I admit I like LOL Cats (and today is, after all, Caturday). They’re funny. And sometimes they’re scientific.
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I don’t know if they steal gravity, but they certainly occupy space (right where you want sit). At least they heat it. Must be Hawking entropy.
If you went to BadAstronomy.com and found yourself here, never fear: the BA Blog has moved to its new home at Discover Blogs. The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking and all that) is still online, too.
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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"Reading this book is like getting punched in the face by Carl Sagan. Frightening, but oddly exhilarating."
-- Daniel H. Wilson, author of How to Survive a Robot Uprising
DISCOVERmagazine.com: Latest Articles on Space DISCOVER Blogs: The Loom
November 15th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Clearly, they are the true currency of the internet.
Also, I miss my kitty. ;_;
November 15th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Schrödinger’s black hole?
November 15th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Black Hole Cat -
- makz grabity (shovz mess)
- takz charge
- ownz spin (wen dropd)
Ah up, al propites ov “Cat Hair” theorim in evidnz.
November 15th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Apparently, black LOLs:
— DO have hair and
— at least one ear.
November 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Yeah, that one was in my inbox this morning. Thought of you when I saw it. Love LOLCats!
November 15th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Black hole cats must give one million times more bad luck than the normal ones. ^_^
November 15th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Dang! I thought the LHC was down.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
No, the same amount of bad luck, just in a much smaller space.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Proof of a fuzzy event horizon! Nice accretion disk as well.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
…the fact that it almost makes a perfect circle is what intrigues me.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Hawking entropy? I suppose that’s nicer than seeing a black hole Hawking up a Hairball…
November 15th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Purring
Warm and dry
Steal the gravity
Tired friend
Black hole cat
Won’t you come
And lick away the rain
November 15th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Large Hadron Catlider
Steelin’ ur sleeps.
November 15th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Thats way to funny! haha
November 15th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
…Heh heh heh. Click my name – it leads to the Livejournal lolscience comm *grin*
November 15th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Here’s more Death From The Skies on this Caturday:
http://i33.tinypic.com/luqdj.jpg
November 15th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Click my name for another funny lolsciencecat.
November 15th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I can’t believe nobody has mentioned The Infinite Cat Project.
Click on my name the link
November 15th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Re-posted from The Infinite Cat Project:
How To Give a Cat A Pill
Cradle cat as if holding a baby. Gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop in the pill.
Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Repeat process.
Retrieve cat from bedroom. Take new pill, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly. Force open the jaws and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees. Hold front and rear paws, force wooden ruler into mouth, drop pill down ruler.
Retrieve cat from curtain rail and get another pill. Make note to repair curtains. Sweep up broken vase. Wrap cat in towel. Put pill in one end of drinking straw, force cat’s mouth open with pencil, and blow down straw.
Check label to make sure pill is not harmful to humans. Drink one beer to take away taste of pill. Apply Band-Aid to spouse’s forearm and remove blood from carpet.
Retrieve cat from neighbour’s shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door on to neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
Fetch screwdriver from garage and replace cupboard door. Drink another beer. Apply cold compress to cheek. Throw away T-shirt and fetch another from bedroom.
Call fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree. Take last pill. Tie the cat’s front paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Fetch heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth, followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour two pints of water down throat.
Get spouse to drive you to A & E. Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call in at furniture shop on the way home to order new dining table.
How to Give a Dog a Pill: Wrap it in bacon.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your sub-vocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents,
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
Oh Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array;
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
– Ode to Spot
November 15th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Okay, after that I defer to the Infinite Cat Project
:p
November 15th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Black Hole Cat
Stealin ALL your cheezburgers!
November 15th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Overdone…Maybe, But check out Simons Cat on Youtube
November 15th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I too have a fond weakness for the LOLcats. Being a cat person and all even. I am a servant to three of them in my household!
November 15th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Oh, another science related one: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/07/20/funny-pictures-wunderz-how-you-liekz-it/
November 15th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
The Laws of Cat Physics
Law of Cat Inertia
A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force – such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.
Law of Cat Motion
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.
Law of Cat Magnetism
All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.
Law of Cat Thermodynamics
Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.
Law of Cat Stretching
A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.
Law of Cat Sleeping
All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as
uncomfortable for the people involved, and as comfortable as possible for the cat.
Law of Cat Elongation
A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any counter top
that has anything remotely interesting on it.
