Studio Ghibli’s Cats: What Miyazaki’s Felines Actually Mean
Studio Ghibli cats are not decoration: the Catbus is yokai folklore, Jiji is Kiki’s own voice, and two famous cat films were not directed by Miyazaki.
T.S. Eliot’s Practical Cats: How a Poetry Side Project Became Broadway
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats began as letters to godchildren in the 1930s. How T.S. Eliot’s side project became Broadway’s longest-running show.
Japan’s Cat Islands: How Fishing Villages Became Feline Colonies
Japan’s cat islands, from Aoshima to Tashirojima: how fishing villages and silk farms became feline colonies, and why the cats are now slowly disappearing.
How Cats Land on Their Feet: The Physics of the Righting Reflex
The cat righting reflex explained: Marey’s 1894 photographs, zero angular momentum, and the NASA-funded 1969 paper that solved the falling cat problem.
The Cats of the Roman Empire: How Felines Followed the Legions Across Europe
Cats in the Roman Empire arrived with the legions and sea traders 2,000 years ago. New DNA from 225 ancient cats rewrites how felines conquered Europe.
How AI Learned to Recognize Cats: The Google Brain Cat Experiment
In 2012 the Google Brain cat experiment gave 16,000 cores 10 million YouTube frames and zero labels. Then one neuron taught itself what a cat face is.
GPS Cat Trackers and the Science of Where Your Cat Actually Goes
GPS cat trackers explained: how the hardware really works, and what tracking studies of 925 pet cats across six countries found about how far cats roam.
Jazz Slang Cat: Why Musicians Call Each Other Cat
Jazz slang cat: the real history of hepcat, Cab Calloway’s 1938 jive dictionary, and the contested West African origin story etymologists keep rejecting.
Cats in Video Games: From Cait Sith to Stray
Cats in video games, from Cait Sith in Final Fantasy VII to Stray: four decades of feline design, real dates, developers and the sales numbers behind them.
Nyan Cat at 15: The Story Behind the Rainbow Pop-Tart
Nyan Cat history at 15: the Tohoku charity livestream, the Vocaloid song, the Russian Blue named Marty, the Warner Bros. lawsuit and the 587,000 dollar GIF.