this is the first entry of my newest series of posts called 'historicalculations'...etymology, language, the origin of old wives tales and urban myths and similar quirky questions have always fascinated me since i was a child. when i hear one of these myths, old sayings, legends and other anomalies that captures my curiosity i will do a little research and present a few possibilities of the quotient and you can add up, multiply, subtract and divide until you decided for yourself the most probable answer....and here it goes...
"Attempts have been made to trace the origin of the common expression back to ancient Egypt. It is often said that Pasht, or Bastet, the cat-headed goddess of Egypt, had nine lives and that this circumstance gave rise to the old saying about a cat having nine lives. Egyptologists, however, say that they have found no evidence for the statement. In fact Bastet, being a goddess, would be regarded as immortal. Nine, however, was a favorite number in Egypt, as well as with other ancient orientals, and it may have somehow been associated with the cat-headed goddess."
"Legend has it that Baldwin III, Count of Ypres, threw some cats from a tower in AD962. The Belgian town still marks the event with an annual cat festival."
During the "Witchhunts" of the medieval period, it was believed that a witch could turn herself into a cat, and then back to her human form. It was believed that she could do this 8 times, but on the ninth time, she would forever be stuck in the cat form.
"A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays." - English/American proverb
The miracles of the middle ages became the science of the 19th century, when the cat's remarkable ability to survive a fall was finally explained. In 1894, the French physiologist Etienne-Jules Marey held a cat upside down by its legs and dropped it. The resultant film, captured by a camera that took 60 images a second, demonstrates how a cat lands on its feet. As the cat falls, an automatic twisting reaction begins and the cat manoeuvres its head, back, legs and tail to lessen the impact. Cats, it seems, have an instinct for physics.
and here's what the smart guys have to say about our feline friends and their tango with immortality...
Nine Lives: Cats' Central Nervous System Can Repair Itself And Restore Function
Where did the phrase
'CATS HAVE NINE LIVES' originate from?
'CATS HAVE NINE LIVES' originate from?
"Attempts have been made to trace the origin of the common expression back to ancient Egypt. It is often said that Pasht, or Bastet, the cat-headed goddess of Egypt, had nine lives and that this circumstance gave rise to the old saying about a cat having nine lives. Egyptologists, however, say that they have found no evidence for the statement. In fact Bastet, being a goddess, would be regarded as immortal. Nine, however, was a favorite number in Egypt, as well as with other ancient orientals, and it may have somehow been associated with the cat-headed goddess."
"Legend has it that Baldwin III, Count of Ypres, threw some cats from a tower in AD962. The Belgian town still marks the event with an annual cat festival."
During the "Witchhunts" of the medieval period, it was believed that a witch could turn herself into a cat, and then back to her human form. It was believed that she could do this 8 times, but on the ninth time, she would forever be stuck in the cat form.
"A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays." - English/American proverb
The miracles of the middle ages became the science of the 19th century, when the cat's remarkable ability to survive a fall was finally explained. In 1894, the French physiologist Etienne-Jules Marey held a cat upside down by its legs and dropped it. The resultant film, captured by a camera that took 60 images a second, demonstrates how a cat lands on its feet. As the cat falls, an automatic twisting reaction begins and the cat manoeuvres its head, back, legs and tail to lessen the impact. Cats, it seems, have an instinct for physics.
and here's what the smart guys have to say about our feline friends and their tango with immortality...
Nine Lives: Cats' Central Nervous System Can Repair Itself And Restore Function
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