To take a pet and use it as a raw material for the production of any item is a rather strange idea. But there are inventors, or simply cranks, who see nothing wrong with making a cat a piano or, say, a deadly weapon. Some cats offer royal living conditions, while others consider them an excellent source of protein. In this article, you will learn about 10 things made from cats.
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We make a reservation that the thebiggest.ru editorial board does not endorse or encourage any of the items made from cats presented in the article.
1
Telephone
In the 20s of the last century, Princeton University scientists Charles William Bray and Ernest Glen Wever produced a telephone from a cat. The professors introduced the cat into an unconscious state, through sedatives, and then opened her skull to get to the auditory receptors.
The inventors connected the other end of the telephone wire to the cat’s nerve, extending it to the phone 15 meters away. After that, Bray began to use cat ears as a microphone, and Wever listened to what his partner had said in the telephone receiver.
Of course, scientists were not so much concerned with the invention of a new type of telephone as with the study of the animal’s auditory nerve. Bray and Wever believed that voice signals increased the frequency of damage to the auditory receptors. However, the results of experiments showed that the use of a nerve does not change the frequency.
Scientists also found that the “cat phone” does not work if the wire is not placed in the auditory nerve, but in other tissues or nerve endings. There were also malfunctions in the phone, despite the connection of the wire to the auditory nerve when the blood flow stopped to the head of the animal. Subsequently, the work of scientists had a major impact on the invention of the cochlear implant for deaf people.
2
Handbag
A taxidermist from New Zealand got into all the news of the country when in 2016 she presented her handbag made from a stuffed cat. The handbag was put up for auction, and included the skin and head of a poor animal.
Claire, and that was the name of the "fashion designer," found the corpse of a cat crushed by a car and on the side of the road. She took the body with her, processing it into an elegant handbag (for an amateur), and then put it up for auction, asking for about $ 900 for a masterpiece. Not all visitors to the auction appreciated the product, accusing Claire of trying to enrich a dead animal.
Some suggested that the taxidermist leave the cat alone, others asked if the woman would be offended if they shot her, while others simply joked. Claire reduced the cost of the handbag to a few cents, but there was a buyer who paid $ 350 for the product. A good business, given that the cat went to the woman for free.
3
Drone
Quadrocopters and other types of drones filled the entire airspace. Perhaps this was the reason for Bart Jansen to make a drone out of his cat after he was hit by a car. The man mourned the untimely departed pet so much that he decided to immortalize it in the form of a drone.
Apparently, Jansen had a certain love for aircraft, since he called the cat Orville Wright, the name of a man who was one of the two inventors of the aircraft. Bart worked with an engineer, whom he connected to the technical part of the production of the copter. The work ended with the creation of a drone on the remote control, which received the unambiguous name Orvillecopter. Functionally, it did not differ from the standard quadrocopter, except for one detail, the device was covered with cat skin.
After evaluating the success of their experiment, Jansen and Beltman (engineer) began to produce drones from ostriches and rats. They also attached a jet engine to the dead shark and upgraded the badger to the state of a submarine. Now a couple of crazy inventors are working on a project to create a quadrocopter that can lift a person. It will be made of a cow.
4
Food
Russians can make faces by presenting food from cats, but Vietnamese cuisine abounds with dishes made from this animal. Vietnamese call cats “little tigers”, and the most popular cat dish is served with beer in almost every restaurant in this Asian country.
And now for the sad, cooking cats is not a process for the faint of heart. The animals are drowned, after which their hair is shaved off and burned in a fire to remove the rest of the fur. After this, the carcasses are cut, cut into pieces and fried.
Interestingly, the law prohibits the killing and cooking of cats by restaurants, as authorities fear that the extermination of animals will lead to an increase in the rat population. Vietnamese people eat so many cats that the animal is on the verge of extinction. A lot of people scour the streets trying to steal “little tigers” to sell them to restaurant owners. Smugglers, illegally transporting animals from neighboring countries, also profit from cats.
But the most amazing thing is that eating cats is not a national tradition of Vietnam. Eating dogs, cats and rats became a habit after the terrible famine brought by the wars of the 20th century. When the economic level of the country has risen, and stability has been achieved, people simply do not want to give up their favorite treats. To stop the genocide of cats, you need something more than a ban from above.
5
Piano
Have you ever heard of the “cat organ” called katzenklavier? This is a real piano to play on, only it is made of cats! Athanasius Kircher describes in detail the production process of one of these musical instruments in his book Musurgia Universalis.
The scientist wrote that for the manufacture of the piano it was necessary to find several cats with different meows. All animals were placed in individual “pens” on one side of the piano. A mechanism equipped with a spike was attached to their tails, which stuck into the tail of the animal with each press of the piano key.
Upon receiving the injection, the cats made sounds, which allowed the “pianist” to compose melodies, masterfully mocking the animals. In his book, the inventor also mentioned that with each subsequent press, the piano sounds became louder, as cats were experiencing more and more pain.
