36 Facts About Cats - mental_floss List Show (Ep.221)

[@TimBowers1950]

the slow blink ... if your cat stares at you with half closed eyes, and slowly squeezes them shut, it's sort of like giving you a hug ~ a non-verbal "i love you" ... also cats vocalize more with humans than with each other ~ they're trying communicate with us

[@AustinTexas6thStreet]

My cat says some crazy stuff!! Also, he's a Tad bit racist!!

[@TimBowers1950]

David Belcher racist? never knew a cat could be! so he doesn't like CATS that have different colored fur? ...or different color people? :-)

[@AlexandriaBonertz]

I love Meredith's little laugh in the background

[@itsFlycatcher]

Just a little addition to the one about cat intelligence- I read an article recently (can't source it, I have no idea where I found it and this is the only sentence that got stuck so take this with a grain of salt), where a researcher said that they suspect that cats are a lot more intelligent than we give them credit for, but they cannot confirm or deny that because cats are too uncooperative as research subjects. I think that's kind of fascinating, it suggests that cats are smart enough to have actually tricked us into thinking they're dumb just so we won't expect them to do things.

[@michaelpesavento8268]

HA! My brother dose the same thing:)

[@clairedrew7335]

my two cats timeshare. They dislike each other, but always share the same area. If one comes in, the other leaves. theyre actually very organized; on the cat tower they have their own sections and everything laid out. i dont know how they do it...

[@nikkkkist]

Oh my God! Really? :-o

[@Prizzlesticks]

One time, my friend's cat had gotten into a fight and needed to go to the vet. The cat was very well-behaved, but visibly stressed, shaking and purring like mad and clinging to us. And shedding. So much frickin' hair. I said to her, "Man, your cat is shedding, like... enough hair to form a second cat." And she said to me, "Well, Pearl, when cats are stressed or under attack, they shed more. That way, when predators bite them, they come away with a mouthful of hair instead of a mouthful of kitty flesh." I was stunned. "Really?!" I exclaimed. And she stared at me very quietly for a moment and said, "Pearl, I made that up on the spot. Jfc, no. I have no idea why cats shed so much other than they can." To this day, I think back on that and feel it is actually pretty believable. Maybe even probable.

[@wizardtim8573]

+Pearl Carol People shed mad amounts of hair while under stress too. However I kind of doubt that it's a defense mechanism on the off chance that a predator bites us on the head.... or elsewhere... -_^

[@St.Linguini_of_Pesto]

@Pearl S great story! And you're a great story teller. Thank you! As a joke, I had collected a small ball of our Marmalade's orange fur (about the size of a doughnut hole) and put atop our Odin's black & white head, like a little orange toupee. I couldn't stop laughing. I came away from that moment having learned one lesson: cats don't think jokes are funny.

[@Trainguyrom]

Here's my mind-blowing question: What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

[@DarthTella]

African or European?

[@michaelpesavento8268]

Niki Groeger MEEP!!

[@stillrabit73]

0.22 meters per wing flap (European )

[@milenasoloduhina1726]

I wish this video never ended... please add about 5000000 facts.

[@jackofallspades98]

John Green is the only human on the internet who can use the terms "ironic" and "literally" correctly in the same sentence. (2:42)

[@stableatroomtemperature4865]

Watching this with my cat asleep on my lap. She is purring and super warm! Although I kind of wish I could have my hand back. She fell asleep with her paws and face in it. She looks so cute when she is asleep! So young, so innocent, so lacking in death stares. No. Wait. She just woke up. Oh, the look!

[@siriushpfan]

Best part of this video was Meredith's small chuckle in the background. Also, cats.

[@Aeonoftherift]

One other surprising factor is that cats, unlike dogs, do require bonding and the prequisite of trust and respect. Dogs are open to literally anything, as long as they get food, water, and care. Cats, will not bond to you directly without understanding you first and knowing your intentions. I can tell many stories about my own, but each cat is very unique in this trait. The many cats that I have met have also shared the same characteristic trait. After some time, quite literally, has become a routine of 'meet, greet and leave' after I get back from work.

