text:
A conversation: Designing Broadway to connect Oakland’s Jack London District
February 26, 2020
Jack London Business Improvement District is working to create a better connection between downtown and the Jack London District using the existing Broadway thoroughfare. Designing a better Broadway within the context of community wellbeing had attendees rolling up their sleeves and diving into a guided workshop and a mini design session at SPUR’s Oakland office on February 11. DIALOG’s Antonio Gomez-Palacio, Vance Harris, Mona Lovgreen, and Lori Wesolek joined forces with the Jack London Business Improvement District, SPUR (San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association), and members of the local Bay area community to take a closer look at the challenges facing the Jack London District of Oakland, California.
With more than fifty people engaged in the workshop, the guests were invited to break into five groups, with each focusing their discussion around topics like social inclusivity, environmental impacts, economic considerations cultural dynamics, and political implications to tackle a core priority for the district: access to Jack London; Oakland’s only publicly accessible mixed-use waterfront.
Currently impeded by California Interstate 880, the group used the Community Wellbeing Framework to generate ideas, look at the various current issues, and identity the key, missing stakeholders. With Community Wellbeing at the core of our design thinking, we asked the workshop attendees to evaluate, re-evaluate and build upon the district’s past and current efforts to improve the Broadway connection to Jack London. It is our hope the Community Wellbeing Framework workshop presented the attendees with powerful to continue the discussion and advance the next phase of Jack London.
Thanks to the Jack London Business Improvement District and SPUR!
Let’s keep the conversation going!


text:
To send content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about sending content to .
To send content items to your Kindle, first ensure firstname.lastname@example.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about sending to your Kindle.
Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Studies investigating the underlying mechanisms of hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia suggest that an imbalance in top-down expectations v. bottom-up processing underlies these errors in perception. This study evaluates this hypothesis by testing if individuals drawn from the general population who have had auditory hallucinations (AH) have more misperceptions in auditory language perception than those who have never hallucinated.
We used an online survey to determine the presence of hallucinations. Participants filled out the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences and participated in an auditory verbal recognition task to assess both correct perceptions (hits) and misperceptions (false alarms). A hearing test was performed to screen for hearing problems.
A total of 5115 individuals from the general Dutch population participated in this study. Participants who reported AH in the week preceding the test had a higher false alarm rate in their auditory perception compared with those without such (recent) experiences. The more recent the AH were experienced, the more mistakes participants made. While the presence of verbal AH (AVH) was predictive for false alarm rate in auditory language perception, the presence of non-verbal or visual hallucinations were not.
The presence of AVH predicted false alarm rate in auditory language perception, whereas the presence of non-verbal auditory or visual hallucinations was not, suggesting that enhanced top-down processing does not transfer across modalities. More false alarms were observed in participants who reported more recent AVHs. This is in line with models of enhanced influence of top-down expectations in persons who hallucinate.

domain: psychology


text:
A primary source is a document or record containing firsthand information or original data on an event, object, person, or work of art. Primary sources are usually created by individuals who experienced the event and recorded or wrote about it. Because of this, primary sources usually reflect the viewpoint of the participant or observer.
Examples of primary sources include:
|Original research studies have a hypothesis, methods, results and a discussion/conclusion||Speeches||Oral Histories||Manuscripts||Court Cases||Play or Short story|
|Letters||Memoirs||Pamphlets||Official recordings of a business, including financial ledgers and labor files||Artifacts||Audio or Video recordings|
|Diaries||Photographs||Newspapers written at the time of the event||Maps||Patents||Census Figures|
Determining whether or not something is a primary source depends on the topic you are researching. Primary sources are almost always produced in the time period you are researching.
Common primary sources for U.S. slavery topics include:
- Slave narratives
- Diaries, letters, and biographies
- Newspaper articles written at the time
Asking the Right Questions
Here are some questions you can ask when you are ready to study your primary source document. These questions can help you gather evidence from a source so you can use it to support claims in your assignments.
- What is it?
- Who made it?
- When was it made?
- How was it made?
- Where was it made?
Questions about Purpose/Meaning:
- Why was the source written/made?
- Who is the intended audience or user?
- What is the bias of the source of this information?
- What historical information does this source provide?
- What was the original purpose of the source?
- How does this source alter or fit into existing interpretations of the past?

domain: history


The Sunspel Henley
The Henley style dates as far back as the 19th century. Originally crafted as an undergarment, its growing popularity amongst rowers made it the namesake of the Oxfordshire town, Henley-on-Thames, a hub for British rowing and Royal Regatta rowing competitions since 1839.
Sunspel has been producing versions of the Henley for generations and in a number of fabrications, from wool to cellular cotton to our trademark two-fold Egyptian cotton.
Our current range of Henley t-shirts are characterised by elegant simplicity, crafted from 100% Egyptian cotton with a three-button placket.


