Cat-turning: the 19th-century scientific cat-dropping craze!
One thing I’ve learn from studying the history of science is that scientists are human beings. Often incredibly weird, weird human beings. For example: in the mid-to-late-1800s, an exciting era in which the foundations of electromagnetic theory were set and the electromagnetic nature of light was discovered, a number of the greatest minds in physics were also preoccupied with a rather different problem.
Dropping cats.
1) Drop a Manx as the moment-arm, er, -tail control.
2) Drop a cat in Vomit Comet free fall. Is the baseline eyes or inner ears?
3) Strap a picee of buttered toast butter side up to cat’s belly, and drop it. Star drive!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8yW5cyXXRc
http://www.etrilobite.com/pictures/lolcatfail.jpg
The Physics Teacher 34(5) 288 (1996)
Scientific American 273(6) 104 (1995)
European Journal of Physics 16(4) 172 (1995)
http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2005/03/episode_28_toy_cars_vs_real_ca.html
http://www.mythbusterstheexhibition.com/science-content/butter-side-up/