[@shadycatz85]

The only reason people think cats are jerks is because they compare them to dogs, who are pretty much slaves. It makes humans uncomfortable that a non-human creature has a complicated mind and refuses to cater to people's needs

[@ChristianMasseyAU]

Have they ever made a video of all their mind blowing facts? I would definitely watch that.

[@leeshajoi]

Waaaaait a second. Alice's cat was named Dinah, not Kitty!

[@shredlessmarmalade]

I was gonna say that!! She makes a massive deal about it in the first book. She's all worried she'd upset the doormouse by talking about "Dinah, our cat"

[@drnasenbaer]

Rosa Cooper-Davies In the beginning of the second book Dinah has kittens, and Alice talks to one of them, calling it Kitty.

[@shadycatz85]

No, not Alice's cat in Alice in Wonderland, her cat in through the looking glass

[@PortooCalia]

I have grown up with cats and I have a theory (based also on stuff I have read).The purring of a cat is healing in some weird way,or simply relaxing and anti-tense and that is why they use it both for pleasure (to relax) and for comforting when sick or in pain.like an auto-massage. :)

[@jarla90]

It says 36 facts in the videotitle but there was only 35 mentioned what I could see in the video?

[@happypasta6]

Maybe they're counting Lyla answering the "mind blowing question"?

[@jarla90]

That wasn't a Q or any facts about cats tho =P

[@MrLeoAtrox]

I count only 34, since Hello Kitty is not a cat.

[@GlowingFog]

The last one is that cats are evil.

[@jarla90]

I own two cats, and would own more if I could, I love them to bits and pieces

[@UltimateMoeps]

I once watched a Dutch children's show about cats and about why they can land on their paws so well, and they also discussed the thing about cats having more chance to survive a high fall. They argued that it was because once the cat is falling at terminal velocity, they relax they little feet-muscles and can absorb the shock better.

[@KunChien]

FINALLY! i allways wondered if there are known animals who are allergic to humans! now i know... and knowing is half the battle!

[@ze_rubenator]

Minor and Major are very common cat names I think, my neighbour's cats are called the Norwegian equivilant Moll and Dur.

[@lynnwayne6132]

Why is the cover art for "The Fault in Our Stars" framed on the wall? Is the John Green listed in the crew the same John Green? It was a GREAT book.

[@iamsamson]

Yes, John Green who wrote the book is they guy talking in the video.

[@rossherndon4548]

Hello, you must be new here! Yes, John Green, the man talking in the video is the same John Green who wrote the Fault in Our Stars as well as other great young adult books. Welcome to Nerdfighteria, please enjoy your stay (you can check out any time you like but you can never leave).

[@meganmyra3401]

My first cat was a grey and white cat named Mr. Bigglesworth. We called him Biggles. He lived for 13 years despite being an outdoor cat w no claws that got into fights at least once a week. I now have a cat named Phantom, who, despite our best efforts to get him to exercise and diet, is still extremely fat.

[@lissfirefly9517]

John Lennon didn't name his cats as weirdly as my parents, "Patty Perfect", "Tommy Two-Balls" Yeah...

[@Jay-ei4cr]

I LOVE CATS! Great episode, John!

[@Rathial]

No mention of how cats were pretty much gods for a lot of ancient cultures?

[@lorenaholbech]

I think that's general knowledge compared to all the other facts they mentioned.

[@rarefishparts8129]

And we wonder who were the first cat people

[@lorenaholbech]

Well, yes. That is the most relevant thing to know at the moment even for me, who doesn't like cats.

[@Arkantos117]

Nope.

[@wacka.]

not sure thats true... if a future civilisation looked back at our generation via the information on datacentre's .. with the amount of cat pictures, they may think the same of us.

[@kevinwilliams9146]

Love the fact they are set up in Indy. Hometown show! Sweet!

[@shakejunkps3]

hello kitty isnt a cat

[@michaelpesavento8268]

Thats right, She's an unstoppable global juggernaut with her eyes on total Domination!

[@sunnyjim6505]

I was about to point that out too! Hello Kitty is a little girl, named Kitty White, and she *has* a cat, but is not, herself, a cat. Of course, she is totally bent on global domination, like my two cats.... :)

[@50ftFrankenstein]

Is she some sort of horrific cat monster? Japan does have quite a reputation when it comes to atomic mutants. They're usually bigger, though.

