Q: Does a cat always land on its feet?
A: When you drop it from 52 stories up, does it really matter?
Why yes, yes it does. Natural History Magazine had an article some 15 years back or so which found that cats will survive a fall from anywhere above about seven stories. What happens is they will fairly quickly get into their falling stance similar to a skydiver. Because of their weight distribution, they will reach terminal velocity, become relatively calm and relaxed prior to landing. The stance evenly distributes the weight and the calm state relaxes their muscles and they land with only minimal injury. Cats routinely survive falls from higher than about 70 feet. Lower than that, they never reach terminal velocity, remain rigid in panic and generally the outcome is not pretty.
A: When you drop it from 52 stories up, does it really matter?"
This might be an urban legend, but cats can fall from extreme heights and survive. Supposedly, beyond a certain height, a cat is actually less like to die outright from a fall as it may take them a while longer to assume the perfect position for a hard landing than it does to reach terminal velocity.
Please don't test this one out at home boys and girls.
I thought of a perpetual motion machine.
You take a slice of buttered bread and attach it to the a cat's back - butter side up.
Then you drop the cat - buttered bread and all. It will spin forever because cats always land on their feet and buttered bread always lands butter-side down.
Does anyone know a good patent lawyer?