The Mystery of a Falling Cat

Imagine that suddenly a white fluffy shape drops down from a tree, and lands right in front of you, standing on four legs. Yes, that is a cat! For years and years, scientists have always wondered the same question: how does a cat twist in midair and land on all fours? Now, the mystery has been solved by a few researchers in Japan at Yamaguchi University. The key to answering this mystery that lasted for over 100 years seems to the be the cat’s spine.

Scientists at Yamaguchi University found out that the forelegs of a cat are always the first to twist. Also, the spine of a cat has more vertebrae than that of humans, and the spaces between the vertebrae of cats are wider, making them more flexible.

The team of researchers followed the lead of Étienne-Jules Marey and how he started his experiment in 1894. The researchers took quick photos of a falling cat, and then formed a slow motion picture which showed the researchers how the cat actually fell. To learn more, the researches then began to examine the bodies of dead cats, and the results were that the front part of the spine is more flexible than the back part. Furthermore, this idea is being proven when they began to study live cats and found out the the front part of the spine twisted three-times faster than the back.

Even though the mystery of how a cat could land on all fours after falling has been solved, scientists still want to learn how cats move by making 3D models. More questions are still waiting to be answered for this problem. Instead of asking the reader directly what their questions are, I would open it up to something more general. After this, you may not look at this adorable animal the same as before.