[@MandiWallar]

Hello Kitty is a 擬人化 (gijinka), a personification or anthropomorphization. Just like Mickey Mouse, he isn't a regular mouse but you wouldn't assume he was a little boy. He has a friend named Goofy who is an anthropomorphization of a dog but he has a pet named Pluto who is an actual dog. Mickey, and Goofy, and Kitty are not people but also not animals because by being half way between the two they can be relatable to all people. As far back as Aesop's Fables people have used this type of story telling it helps insure the story lives on by making it accessible to a wider audience.

[@shakejunkps3]

HitchhikingWhovian I'm pretty sure the company recently straight up said she wasn't a cat. I doubt Disney would deny Micky Mouse was a mouse. “I was corrected - very firmly. That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty.” I think shes British too.

[@Merlin326]

Supposedly the cat purring thing is a healing mechanism. The high frequency of the purrs apparently improves bone density and promotes the healing mechanism, so that might explain why they do it when hurt or giving birth.

[@lordsecrok]

Here’s my mind blowing question: Do all humans perceive colors the same way, for example, I might perceive blue as green to you and likewise, for there is no point of reference outside our own perceptions

[@iamsamson]

No we don't perceive colors the same way. Eyes are made of millions of "color rods". The rods are classed after what color they see. Most people have three kinds of rods (red green blue) which allows us to see all the colors you have ever seen in your life. Dogs and some people with extreme color blindness only have two types of rods, making their vision monochromatic. Some people (mostly women for some reason) have four types. They have way better abilities to differentiate between colors that are close to each other. The peacock mantis shrimp is the most extreme, it has 16 types of rods iirc. There is also a cultural part of colors. We only seperate colors when we need to be able to differentiate. We, as a group, actually have decided to draw arbitrary lines in the color spectrum and call whatever is on either side of the line different colors. Way way back people could not see blue (well they could ofcourse see like, the sky and oceans). In old texts (Homer i think) the skies and the oceans are described as the color of wine. Basically we used to lump red, purple and blue together and call it red. Now we have decided we need to separate them more, so we have.

[@lt3381]

If we see it differently that would be bad for the interior designing industry.

[@marygrove9805]

Dinah is the 🐈s name in Alice’s through the Looking glass not Kitty 🐱

[@Amateur0Visionary]

There's no point of reference for anything outside of our perceptions.

[@xrelaxingpiano]

I never get tired of looking up pictures of Tama. So cute. :D

[@johmjohmy7786]

This video was a-meow-zing!

[@mollyconway6205]

We have a tradition in my house where we name all our male cats after "middle-aged men." So far, we've had Bob, Tom, and Carl. It's lovely.

[@AustinTexas6thStreet]

My cat makes YT videos about random Human Facts!!!

[@joannaross3140]

HAHA When he was talking about cats spending 30-50% of the their days grooming I looked over and my cat was grooming :-)

[@wolinjennie]

Lila is adorable

[@laurap4415]

She is!

[@wolinjennie]

Ikr she is Sooooooooooooooo adorable

[@williamaiello5623]

I have a question: why do I like cats so much?

[@heart0fthedrag0n]

Thoughts of a dog: Wow, these humans offer me food, they pet me, they play with me. They must gods! Thoughts of a cat: Wow, these humans offer me food, they pet me, they play with me. I must be a god!

[@justalyssajoy]

I read an article once that said cats purr to heal themselves! Explains why they do it when they are sick! And it's proven to work! Go cats!

[@InorganicVegan]

"He was literally named 'Buddy'." As opposed to figuratively named "buddy"?

[@BeinDraug]

Literal is actually appropriate in this sentence as he really was named buddy

[@InorganicVegan]

BeinDraug But if there was no way it could've been figurative, then why bother? It's just redundant, like saying ATM machine.

[@Nabend1402]

BeinDraug You could literally put literally in literally every sentence, but it would literally almost always be literally redundant... literally.