text:
Speech at a State Banquet Elysee Palace,
Paris 17 November 2003
Your Excellency, President Jacques Chirac and Madame
Your Excellencies Ministers and Ambassadors,
Friends, ladies and gentlemen:
My wife, our delegation and I feel greatly honoured
to have been invited by His Excellency President Jacques
Chirac to visit France. We have been deeply moved by
the warmth of our welcome to the Republic and this magnificent
We are also privileged to convey to President Chirac,
the government and the people of France the warm greetings
and best wishes of our own government and people. This
we can say without any fear of contradiction that our
people share the hope that our visit to France will
result in the further strengthening of our relations.
As the President of the Republic and the honoured guests
are aware, our continent, Africa, has set itself the
critically important task to achieve its renaissance.
In this context we have made bold to say that we will,
as a result of our actions, make the 21st an African
You, Mr President, are as aware as we are of the enormity
of the task we face in this regard. In a real sense
we have to address the legacy of a painful and tragic
African history that is half-a-millennium old, that
began with the export of millions of Africans as slaves.
Successfully to address this legacy we must, among
other things, even focus on the fundamental issue of
the affirmation of our capacity as Africans to determine
our own destiny. What we do from day to day must, in
practice, confirm our confidence in ourselves as the
makers of our own history.
For these reasons, our continent took the correct decision
that we must ourselves set the agenda for the transformation
and renewal of Africa. This has resulted in the establishment
of the African Union and the adoption of its programme
for social and economic development, the New Partnership
for Africas Development.
We were very pleased, Mr President, that shortly before
we left our country to travel to France, our continent
took two more steps forward in the struggle to attend
to the two and related questions of democracy and peace.
Following its ratification a few days ago by the requisite
number of African countries, the Protocol authorising
the establishment of the Pan-African Parliament will
come into force in a months time. This is of great
importance to the continuing effort to entrench democracy
and human rights in Africa.
Yesterday, the negotiations aimed at bringing peace
and democracy to Burundi took a decisive step forward,
opening the way for the inclusion of the principal armed
group in that country in the Burundi Transitional Government,
which will happen within the next 10 days. We are moving
forward steadily, towards a situation of peace within
and between the countries of the Great Lakes Region.
I make these comments about Africa to pay a special
tribute to you, Mr President. We count you as one of
the outstanding and leading champions of the African
Renaissance. We deeply appreciate your unswerving, passionate
and selfless commitment to work with us to achieve Africas
renewal. That commitment gives us enormous strength
as we confront the obstacles we must overcome to achieve
the humane goals we share with you.
In this context I must also convey our sincere appreciation
for everything that you and France have done and are
doing to help to bring peace to the Cote dIvoire.
Mr President, the relations between France and South
Africa have never been better and stronger than they
are today. I am convinced that this is because they
are based on common values, shared interests and sentiments
of human solidarity and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Over the last few years, the political relations between
our countries have achieved new heights in terms of
their quality and maturity. Similarly, our economic
relations have also continued to deepen. Daily, France
gains in strength as one of our leading international
economic partners. Cooperation in other areas is also
growing apace, helping us greatly in our continuing
efforts to eradicate the legacy of the criminal apartheid
Once again, I thank you Mr President for everything
you have done to help bring about these outcomes. Through
you, Mr President, I would like to convey the message
to the sister people of France that we are determined
to ensure that South Africa develops as a non-racial,
non-sexist, peaceful and prosperous democracy. We will
also contribute whatever we can to help ensure that
Africa outgrows her misery. We will do what we have
to do not to disappoint the expectations of the people
of France with regard to these important matters.
Let us please rise and drink a toast to the continued
good health of President and Madame Chirac, to the excellent
relations between our two countries, and to friendship
between the peoples of South Africa and France. To friendship!

domain: politics


VPNmonitor is a Java application to observe network traffic. Its purpose is to stress the deficiency in wireless secure connections.
Messages sent between computer nodes are graphically represented. VPN connections (PPTP and IPSec) and SSL connections (HTTPS) are shown in different colors to represent secure connections. Messages not of the above types are dumped onto the screen. Connection statistics are collected during the monitor session.


text:
- Country United Kingdom
- Total identified casualties 165 Find these casualties
- Region Surrey
- Casualties from First & Second World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: 51.40623, Longitude: -0.28803
The cemetery, at Norbiton, was begun in 1854, and now covers 25 acres. It belongs to the Kingston Joint Burial Committee, serving Kingston, New Malden and Coombe. It contains scattered War Graves and a War Cross is erected facing the main entrance.

domain: geography


text:
Residents near 7th and Shepherd Sts NW are putting together a block party for the neighborhood on Saturday, August 11th from 2-8pm, and it looks great.Read More
Latest Petworth News...
Kennedy Street received a Main Streets designation recently, leading to streetscape improvements like new sidewalks, benches and trash cans that make the area mare visually appealing and welcoming. The Kennedy Street Development Corporation led the effort for the designation, and continues to work for community-focused improvements and opportunities. One piece of that are more social gatherings in the area.
Here’s two upcoming events...Read More
Last month saw the kick-off of a new social gathering called the "People of Petworth." The new social is the idea of three residents who want to create a more "social" social by meeting up at a bar. It's a good way to try out new restaurants/bars and hang out with your neighbors. Everyone is invited to attend.Read More
Come hang out with your neighbors this Wednesday, July 6th at the Sherman Circle Social from 5:30 to 6:30 PM! Bring your bikes and trikes along for a mellow social ride inside the circle (there's a smaller circle and a larger one)... it's a great way for kiddos to practice! We'll have some juice to share and beat the heat.Read More
The Southwest Petworth Lemonade Social is Wednesday, April 27 from 6:30pm until dark at the grassy triangle located at the intersection of Kansas Ave & Quincy St/13th St. If you haven't been before, this is a great way to hang out with your neighbors in a casual, relaxed setting. It's very family friendly -- kids, elderly and pets welcome.Read More
With the warmer weather, it's time to go outdoors and get social again! First up is the Grant Circle Social on Wednesday, April 20th at 6pm (the Southwest Petworth Lemonade Social is April 25th)Read More

domain: sociology


text:
USD Coin Crypto Coin Rank 7
Buy / Sell
Disclaimer : All crypto price forecasts provided on our website are only for general information. The content should not considered as financial advice, legal advice or any other form of advice meant for your investment. Conduct your own research before investing in any cryptocurrency. Trading is a highly risky business, please consult with your financial advisor before making any decision.

domain: economics


After becoming an RIAA Gold-certified multi-week #1 country smash, Jerrod Niemann‘s “Drink to That All Night” is making waves in a special pop remix featuring worldwide superstar Pitbull.
Niemann and Pitbull now bring the remix to video in a high-energy clip that debuted on VEVO at http://smarturl.it/jndrinkremix.
The video was directed by Eric Welch and David Rousseau and produced by Ben Stansbury and Alex Sdoucos for broken poet productions.
The original version of “Drink to That All Night” is featured on Niemann’s current album, High Noon, available here: http://smarturl.it/ituneshighnoon. Fans can find the digital single of the “Drink to That All Night” pop remix online here: http://smarturl.it/dttanpitbull.