Direct evidence of the use of such an organ has not yet been provided, but it is believed that the piano was playing when King Philip II entered Brussels, although these events occurred a century before the invention of Kircher. According to the historian who witnessed the events of the 16th century, the pianist was a bear placed in a chariot.
The editors of thebiggest hope that this story is nothing more than ordinary fiction.
6
Tracking Gadgets
CIA agents are so fond of cats that they decided to engage them in the secret operation Acoustic Kitty, making four-legged first-class spies. The purpose of the operation was to equip the animals with audio surveillance systems, and then send them to play with foreign agents. Who knows, maybe foreign spies will pour out souls to cats, giving out a couple of secrets.
The CIA did not bother and called the operation the name of the first cat that participated in the experiment. Acoustic Kitty was put on the operating table to implant a microphone in his ear, and a radio transmitter was inserted into his skull box. Also, the cat was equipped with an antenna, hidden under thick wool.
The animal was allowed to play in the park to conduct an experiment on two random people resting on a bench. The harmful cat did not go to the people; instead, he ran out onto a busy road, where a taxi car ran over it. CIA agents closed the operation, concluding that cats are poorly trained and are not suitable for the role of spies.
By the way, about the largest cat breeds, read the article on our site thebiggest.ru.
7
Defensive weapon
Reliable shields will not come out of cats, since they are too small, and besides, they always run away from the "crime scene" at the most crucial moment. However, they can be excellent defenders against superstitious enemies, as happened in the battle of the Persians against the Egyptians at Pelusia in the VI century BC. e.
The war between Egypt and Persia began, as usual, over a woman. The Egyptian pharaoh Amasis II, having promised the ruler of the Persians Cambyses II to give his daughter for him, brought another woman for marriage. Pharaoh explained this by his reluctance to make a daughter a concubine.
When the Persians approached the Egyptian borders, Amasis was already dead, and Psammetich III ascended the throne. In addition to a large army, the ruler of Persia had a huge number of cats at his disposal, which the Egyptians considered a sacred animal, so they would not have killed them. The Egyptians refused to use bows so as not to harm the cats.
According to another version, the Persians did not take cats with them, but simply painted the image of the goddess Bastet with the head of a cat. In any case, cats helped the Persians win a crushing victory over the Egyptians. There were so many victims that the famous historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt almost 100 years later, still found the remains of dead soldiers.
But there is a slight inaccuracy in this story, because most of the Egyptian army was Greek mercenaries who did not differ in reverence for cats. Perhaps the Persian army was simply better prepared?
8
Offensive weapon
At the end of the 16th century, the manuscript Feuer Buech was published in Germany, which meticulously described the stages of the manufacture of siege weapons. Among the charges were also set fire to pigeons and cats.
The author, whose name was not indicated in the book, suggested that the soldiers of the attacking army collected all the cats in the vicinity of the besieged city in order to use them as weapons. Bags with gunpowder or other flammable substance were tied onto the back of the animals, after which they were set on fire and fired from catapults (or maybe KotOpult, which in this case is more suitable). Burning cats instinctively sought shelter in their homes, setting fire to everything in their path.
There is no evidence that such weapons were ever used in practice by German soldiers of the 16th century. However, there is evidence that burning cats were used to attack the enemy back in the III century BC. e. Also, some historians claim that Genghis Khan actively used such weapons during his many campaigns.
9
Black diamonds
A pet's death can be a painful loss. But some people make diamonds from their animals that they always carry with them. You ask how this is possible? Very simple.
Diamonds are full of carbon, and the bodies of people and animals contain enough of this element to be converted into diamonds. Often, pets, like people, can produce white diamonds. But one of the manufacturers was able to process the cat into a black diamond. It is noteworthy that the animal was called Soot.
In a 2008 BBC news release, Sue Rogers was reported to have ordered a 0.33-carat black diamond made from her own cat. It was the first black diamond made of dust.
LifeGem jewelry company made a diamond by taking 2 grams of carbon from a dead cat after being cremated. At the first stage, which included the impact on the ashes of high pressure and temperatures, a white diamond was obtained. Further, the manufacturers sent electrons to the diamond. After a daily “exposure”, he took on a black tint.
10
Drug Couriers
Russian and Brazilian criminals, located in places not so distant, got used to using cats as couriers. In 2015, law enforcement authorities carried out an “arrest” of a cat about to smuggle drugs near a Brazilian prison. Police officers found that drug dealers began to attach mobile phones, batteries with chargers and SIM cards to cats, using scotch tape, gauze and gypsum.
To disguise the criminals covered the backs of animals with faux fur. Having discovered traces of gypsum on the cat's body, the jailers uncovered an attempt to smuggle. Now all animals entering and leaving correctional facilities are subjected to thorough screening.
The second case concerned our country. In 2018, police arrested two drug dealers after trying to deliver a shipment of amphetamines and marijuana to prison with a cat. During the investigation, the police found out that the cat lived in prison until one of the convicts released from prison took him with him. Later, he and her accomplice brought her to the walls of the prison so that the cat would carry drugs to the prisoners.
On this, our list of ten things made from cats came to an end. If you have something to supplement it, write about it in the comments.
Author: Maxim Svistunov