Animal of the Day: Giraffe
Everyone knows that these even-toed ungulates are the tallest of all land animals, but did you know that giraffes have prehensile tongues nearly one meter long?
August 19, 2005
August 12, 2005
A different kind of cat blogging
In the 1930s quantum theory pioneer Erwin Schrödinger proposed his famous thought experiment, in which a cat in a closed box appears to be both alive and dead at the same time until someone observes it, as a demonstration of the philosophical paradoxes involved in quantum theory.
In 1986, an experiment conducted by David Wineland and colleagues of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, constructed an actual Schrödinger’s cat scenario, using a single beryllium ion in place of the cat. This experiment and others are described in Physics (from Mathematics and Physical Sciences) from the Britannica Year in Review 1997.
Schrödinger was born on this day, August 12th, 1887.
June 24, 2005
Friday Cat Blogging: On the domestication of cats
Another Friday, another chance to blog about cats.
Most people can probably guess that cats were first domesticated in ancient Egypt. Ever wonder when or why?
Q: When were cats first domesticated?
A: According to the Britannica article on domestic cats, there is hard evidence that they were domesticated at least 3,500 years ago (around 1,500 BCE), although some speculate they were domesticated before that.
Q: Why were cats first domesticated?
A: “It is probable that the Egyptians domesticated the cat because they realized its value in protecting granaries from rodents. Their affection and respect for this predator led to the development of religious cat cults and temple worship of cats.” [Origin and history of cats: Domestication from cat, domestic from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. Accessed June 24, 2005.]
The picture, by the way, is a sculpture of the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, apparently thanking the academy. Note the four little cats sitting by her feet. Cute, no?