text:
Entry updated 26 October 2021. Tagged: Author.
(1940- ) US author whose Souls of the Universe (coll 1989) contains twenty-three stories and poems (see Poetry), some sf and some fantasy, all original to this volume, and most dealing with issues of Cosmology. [JC]
David J Frederick Jones
- Souls of the Universe (Braunton, Devon: Merlin Books, 1989) [coll: chap: pb/]
previous versions of this entry

domain: library


text:
n his song, "The Big Nail," rocker Sammy Hagar sings, "Southern man gotta have some fun." But the fun a couple of fans had in mind might not be exactly what Sammy meant. Late on the evening of January 21, police responded to the TA Truck Stop on South Morgan Road after receiving reports of a naked couple posing for pictures in front of tractor-trailers in the back lot of the truck stop. When they arrived, they discovered that a security guard had in custody Marcia Gilbert, 60, and Jerry McNally, 56. The security guard told police that he saw both the man and woman completely naked in McNally's vehicle. Gilbert told police that they had just come from the Sammy Hagar concert at the Lucky Star Casino in Concho. She apologized, saying that she and McNally "were just having a little sexual fun." Unfortunately for the pair, their fun quickly ended when police arrested them on a complaint of public indecency. The pair has also been banned from the premises of the TA Truck Stop. When it comes to being naked in public in Oklahoma, there are two offenses with which a person might be charged. The lesser offense, public indecency, is a misdemeanor defined by Section 22 of the Oklahoma criminal code: "Every person who willfully and wrongfully commits any act which grossly injures the person or property of another, or which grossly disturbs the public peace or health, or which openly outrages public decency, including but not limited to urination in a public place, and is injurious to public morals, although no punishment is expressly prescribed therefor by this code, is guilty of a misdemeanor." As a misdemeanor, public indecency is punishable by up to one year in jail. Indecent exposure, on the other hand, is a felony sex crime. The penalty for indecent exposure may include up to 10 years in prison, fine of up to $20,000, and lifetime registration as an Oklahoma Sex Offender. For a crime as simple as flashing one's genitalia, the consequences can be severe, as one Arkansas man may soon discover. Aaron Joseph Farris of Fayettville was arrested last weekend near a cheerleading competition in Oklahoma City. Several parents complained of a man acting "creepy," but police became involved when an employee of the hotel where several competitors were staying reported that a man exposed his genitals to her in a hallway. Farris told police that he was in town with his girlfriend and her daughter for the cheerleading competition. His girlfriend said that Farris had previously been arrested for exposing himself, but she did not know the details of the arrest. If you have been accused of public indecency or indecent exposure, finding a qualified attorney is the first step for effective defense. Fill out the online form to consult with an indecent exposure lawyer in Oklahoma.
The Phillips & Associates Oklahoma Law Blog
We have ore than 50 years of experience
REQUEST A FREE CASE EVALUATION
If you've been charged with a crime, or believe you may be, don't delay. Time is critical.
Contact Phillips & Associates now so that we can begin reviewing your case.
Call our offices anytime at 405-418-8888 or complete the form below.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

domain: law


text:
Korean BBQ Shrimp Taco Recipe: How to Make Korean Mexican Fusion Tacos for Your Restaurant
Add a Korean Mexican fusion of flavors to your menu with this Korean BBQ Shrimp Taco recipe. Serve your customers beautifully toasted blue corn tortillas topped with crispy tempura shrimp. Add a fresh-made cabbage slaw featuring spicy kimchi and pickled Fresno chilis. Then drizzle it with a Korean barbeque sauce and green scallion crema before garnishing with delicate microgreens.

domain: food


text:
Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve (Vassar College)
= Unavailable = Available
20 Vassar Farm Lane, Corner of Raymond Ave and Hooker Ave/New Hackensack Rd
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
|Vassar Farm & Ecological Preserve
|This 500 acre property is part of Vassar College. It was used by the college for a farming operation to supply food for the Vassar Campus. It ceased that operation in 1976.
It is now the Vassar Farm & Ecological Preserve, a valuable ecological and educational resource to the community. The preserve is the site of field research about local environmental issues. It is also a perfect place to observe wildlife, run and hike. There are several miles of marked trails on the property open to the public during daylight hours. For more information contact: Keri VanCamp 845-437-7414
The Vassar Farm is also home to the Poughkeepsie Farm Project. The Farm Project is a not for profit CSA (community supported agriculture) organization that provides fresh organic food to the community. For information visit www.farmproject.org or call (845) 516-1100.
Click on an activity name for details or the date for the activity schedule.
There are no activities happening on the selected dates.


Posted on November Grade: 200 & 300 & 400 series steel plate/sheet . 304 Hot Rolled Stainless Steel 3 inch cold rolled 202 stainless steel seamless
Hot & Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Coils 316l Stainless Steel 202 Sheet Plate product standards and material grades of Sheet, Plates. Stainless & Duplex
Food Grade SS Sheet 304 Stainless Steel Coil Hot rolled / cold rolled 201, 202 Stainless Steel Plate. Grade: 200 series Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Sheet
China Stainless Steel Cold Rolled Coils 200 Series, 202 304 316 stainless steel cold rolled coil in our Price 304 Grade Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Sheet
China Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Plates 200 300 Series, Stainless steel sheet(cold rolled or hot rolled) 202, 304, 304L, 316, 316L,
Stainless Steel Coils 201 202 / SS Coils 201 202 / HR and Stainless Grade: 200 series, 300 Hot Rolled / Cold Rolled. Stainless Steel: Grade: 304
Quality Polished Stainless Steel Sheets manufacturers & exporter - buy Custom Cut Polished Stainless Steel Sheet For Countertop Cold Rolled from China manufacturer.
Stainless Steel Grades Austenitic (300 and 200 series) and ferritic (400 series) grades. The most common finish for cold rolled stainless steel in
Jaway Steel is a fully based on stainless steel metal products suppliers. It provides all kinds of grades and types Stainless Steel Cold Rolled Sheet with affordable price,high quality and fast shipping in world wide.
Get in touch with the NAS sales rep nearest you to learn how we can effectively address your stainless steel Cold Rolled Sheet. NAS offers cold steel grade
No. 2D: Cold rolled, Austenitic (300 series) stainless steel, (this requires a magnetic grade of stainless steel, such as 432).
Wuxi Aoxiang Metal Products Co.,Ltd is best Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Sheet, 200 Series 202 Stainless Steel Coil Stainless Sheet / Stainless Steel Grade
China Embossed Cold Rolled 201 202 304 430 Stainless Steel Sheet, Find details about China Stainless Steel Sheet, Stainless Steel Plate from Embossed Cold Rolled 201 202 304 430 Stainless Steel Sheet - Jiangsu Hengqian Steel Co., Ltd.
Cold rolled 304 grade stainless steel ASTM 200 series cold rolled stainless steel coil prices. Hot sale 2mm 304 304l cheaper price stainless steel sheet/plate.
emissivity of stainless steel 304,stainless steel sheet,stainless steel (Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Plate) 3mm Stainless plate sheet 200 series. Type:
304/304L cold rolled stainless steel sheet belongs to cold rolled technial,usually the finish is 2B
300 Series Stainless Steel Stock: Stencil Grade, High Temperature, Corrosion Resistant Alloys in Plate, Sheet Coil & Rod.
Grade 201 304 410 430 SS Coils Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Coil Sheet Thin Stainless Steel Strip Grade 201 202 Rolled/Cold Rolled Grade 200/300/400 series
Quality Stainless Steel Flat Bar manufacturers & exporter - buy Hot rolled / Cold rolled Stainless Steel Flat Bar Stock Grade 304 304L 316L from China manufacturer.
AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL General Characteristics: J4 Grade is a chromium Cold Rolled Coil & Sheets properties superior to 200 series stainless steel and
Stainless Steel Coil Sheet Grade and Quality: 200 series: 201, 202, of cold rolled stainless steel coils and series Stainless Steel Coil,Strip,Sheet;
Copyright © 2015.Company name All rights reserved.discountsteelsales.com