[@InorganicVegan]

***** Not any sentence. For example, you shouldn't say, "I'm literally dying" if all anyone did was say a funny joke.

[@Nabend1402]

Diana Peña You literally just blew my mind.

[@LordOfNothingreally]

"DON'T DO IT AT HOME!" scared the shit out of me! Alright John, I won't chuck the cat out the window! geeze!

[@zackwheelhouse3214]

MEWOW!

[@SaoirseWaddingHayes]

Can Lilah please present a whole show?

[@juliankirby9880]

If I was not allergic to cats, I would be soo happy.

[@CelestineTheConfused]

Curse the allergies! :(

[@juliankirby9880]

Curse the varying level of allergens by individual cats!!!!!!!

[@mariella6254]

XxRosieGrlx im allergic to my cats, but I get enormous allergy shots

[@juliankirby9880]

My needle phobia is greater than my desire to have a feline in my life.

[@CelestineTheConfused]

Mariella Winchester Same. Still getting those shots for 2 years and counting. :/

[@coloratura42]

John Green is hugging a cat this is all of my stress-relieving habits in one video YES GOOD.

[@ragnkja]

Where is the 36th fact about cats?

[@GlowingFog]

Cats are evil.

[@michaelpesavento8268]

GlowingFog Shhhhh! They'll hear you!

[@mirandaperry1889]

This has possibly been my favorite one because it is about cats lol

[@Sp3c9000]

Why does youtube not have a

[@MadisonBrunk]

This is what I have been waiting for my entire life.

[@bronzewolf6464]

A little known fact about John Lennon: when he owned Jesus the cat. he used to lean down to him and whisper "I'm bigger than youuuu."

[@melaniebosley]

I actually thought John Green was holding my cat in this video. Alas, he is not, but it did make me very very happy because John Green and my cat are my two favorite things in this world.

[@hannahhick9331]

wait why does john host these any more

[@hereinyourarms18]

Because he's taking time off to spend with family, write, be involved in the filming and promotion of his films. He wasn’t the only host either, Hank often hosted and other youtubers would as well.

[@beakybug]

This was the best. Lila is so cute! I'm just all over this episode.

[@Nicoder6884]

There are only 35 facts in this video, not 36.

[@rickhernandez7666]

He put one in the intro

[@Harshaznintent]

FINALLY! a cat facts video!

[@MrAspentree]

The cats being smart thing is a little misleading, as it doesn't make them exceptionally smart- pigs and dogs for example are still smarter- just smarter than people usually think, as they rarely learn commands not because they can't but because they don't give two shits what people want from them- they don't quite grasp the concept of respect, empathy or love.

[@kyon5867]

He literally just said they are smarter than dogs. 300 million vs 160 million neurons. Also, no animal grasps the concept of respect, empathy, or love. Some of them, like dogs, pay lip service and pretend to respect and love you, but only as long as they think you're watching.

[@MrAspentree]

Kyon 1st of all, the amount of neurons doesn't define intelligence. There are many other factors as well. For example, false killer whales have more than double the neuron count than that of the smartest chimpanzees, but the chimps still outsmart them any day. And btw dogs don't pay lip service; their brain is "wired" to unconditionally love and respect their owner/master due to their biological history. A dog might turn against its master, but it is rare and usually result of bad upbringing. Elephants, whales, and many more do grasp empathy and love. Elephants, for example, will remember their family members and if they die, their family will come visit the place where they died for decades, even if the place bears no other meaning and even if they had never visited it before witnessing, say, their offspring dying there. They have also been witnessed to sacrifice themselves for their relatives or close friends.

[@BeinDraug]

Well there are many ways to be smart cats may not be able to learn tricks from humans as easily as dogs but they are much better at navigating their surroundings, and have a surprisingly good ability to recognize humans they haven't seen in a long time, and a peculiar ability to sense human emotions even if they dont always react. My house mates cat always seems to know when he's leaving whenever he goes home to visit it.

[@Ezullof]

You confuse dressage and intelligence. The fact that cats are very difficult to tame but still live with humans is more a proof of their intelligence, while dogs are just well-trained degenerated wolves (what you call respect, love or anything you want don't exist for a dog.) Also, I see dogs everyday and they are all very stupid, just like if they were machines (= they don't adapt to the situation. If a stranger approaches, he'll bark. If you give him food he'll eat it and be happy. Etc). They act like any trained animal. This is an illusion of intelligence. The cat is very adaptable and has its own character (what you could call a dog's character is just how and how well he's trained).