Law of Cat Obstruction
A cat must lay on the floor in such a position to obstruct the maximum
amount of human foot traffic.
Law of Cat Acceleration
A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.
Law of Dinner Table Attendance
Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.
Law of Rug Configuration
No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.
Law of Obedience Resistance
A cat’s resistance varies in proportion to a human’s desire for her to do something.
First Law of Energy Conservation
Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will,
therefore, use as little energy as possible.
Second Law of Energy Conservation
Cats also know that energy can only be stored by a lot of napping.
Law of Refrigerator Observation
If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.
Law of Electric Blanket Attraction
Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at the speed of light.
Law of Random Comfort Seeking
A cat will always seek, and usually take over, the most comfortable spot in any given room.
Law of Bag/Box Occupancy
All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.
Law of Cat Embarrassment
A cat’s irritation rises in direct proportion to her embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.
Law of Milk Consumption
A cat will drink his weight in milk, squared, just to show you he can.
Law of Furniture Replacement
A cat’s desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.
Law of Cat Landing
A cat will always land in the softest place possible; often the mid- section of an unsuspecting, reclining human.
Law of Fluid Displacement
A cat immersed in milk will displace her own volume, minus the amount
of milk consumed.
Law of Cat Disinterest
A cat’s interest level will vary in inverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest him.
Law of Pill Rejection
Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy to reach escape velocity.
Law of Cat Composition
A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn’t Matter.
November 16th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Check out this black hole on Youtube. It’s not a cat, but it’s not caturday anymore either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk
November 16th, 2008 at 2:25 am
Nothing wrong with liking LOLCats. It’s a very clever site, and the way it developed its own communal lexicon to the point where people are doing deliberate translations of famous works is brilliant.
From the LOLBible:
Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem.
November 16th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Black Hole Cat -
warpin ur time and space
November 16th, 2008 at 4:36 am
The ear is Hawking Radiation captured in a brief snapshot in time
November 16th, 2008 at 4:43 am
I don’t understand this LOLCat thing. Why do they talk like Samoans?
November 16th, 2008 at 9:13 am
So much for the No Hair Theorem.
November 16th, 2008 at 11:40 am
[...] p.s. this is my cat. [...]
November 16th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Oooh…it’s listening too. Kinda creeps me out.
November 16th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
[...] Sucked into a black LOL | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazinemade me laugh [...]
November 16th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Awww! That is so-oo like my cat Neko – also all black!
I’ll have to wait until she’s curled up and photograph my big fat neko cat for comparison.
Cute.
Also funny & classic!
Thanks Bad Astronomner & LOL cats!
November 16th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
IBY said on November 15th, 2008 at 3:36 pm :
“Black hole cats must give one million times more bad luck than the normal ones.” ^_^
Actually black cats are good luck.
Always have been for me … Same with the number 13 too.
Luck is what you make of it -and seruiously in many places and culturs black ctas are lucky justlike thenumber 13 has no bad connotations elsewhere where as other numbers have negaticve feras and superstitions projected upon them ie. 4 in Japan is like 13 inour culture -although with a smidgin more reason as it is a homonymn (sound-alike for death “shi”)
Anyway folks it has got me wondering – what’s that catty black hole meausere in solar masses eh?
0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001 mass solar or something like it?
Must make it a record low-mass black hole!!
A Hawking micro-black hole perhaps – or maybe a Schrodinger one?
PS. We can’t create the dot-in-a circle solar symbol thingy here in any way can we folks?
November 16th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Incidentally ‘Neko’ means cat in Nihongo – Nihongo being Japanese for Japanese.
Just in case anyone was wonderin’ .. 
November 16th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Phil said:
“. . . they certainly occupy space (right where you want sit). At least they heat it.”
Tom (as black as the one in the photo, with even longer hair) doesn’t: he waits until *I* have heated up the spot, then if I get up even briefly, he is there . . . and about as hard to move as a black hole of comparable radius . . .
November 16th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I like the lolscience that Naomi linked to. For instance, think of this as Phil, as a cat, on vacation…
http://community.livejournal.com/lolscience/47350.html
November 17th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Brian Lang: LOL!
As a drummer friend of mine once said,” If you feed a dog, he thinks you’re God. If you feed a cat, it thinks IT’S God and wonders why you gave it cat food when it ordered steak.”
GAry 7
November 18th, 2008 at 8:17 am
I KNEW that a cat would destroy the world!