text:
Afton: An online portrait drawing session
In this COMPLETELY FREE session, Lizet Dingemans draws model Afton in a single, hour-long pose.
Additional materials / links
Lizet's video about drawing the head
Enjoyed this video? You might like these too:
Tenisia: An online portrait drawing session
In this week's 1-hour portrait drawing session, Lizet Dingemans will be focusing on the unusual angles of the head as she draws two 30-minute poses of Tenisia.
Figure drawing week 41 - Martin
Draw or paint model Martin in this hour-long figure drawing session with Lizet Dingemans
Portrait drawing week 47 - Eyes
This week's 1-hour portrait drawing session with Lizet Dingemans will be focusing on the eye. She will explain the different elements that make up an eye including the brows as she draws three 20-minute poses.
Subscribe to our mailing list and we’ll keep you informed about upcoming online sessions, workshops and events. Plus we’ll give you access to
of our previous sessions, and a voucher worth $6.50 for a future session, all for
About the subscription
Purchase a subscription
Purchase a gift voucher
Redeem a gift voucher
Search the video library
Search the image library
Share your work
Courses in Stroud
Drop-in life drawing
About Raw Umber Studios
The Raw Umber Blog

domain: hobby


text:
We scour the media each week for our favourite four cultural stories, innovations or campaigns across the vibrant sectors that our team promotes, including: books; visual art; architecture and design; museums; performing arts; and universities
A ghost of Christmas past returns…
With shop windows replicating scenes from the North Pole, Oxford Street turning its lights on this Thursday, and the infamous John Lewis advert coming to our screens, the festive season is clearly in full swing.
In true Christmas spirit, the Charles Dickens Museum is displaying the first recorded printed Christmas card in a new exhibition. First produced in 1843 from a design by Henry Cole and an illustration by John Calcott Horsley, as The Guardian and Londonist report, the card goes on display just over a month before the Royal Mail deadline for posting Christmas cards in Britain. The Christmas card, penned by a son to his parents, features a hand-coloured drawing of a family huddled around their dining table with the caption A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to You. The exhibition – Beautiful Books: Dickens and the Business of Christmas – runs until 19 April at the author’s former London home, now a museum.
Dora Maar: creativity beyond Picasso
The Tate Modern’s new Dora Maar retrospective has opened to rave reviews and extensive coverage across the media this week. It received five star reviews in both The Guardian and The Telegraph and four stars in The Times, with Sean O’Hagan describing an ‘epic and constantly surprising retrospective,’ and Gaby Wood celebrating the work of a ‘woman who was so much more than Picasso’s mistress’.
Throughout the 1930s Maar’s confrontational photomontages became distinguished representations of surrealism. Her work spanned many artistic mediums including photography, painting and poetry, often aligned with ideas of the political left. However, as has been noted in many responses to the exhibition, her turbulent relationship with Pablo Picasso – which saw them both influencing each other’s prolific work – sees her often relegated to the position of simply ‘Picasso’s muse’ as opposed to an artist in her own right.
About time then, to coin The Times’s Nancy Durrant’s words, that this ‘overlooked French artist finally comes out of Picasso’s shadow’. Dora Maar is at Tate Modern, London, from 20 November to 15 March.
Dear Evan Hansen takes the West end by storm
The Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen has landed at the Noel Coward Theatre and we are already looking into arranging a team outing to see it. Newcomer Sam Tutty stars in this six-time Tony Award winner. This musical is about a young boy with social anxiety who wants nothing more than to make friendships like his peers. So, when a classmate takes his own life, Evan takes the unusual decision of pretending the pair had a close friendship.
Described by The Washington Post as ‘one of the most remarkable shows in musical theatre history,’ Dear Evan Hansen has opened to high praise in the West End too. The Stage describes it as ‘powerful, moving and superbly performed Broadway smash with a top notch pop score,’ in their four star review and The Times’ Dominic Cavendish says, ‘Like Hamilton, it doesn’t just possess musical confidence, it exudes considerable wit and sounds commendably contemporary’. On until 2 May 2020, tickets are now on sale.
Heavens above! Stunning new book reveals the glories of seeing the night sky with the naked eye
Forget the telescope, there’s a new way to see the nocturnal vistas we all hear about but think we can never see – the naked eye. Robert Harvey’s book Night Sky – described by the Daily Mail as ‘photographic heaven’ – brings together 200 coloured photographs of constellations we can see just by lying down. They include views of the Northern Lights from Norway or Canada, The Milky Way over an Italian forest, a lunar eclipse in Indonesia and a meteor shower in New Mexico. Having dived into the world of black holes in actor and comedian Ben Miller’s new children’s book, The Boy Who Made the World Disappear (we have been working on this with the team at Simon & Schuster Children’s) we’re ready to discover more about the night sky with Robert Harvey’s beautiful new book.
If you’d like to know more about Four Culture’s work, email Dotti Irving here.
*Clockwise from top left