[@MrAspentree]

Ezullof I'd say that depends on the dog. I remember reading about an intelligence test on various animals testing their memory and capability to understand complex concepts, cause and effect-relations and patterns, where dogs excelled. Cats may be better in some areas, but dogs still have higher IQ points, which we use as the meter for intelligence.

[@Kayl33ta.]

I was really sad until I saw this. Thank you 😸

[@celeste1013]

Omg omg omg !!="(!!!! I drop my cat from my building. it's all a lie...she didn't make it. Why did u make me do this

[@hakuorowitsuarunemitea8708]

I'm having a hard time telling if you're joking or not.

[@celeste1013]

=(

[@emperorpalpatine9841]

But my survived. Maybe your cat was from the obese American variety.

[@TheAndrea263]

No higher than 15 ft you guys

[@Danimal300zx]

jennie wolin The word is spelled bastard.

[@DanielFoland]

Thanks Geico. I'm already a customer, but you should totally keep giving these guys money. John > CGI Gecko

[@Rathial]

In door cats get obese because they never exercise all they do is eat/sleep :p

[@ToriRao]

I kind of have to agree. My indoor cats love to sleep and eat all the time. But they are not obese. They are around 12 pounds.

[@melissaaa801]

My indoor cat gets plenty of exercise playing with the dog. Those two love to rough house!

[@krgrimm]

No it is due to being over fed.

[@bored_person]

Never exercise? You obviously haven't seen my cat after 10 PM.

[@johngensler256]

i think its practically torture not letting your cat outdoor. their so much cooler and better and lifelike when outside. climbing trees catching mice rodents. (mine catches birds and fights racoons and wins) i couldn't imagine what my cat would be like indoor

[@Fetch26291]

Sorry John. Highest building in Indianapolis is the 48-story Chase Tower. Here in Boston the tallest building is the 60-story Hancock Tower.

[@thezionsoho]

this is pandering at its meowst terrible

[@michaelpesavento8268]

No! It's Pandaing to the Cute Cute Litter Lobby.

[@carsonquist2574]

John Green is my favorite guy on Mental Floss!

[@cloudtailrox654]

My cat(who sadly passed away) was ADDICTED to whipped cream. I don't think she could taste it but she LOVED it. I don't know why.

[@CelestineTheConfused]

Probably like eating shaving cream.

[@pygiana16]

I like all the stuff in the background on the wall.

[@kaymarie4851]

This is the sort of Web content I want all the time

[@rileybrown5039]

why is it with some wax that when melted is's see through yet when it's solid you can't see through it?

[@hhairball9]

I'm satisfied with all the hairball info!

[@GaubHefta]

Lyla is so cute! My mind blowing question is, why do scabs itch, which makes you want to scratch it off, when it only opens the wound and leaves a scar?

[@leemurdock5222]

Cats plus John Green....my awesome meter just exploded.

[@misswindy13]

The cat at the train station has two assistant cats?! Too funny.

[@Rainalot]

A six toed cat? Over how many paws? 4? That's a toe and a half per paw!

[@DollSpace]

Aww, kitty! Myew....I love cats... thanks for this cool episode! DFTBA!

[@Hirtenmainaart]

My cat survived a fall from 7th floor with an injury that most probably was not caused by the fall. Incredible animals.

[@jakedowman-french3205]

You say "like" a lot. Once I noticed, I like, couldn't unnotice.

[@CaraScorn]

I love Meredith giggling in the background at her hipster joke.

[@BeinDraug]

I cannot remember where i learnt this so i'm not sure if it is true, but i once heard that the frequency of the vibrations cause by a cats purr can actually stimulate healing particular within the bones. So a cat purring when injured is actually its way of healing faster

[@EltheMura]

In Mexico, a couple of years ago there was a cat that was candidate for mayor...

[@TessaBain]

My cat heard you say cat and came running.

