Cat countertop deterrent and the Falling Cat Problem - GIFs and video

[Jon]

Keeping a cat off a countertop with motion-activated air spray. I've found a similar strategy works fine for getting a dog out of my face, even my own dog - just gently blow once toward their face.




Somehow this is related to the cats vs. cucumbers/bananas videos. 2:35 video:

It's not really appropriate to delight in videos of pets injuring themselves. Some may remember the legendary 2009 episode in which the internet vigilante group Anonymous tracked down fourteen-year-old cat abuser Kenny Glenn after he posted videos of himself torturing Dusty the Cat.

However, in this case, the truth is that there's a weird phenomenon (or maybe not a phenomenon, just perfectly normal physics) involving cats' ability to fall long distances without injury. In fact, looking at the data we have, I believe their risk of injury is reduced once they hit terminal velocity. Look what happens when this little guy drops down nine stories -- see him flare out towards the bottom? And then he doesn't exactly limp away after he lands.




I admit I don't fully understand it. And when we don't understand something, there can be only one explanation:




Either that, or something called Cat righting reflex. The physics problem behind it is called the Falling cat problem.




Previously:

Man repeatedly falls into same hole - GIF
Worker catapulted by pallet jack fall - GIF