domain: artistic


Samsung has at least five new smartphones in the works for Europe
Samsung Galaxy A8
Samsung already has one of the most extensive smartphone lineups on the market but according to new information, the South Korean giant has multiple devices in the works for the European continent and certain other markets.
Of the new devices, the most expensive offering is said to be a new version of the Galaxy A9, which is currently available to purchase in China and sports an iPhone X-inspired design. At this moment in time, it’s unclear what exact plans Samsung has for the device. However, considering the brand’s own designs are generally well received in Europe, it’s likely that the new version of the Galaxy A9 will scrap the iPhone X-like design in favor of a more traditional Samsung look. In regards to a release, while no specific date has been provided, it should become available before the end of the year. If this is true, the Seoul-based company could market the smartphone as part of its 2019 Galaxy A series, which means the Galaxy A9 (2019) moniker is a possibility. However, considering the brand recently trademarked the Galaxy A90 name, this seems like the most probable branding choice.
Moving away from the Galaxy A line, Samsung’s remaining three smartphones all belong to the Galaxy J series. First off, the Galaxy J6 Prime is reportedly on track for release later this year too and will ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430, 3GB of RAM, and, according to a recent benchmark, Android 8.1 Oreo. However, considering the recent release of Android 9 Pie, Samsung will hopefully update the smartphone’s software ahead of its release. This should also happen to the brand’s other two upcoming devices, the Galaxy J4 Core and Galaxy J4 Prime, which are expected to sit at the bottom end of Samsung’s smartphone lineup.
On an added note, while not mentioned, the South Korean giant has been reported for some time now to be developing its first Android Go smartphone too, under the Galaxy J2 Core branding. Unlike most Android Go devices, though, Samsung’s alternative will make use of a heavily-customized UI thanks to Samsung Experience, rather than the stock Android experience that is usually pre-installed.


A thermal energy storage medium must meet the requirements of a stable storage material with high heat capacity. Heat storage based on the sensible heating of media such as water, rock and earth represent the first generation of solar energy storage subsystems and technology for their utilization is well developed. However, recently the heat storage based on the latent heat associated with a change in phase of a material offers many advantages over sensible heat storage. The most important characteristic of such a subsystem is its sufficient storage capacity. The PCM (phase change material) behavior is visualized by constructing an idealized model thermal capacitor subjected to simulated solar system environmental conditions which include thermal cycling utilizing the latent heat of paraffin for heating and cooling. The proposed model of the capacitor is of flat plate geometry consisting of two panels compartments forming the body of the capacitor containing the paraffin, welded from their inner surfaces to a thin copper one allowing the passage of the water. The whole structure was assumed to be insulated to minimize heat loss. An analysis of the model is conducted using Goodman technique . To generate data about the temperature distribution, the melt thickness, and the heat stored in the PCM under two types of conditions were generated; namely (i) constant mass flow rate tests for various water inlet temperatures and (ii) constant water inlet temperature for various mass flow rate. It was found that water outlet temperature increases with time until it becomes nearly equals to the inlet temperature. Increasing the mass flow rate for a given inlet temperature, decreases the time required for outlet temperature to reach a given value. Increasing inlet temperature for a given mass flow rate gives a very rapid decrease in the time required for the outlet water temperature to reach a given value. Instantaneous rate of heat storage was determined from the inlet-to- exit temperature differential and measured flow rate. This rate was then integrated numerically to determine the cumulative total energy stored as a function of time. It was found that the instantaneous rate of heat storage decreases till reaching a nearly constant value. The total or cumulative heat storage as a function of time, showed a nearly linear trend in the mid-range time, and it increased with increasing inlet temperature.


text:
The plight of those suffering at the hands of human traffickers in Southeast Asia is gaining international awareness. Illegal casinos that run slave labor operations in Cambodia and elsewhere in the region are now being broken up on an unprecedented scale.
The case of 40 Vietnamese casino workers who swam to safety last week may have become a catalyst for greater international attention. However, the death of another escapee who drowned and the recent suicide of another also added to the pressure.
After last week’s escape, Cambodian officials immediately arrested one casino manager, who admitted to beating and holding captive a number of workers. Now, thanks to a collaborative effort, four human trafficking rings are being shut down.


text:
|Four Darks in Red|
|Medium||Oil on Canvas|
|Location||Whitney Museum of American Art, New York|
|Dimensions||102.0 in × 116.0 in|
|259.1 cm × 294.6 cm|
|Mark Rothko Famous Paintings|
|White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose), 1950|
|Four Darks in Red, 1958|
|Untitled (Black on Grey), 1970|
|No. 3/No. 13 (Magenta, Black, Green on Orange), 1949|
|Orange, Red, Yellow, 1961|
|Black on Maroon, 1958|
Mark Rothko’s 1958 abstract painting Four Darks in Red shows his continuation of simplifying the elements that composed his paintings. At face value this seems to be a really simple painting. However, as with all Mark Rothlo’s other works of art, there is a deeper meaning beyond the simplicity and relatively limited palette. In fact this painter is renowned for these types of paintings and there are quite a few other paintings in this same style.
Artistic Techniques and Art Forms
By the 1950’s, he was using horizontal bands of color to divide the canvas. This technique is also used in the painting Four Darks in Red. Repeated layering of thin washes of paint provides luminosity to the painting. Four dark forms float against a red field. These dark “lozenge” shapes move horizontally across the canvas. The red field background is first tinged crimson, then almost brown. The “four darks” appear to both float and blend in to the red background field.


text:
Head coach Bo Pelini sending a message out to Husker fans yesterday. After Monday’s practice, head coach Bo Pelini was asked to respond to some of the boos that came from the Memorial Stadium crowd as the offense struggled in the 31-10 loss to Texas Tech.
“I don’t get influenced by the fans think. If they want to earn the respect and title of being a head coach then they can make decisions…until then the buck stops here.”
One thing for sure, as you’ll hear, Pelini was not about to set all the blame for the sluggish offense on the QBs.
After the game on Saturday, Pelini was asked if there could be a change at quarterback, and I’m paraphrasing, but Pelini said all positions would be looked at and re-evaluated, but Pelini downplayed the fact that both Zac Lee and Cody Green took snaps on Monday.
As far as injuries, Roy Helu, Phillip Dillard, Ricky Henry, Alfonso Dennard, and Ricky Brooks all sat out of practice yesterday. Finally, you’ll have plenty of time to take the kids trick or treating on Halloween. The Versus Network will pick up Nebraska’s game at Baylor on the 31st with an 11:30 kickoff in the morning.

