. They've got 458 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:09,000 Speaker 1: a lot of fur and they've got a lot of 459 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: muscle behind it. 460 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 2: But I and a lot of heart. 461 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 1: Sure, But we also know, we also know there's a 462 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,840 Speaker 1: great deal of cat folklore which might be an interesting 463 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 1: second part to this episode. We can't wait to hear 464 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,520 Speaker 1: everybody else's or we can't wait to see everybody else's 465 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 1: cat photos. Fellow Ridiculous historians hit us up on our 466 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:40,120 Speaker 1: Facebook page, Ridiculous Historians. Also, big big thanks to our cats, 467 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: Big big thanks to our super producer and research associate 468 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 1: for today's episode, mister Max Williams. 469 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 2: Absolutely big big thanks to the love cats of the 470 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 2: Cure Fame. 471 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:51,600 Speaker 1: You know, I love that song, Big big thanks to 472 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: the cool cat Alex Williams, who composed this. 473 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,600 Speaker 2: Track Ah Yes one of the coolest, as well as 474 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 2: to Christopherciotis names Jeff Coates here in Spirit, Jonathan Strickland 475 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 2: and A. J. Bahamas Jacobs, the Quistor and Puzzler respectively. 476 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, Big, big thanks to Rachel Big Spinach Lance Big, 477 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,719 Speaker 1: Big thanks to Sylvia Kromi, Vanessa, Doctor Venkman and of 478 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: course the Cat with a thousand Names. 479 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 2: One thousand tales. We'll see you next time, folks. For 480 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 481 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,400 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.