5
The ultra-scientific cat swinging experiment
Is there enough space on the plinth to swing a cat? [Read more]
animal cruelty, cat, space, swinging
benwerd, July 31, 2009, 4:33 pm
Method
Take cat by tail.
Swing.
Is there enough room?
(NB: in order to remain within the bounds of the law, a stuffed cat may be used in place of a real one. Ideally someone should simulate the noise that a real cat would have made though.)
Result type: A boolean result: either there is or there isn't.
Estimated minutes taken: 1
Possible during bad weather: yes
Comments and predictions
Slight hitch - the plinth has no walls, so it would be theoretically possible to swing an object of any arbitary diameter around, as your feet aren't likely to move around much.
I always thought the phrase referred to a Cat o' nine tails, but if an unsourced addition to Wikipedia is true: "the phrase more likely refers to the practice of putting a live cat in a leather bottle and setting it swinging as a target for marksmen."
I know cats can be a pain at times, but...
Just done an real-time rehearsal of the whole hour and it's really rather tight. I'm afraid I'm going to drop this one, although I can confirm that mittfh is quite right - having done it in my full-size replica of the plinth-top area in my garden this afternoon, it is indeed possible to swing a cat.
I'll count mittfh's comment as a correct prediction for prize draw purposes (if I ever work out what the prize is).
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