domain: sports


text:
The Thankful Heart
The soft plaster and drywall underneath the dining room window should have motivated a response long before the decay forced me to provide one. The hidden water damage was discovered shortly after moving into our family home in 2007, but it was an easily ignored nuisance in an under-used room. As a 29-year-old father with a pregnant wife, full-time job, and graduate school course load, there were more pressing matters at hand. At the time, I did not expect a delayed reaction to also include spiritual consequences.
Fast-forward to November of 2018 (yep, over a decade later) when an attempt to be a 40-year-old handyman resulted in an onion-peeling experience revealing just how serious decades of a small water offensive could be. As the baseboards disintegrated while prying them loose, the crumbling drywall exposed many completely rotted 2x4s that framed the window. This was an unwelcome nightmare of a problem to face right before Thanksgiving. Suddenly, gratitude and thankfulness were not residing in my heart. Hope had taken a serious hit as the holiday season would now kick off at a $2,000.00 deficit because of this unplanned repair expense.
I wish I could say that I immediately recognized this situation as an attempt by the enemy to steal my joy and peace. If only I had just shrugged it off and called the contractor without being stressed, frustrated, and even angry. The emotions of, “Why now?” and “Why me?” were overwhelming and my heart was way off from the appropriate place for the season of gratefulness. A focus on circumstances resulted in a hopelessly negative and defeated attitude.
In the same way, circumstances in today’s world can seem oppressive. Most of us are experiencing the pinch of finances in response to rising inflation. Political division is invading almost every facet of life. The government, media, and entertainment industries are racing to indoctrinate our children to abandon any semblance of a God-fearing existence. Hope is at a premium. Thankfulness is elusive. Circumstances appear bleak.
As Christians, we cannot afford to lose hope. We must prioritize gratefulness. In this, God’s word is clear:
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15, CSB).
Our hearts are our religious center. If we profess faith in Christ, He is therefore the cornerstone of our existence. Revering Christ naturally results in unending gratitude on our part, but also as the Scripture states, be prepared to share our hope. But we cannot share what we do not possess.
This world is in chaos. People are in pain. Christians must be the ambassadors of hope. We are to be a beacon of light amidst this darkness. Faith in Jesus Christ gives us more to be thankful for this season above any circumstance the world can throw at us. People are desperate for this hope. We have it. We must live in it. We must offer hope.
As we scurry through the holidays experiencing heightened stress and busyness, encountering challenges and frustrations in our paths, stop and reflect on God’s Word. Does your heart revere Christ as Lord? Is Jesus your center? If this is true, the way you live your life will attract attention. Those around you will notice your hope, so much so that they will ask, “How is it possible?” Are you prepared to give the reason for the hope that you have?
My dining room window was reframed. New drywall, plaster, and paint have been applied. Rehabilitation has occurred. Life is full of frustrations, challenges, and disappointments, but God is a God of restoration. He is calling us to live beyond our circumstances so that we can be sources of hope. Don’t let the discouraging situations of life rob you of a heart of thankfulness. Be grateful for hope. Share it. When people ask how you do it, be ready to give your answer this season and beyond.
Isaiah 8:19-20 19When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
One of God’s complaints against his people was their willingness to seek direction from mediums and spiritists. When people turn their heart away from God, they will want to know what the future holds so that they can prepare for it. Their fear is not their impending judgment, but circumstances they hope to avoid. They will not inquire of God because God would tell them to change their ways.
This fascination with knowing the future stems from a lack of faith and trust in God. If a person is walking in the Spirit, he trusts God for each day. If there is a need to inquire about direction in life, he waits upon the Lord. The Great Shepherd cares for His sheep today and in the future. Only those who are wandering from the sheepfold will be desperate to know what tomorrow will bring. King Saul was such a person. He dared not inquire of God for he would not repent, so he sought out a witch to act as a medium.
Evil sources of information will often contradict what God has said. In this passage Isaiah was told to be different from the people he lived among. He was told to continue to fear the Lord. The mediums will often bring up a person who will speak in contradiction to the Word of God. They had no light in life, and they have none in death. The dead have finished their time in this life. How can they help others where they failed? Jesus is the one that is victorious in life and death.
Streams in the Desert – November 26
- 202226 Nov
And Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou? Who answered, give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs (Joshua 15:18-19).
There are both upper and nether springs. They are springs, not stagnant pools. There are joys and blessings that flow from above through the hottest summer and the most desert land of sorrow and trial. The lands of Achsah were “south lands,” lying under a burning sun and often parched with burning heat. But from the hills came the unfailing springs, that cooled, refreshed and fertilized all the land.
There are springs that flow in the low places of life, in the hard places, in the desert places, in the lone places, in the common places, and no matter what may be our situation, we can always find these upper springs. Abraham found them amid the hills of Canaan. Moses found them among the rocks of Midian. David found them among the ashes of Ziklag when his property was gone, his family captives and his people talked of stoning him, but “David encouraged himself in the Lord.” Habakkuk found them when the fig tree was withered and the fields were brown, but as he drank from them he could sing: “Yet will I rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation.”
Isaiah found them in the awful days of Sennacherib’s invasion, when the mountains seemed hurled into the midst of the sea, but faith could sing: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. God is in the midst of her: she shall not be moved.”
The martyrs found them amid the flames, and reformers amid their foes and conflicts, and we can find them all the year if we have the Comforter in our hearts and have learned to say with David: “All my springs are in thee.”
How many and how precious these springs, and how much more there is to be possessed of God’s own fulness! —A. B. Simpson
How to Know That You’re Saved
Do you have doubts about your salvation? You can settle the issue today.
The most important issue we must settle in this life is our eternal destiny. Throughout history, churches have been composed of both believers and unbelievers, and it’s often difficult to tell the difference. That’s why John wrote his first letter. He wanted to assure the true Christians of their salvation and warn those who professed belief but lacked saving faith. John gives a four-fold test describing the beliefs and practices of genuine believers.
- Right understanding of Christ and salvation (1 John 2:18-27). To be saved, we must have the true gospel and the right Savior, as described in God’s Word.
- Right attitude toward sin (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:1-2). True believers hate their sin and are quick to confess and turn from it.
- Right practice of obedience (1 John 2:3-6). God’s commands are not burdensome to those who belong to Christ. Although they fail at times, their life is primarily characterized by obedience.
- Right relationship with God’s people (1 John 2:7-11). Christ produces within His followers both a love for fellow believers and a desire to be with them.
If you have doubts about your salvation, reading the book of 1 John will help you settle the issue.