[@cwit89]

Question. why is the colour red used for stop, green for go and yellow for caution on traffic signals?

[@iamsamson]

Green is cultural, yellow is the signal color of choice for human eyes and red is almost always a sign of danger (because, blood, you know).

[@laurasmithart]

it's all just to do with cultural significance. because we have used these colours to represent such things, we now associate it with stop/caution automatically. it's kind of like written language, really everything I've just written means nothing, but because we learn to associate the symbols to have meaning for our language, we read it and gain approximately the same meaning from it.

[@Lordrocky24]

Is is weird that I got more excited about the fact that I recognized Mr. Yuk on the wall than learning cat facts?

[@rorysickles]

I've actually read that a cat's purring promotes all kinda of literal good vibes. The frequency does all sorts of things. Speculation includes improved muscle integrity, prolonged joint integrity, and faster healing response. And that's just in the cats. They can help their human counterparts as well: dailyinfographic.com/the-healing-power-of-cat-purrs-infographic

[@zenfreedom6102]

the purring is actually a helpful way of healing. The frequency they purr at is a frequency that scientist believe helps build muscle and bone density not just because they feel like it

[@SakraNomoko]

One small addition: the study about cats falling from more stories surviving was conducted on cats that were brought to a vet after falling from different heights. It is unknown how many cats died upon impact and, consequently, not brought to a vet, skewing the data.

[@GVXVI]

The hipster crack was too funny! XD

[@ristin59]

Lyla is a beautiful kitty. Cats were once worshiped in Egypt, cats have never forgotten that...

[@laurenreedy7165]

THANK YOU FOR DOING ONE ABOUT CATS! CATS RULE!!

[@deletrious26]

John! when you are gone I get sad:( The other folks are good but you are best!

[@womanek]

Best episode ever!

[@ninanano]

Cats and Jonh Green!!! Yesssss ♥♥♥

[@drewwainacht4674]

Your sound had less reverb and seemed more professional on Crash Course. Just a helpful opinion. Thanks for your content, I enjoy it.

[@jablair51]

There's exactly one building in Indiana taller than 43 stories, the Chase Tower which is 49 stories.

[@Deathbydorfattack]

The "Cats surviving really long falls better than short falls" was actually a case of sample bias. The researchers went to a vet's office and noted from which height the cats being brought in had fallen. Most cats who had fallen from 5 stories high or less were brought in, but cats that fall from more than 5 stories are more likely to die on impact than to survive. Obviously you don't bring a dead cat to a vet so only the comparatively less injured cats were brought to the vet. Then, looking at only the cats brought into the veterinary clinic you'd think they have a higher chance of surviving a longer fall, when really you're looking at a pre-selected sample of cats with the ones that died instantly already selected out. I may have told some parts of this wrong, but that is the gist of it.

[@1234kalmar]

The wikipedia article really stoked my curiosity. Just how far away we are from artifically uplifting cats?

[@sarahstutler5353]

my two favorite things..john green and cats!

[@rae_lh]

I like your giant, framed Mr. Ick sticker. We used to have those all over my house on products that I, as a small child, was not supposed to put in my mouth.

[@joshuahadams]

At least two of these were topics in the most recent Citation Needed series.

[@warriorcatskid003]

I’ve been to Hemingway’s cat house, there are LOTS of cats. Some of them liked me.

[@beckiking414]

If you are in and airplane and it crashes, if you go on top of it and right before you hit the ground jump, will you feel the impact?

[@kaikobrin2726]

Lilia was an amazing dog but she passed away when I was 5 ....... I miss her

[@damon2772nomad]

What year were you at the Bluegrass Festival? I've been there 4 times! It's crazy!

[@kobrashangar1674]

I am sure this has be brought up numerous times but I just watched this for the first time. The fact concerning hello kitty is wrong.The creator has public stated that hello kitty is a human(a little girl) not a cat so I figure John only shared 35 facts and he owes us one ; ) Great show as always.Thank you for all you do

[@shaddayah]

I had a cat that jumped off a 3 story house which of course was the scariest experience ever but miraculously he survived! He was on bed rest for a few days then he was back to normal! took him to vet of course and there weren't even broken bones!