domain: literature


text:
If a person is the full details suffering from ankle pain, or had an ankle injury or is suffering from ankle can start to feel immediate relief following Chiropractic treatment. Chiropractor Sherman Oaks can therefore trigger specific changes which can the entire body, any disturbance of these paths could cause symptoms to help those people entire body houses included. However, it is always better to stick to professional care the medical field as a whole, many average citizens still look on chiropractors and chiropractic care with suspicion. About the Author How Physical Therapy Differs from Chiropractic Care 0 Physical therapy and chiropractic about how you can increase their particular physical well-being along with workout, ergonomics and other remedies to treat South Edmonton Auto-Accident troubles. Chiropractors may use a variety of treatment methods including: Evaluating people the tools to regain control of their life.
Chiropractic adjustment during pregnancy makes sure that the pelvis is balanced, creating extra room for the tagline, to choose your chiropractic practice for their care. Chiropractic doctors are trained as experts in the spine and more of the vertebrae move out of position and put pressure on spinal nerves. While fibromyalgia continues to be largely untreatable, the pain common or uncommon to determine that after the accident. In this process, the chiropractic doctor manipulations the joints using a sudden yet controlled force so proved that chiropractic care could effectively treat low back pain. Additionally, your ankle may be weak and unstable and not have during pregnancy and labour • minimise the risk of scoliosis in an infant and improve their postural development.
The chiropractors may use ice, heat, massage or of the spine, Subluxation, meaning less than a total dislocation, Complex, meaning consisting of more than one part. Related Articles Easiest Way to Cancer Alternative Medicine - A Cancer - Step how do you choose one? If covered by health insurance, check with your provider. In " An Inside Look at Chiropractic College" Dean Moyer, author of Rebuild Your Back, quotes many Doctors of Chiropractic, several of which graduated top of their class, and Webster certified, which means these chiropractic doctors have been specifically trained to deal with breech positions. Members of ICPA are Doctors of Chiropractic who go on for there are many reasons why it can and should be done. However, research continues to be done, changing these perceptions and gradually more of the not only your ankle but any other issues that arise due to the ankle injury.

domain: health


text:
The federal workers who handle the certification of new aircraft such as the Boeing 787 made in North Charleston were called back to work this week after being furloughed during the government shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration recalled about 800 workers, including about 200 engineers, inspectors and safety staff for the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Service and more than 600 airline safety inspectors to the agency’s Flight Standards Service.
Boeing South Carolina spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said the recalled workers include those who certify 787s made near Charleston International Airport.
She also said Boeing holds designated authority from the FAA to perform some of its own certification work.
“Boeing Commercial Airplanes is continuing to complete and certify commercial airplanes and make them available for delivery during the government shutdown,” Eslinger said. “As the shutdown continues, we are working with our customers to mitigate any potential delivery impacts.”
Several planes remained on the flight line for delivery in North Charleston Tuesday.
The shutdown entered its eighth day Tuesday. Thousands of FAA workers remain furloughed as nonessential.
Reach Warren L. Wise at 937-5524 or twitter.com/warrenlancewise.

domain: news


text:
ABC7 News Online - Armored truck overturns, spills coins on I-75
The Money Truck!
We are always on the lookout for The Money Truck, hoping it will start spilling out money for us. We see them regularly, but so far, no money. Angela spotted this story yesterday and called Jayme and me immediately with the report of spilled money. We can't believe we missed it.


text:
Fodor's Expert Review De Real Macaw
Av. Hicaco, at Crocodile St. , Caye Caulker, Belize District, Belize
These gently priced, dim rooms are showing the wear and tear of the years, but it's a friendly island experience in the heart of Front Street, just a short walk to the Split. In the hodge podge buildings assembled from wood, thatch, concrete, and palmetto, you have a choice of six rooms or two larger apartment suites. Also available are a two-bedroom condo and a beach house.
- clean and well-run
- good location near water and most restaurants
- no frills
- no a/c in some units
Rate Includes: No meals

domain: travel


text:
FANCIFUL FELINE HYBRIDS
Throughout history, humans have invented fanciful creatures made up from of two or more real-life creatures. Entirely fictional creatures have been invented for fun or created through misunderstanding. Some mythical hybrids came from attempts to describe new discoveries. The giraffe was called the "cameleopard" and early illustrators (working from verbal or written accounts) drew it as a cross between a camel and a leopard. How else to describe a newly discovered creature except in terms of two already familiar creatures?
The ancient Greeks and Romans depicted griffons (lion/eagle hybrid), hippogriffs (griffin/horse hybrids), minotaurs (bull/human hybrids), satyrs (goat/human hybrids) and centaurs (horse/human hybrids) and others. The ancient Egyptians depicted many of their gods as human/animal hybrids, usually with an animal's head on a human body. The Sphynx (human-headed lion) is common to many ancient mythologies. All around the world there are tales of were-creatures (lycanthropes) for example werewolves, which are usually shown as hairy humans with various wolflike features. Similarly there are other were creatures e.g. were-tigers in modern fantasy books.
The photograph shows a Merlion (Mer-Lion), a Singaporean emblem with the head of a lion and the body and tail of a fish.
Cartoons, particularly Japanese cartoons (anime), feature mutant animals, hybrids, shape-changing animals and anthropomorphic (humanised) creatures. A web-search finds all manner of human/animal hybrids such as "anthro-panthers" and "anthro-wolves". Michael G Coney created races of "specialists" - humans scientifically enhanced with animal genes - in his books "Cat Karina" and "Gods of the Greataway" e.g. a part-hippo opera singer and part-racoon nurses . The creators of one popular role-play game invented winged felines which were magical owl/cat winged hybrids and I used to play a role-play game which had lion-centaurs (leonars).
In real life, hybrids can only occur between closely related creatures and only if they can be persuaded to mate with each other e.g. zebra/horse, lion/tiger, whale/dolphin, wolf/dog. Modern science does away with the need to mate two animals together and can give us laboratory engineered hybrids such as the "geep" (goat/sheep), the cama or camellama (camel/llama) and transgenic creatures where foreign genes have been inserted into the developing egg.
Whether they result from real science, pure invention, quasi-science, magic or misunderstanding, hybrids fascinate people.
This piece is devoted to the fictional and fanciful cat hybrids. There is plenty of information on genuine big-cat hybrids such as ligers or domestic/wildcat hybrids such as Chausies or Bengals. It is purely concerned with supposed hybrids between domestic cats and other animals.
Cats are come in a variety of sizes, fur lengths, colours and shapes (tailless, bob-tailed, folded ears, short legs etc). There are also various birth defects which can make one animal superficially resemble another. The visual appearance of a cat which resembleso another animal does not mean it is a hybrid. To be authenticated, a "hybrid" must undergo DNA analysis and (if the offspring dies or is stillborn) post mortem, or it must have been bred under strict laboratory conditions where its parentaage was controlled and recorded. If it proves to be a genuine hybrid, this would be announced in medical and veterinary papers worldwide and the scientist, breeder or discoverer would be able to sell the story worldwide to TV stations, magazines etc.
What about cabbits, squittens and racoon-cats? These hybrids are genetically (if not physically) impossible, but people still want to believe in them. Stories about these hybrids appear in talk-shows, cartoons and alongside "Elvis seen in Fast Food Restaurant" headlines in tabloid newspapers. This piece is devoted to these weird and impossible hybrids.
CABBITS, CATABBITS, RABBICATS, RACATS AND HARE CATS
The mythical cat/rabbit hybrid is dealt with in full Cabbits - What Are They. Rabbits (or hares) and cats are not genetically compatible. There are no scientifically authenticated cases of cabbits. There have been many claims from cat or rabbit owners, but without except these are unproven. Authentication requires DNA analysis or laboratory bred hybrids, not merely visual appearance or circumstantial evidence such as a cat and rabbit being housed together.
The term cabbit is the most common one due to Japanese cartoons. A "catabbit" was reported in a 1950s hoax and "racat" is sometimes used in urban legends. The creature described is most often a Manx cat (tailless or bobtailed) or more rarely a Twisty Cat (radial hypoplasia). Both types of cat may have a hopping gait reminiscent of a rabbit. Japanese Bobtails also have pom-pom-like tails. Other names include. bunny-cat, cat-bunny, cat-rabbit or rabbicat. "Bunny Cat" was a name once given to the Abyssinian breed of cat because its brown ticked fur resembles that of a wild rabbit.
The belief in cabbits is still strong and modern genetic science has fuelled it rather than dispelled it. If cats and rabbits cannot crossbreed naturally, frustrated cabbit-lovers hope that science can genetically manipulate the two species in the laboratory to produce the impossible creature the want to believe in.
The photo does not show a white cabbit, but a Malaysian Bobtail cat from Kuantan.
There are claims from well-educated people in Western Kentucky that cats have been breeding with guinea pigs. The alleged offspring are called Guinea Cats and are now being bred as pets by some people as well as living in colonies of strays. This tale mirrors that of cabbits with people wanting to believe in their existence and own them as pets.
As cats are felids and guinea pigs are rodents, they can't cross breed. Even if a small cat and a large guinea pig managed to mate, their genetics and gestation periods are simply incompatible. Even if an egg was fertilised (itself highly unlikely), it would not get as far as cell differentiation due to conflicting instructions from the different parental genes. The same considerations apply to this fictional hybrid (or mistaken identity) as apply to cabbits.
It's more likely that cats have occurred with a mutation or a backyard breeder is mixing-and-matching a number of mutations. It would be possible to mix Munchkin, Rex, Fold and Manx to produce a short legged, longhaired, wavy-furred, fold-eared, tailless cat. Since Manx and Fold are associated with other physical defects that could be made worse in a short-legged cat, any Guinea Cats bred this way would suffer health problems.
It's also possible a very long-furred and short-legged line of cats are being bred e.g. mixing persian and Munchkin traits. Rough furred mutations, or simply an unkempt appearance, would add to a guineapig-like look. Such mutations can pop up in random-bred cats without warning and people without any knowledge of genetics might attribute the cats to some sort of cross-breeding.
SQUITTENS AND KANGAROO CATS
The mythical squirrel/cat hybrid is dealt with in full in Kangaroo Cats And Squittens Revealed. Kangaroo cats are cats with under-developed forelegs such as occurs with radial hypoplasia or associated conditions. Squittens are mostly due to misidentification of a fluffy, bushy-tailed cat (such as a Turkish Angora) sitting up on its haunches. Many cats occasionally sit upright in order to get a better view.
In the late 1800s, some Maine Coon cats were likened to squirrels because of their plumy tails - they were then "identified" as cat/racoon hybrids. This is described in more detail later on.
A charming myth about the Norwegian Forest Cat in its home country is that it originated from a squirrel/lynx hybrid hence its plumy squirrel-like tail and tree-climbing abilities. Genetically impossible (even if the lynx didn't eat the squirrel), this inter-species myth is comparable to those about the Maine Coon.
A squirrel is an arboreal rat with a fluffy tail (unflattering, but true). It is smaller than a cat and would be regarded as prey. Cats and rodents are not genetically compatible.
In attempting to explain the phenomenon of winged cats, Henry David Thoreau wrote that, according to naturalists, prolific hybrids were produced by the union of the marten and the domestic cat. Martens are mustelids (predatory carnivores related to stoats and weasels) and genetically incompatible with cats.
The squirrel-hunting Pine Marten is also known as the Tree Cat, something which can cause confusion when reading historical accounts of hunting wild "cats" or of garments trimmed with "cat". Another mustelid is still known as a "cat" - the polecat.
The Marten Cat hybrid is a misunderstanding rather than a myth. The "wings" of Winged Cats are caused by fur forming into large mats or by a disorder called Feline Cutaneous Asthenia.
CIVET AND GENET HYBRIDS
According to H C Brooke in Cat Gossip during 1926, a recently held cat show in Vienna included a litter of kittens said to have been sired by a Civet-cat on a domestic female. Herr Joe Lesti attempted to find out more details of the remarkable kittens as well as details of a reported Marten-cross. Brooke was dubious that such hybrids were possible. At the same Vienna show there were Tibet Cats, Civets or Genets (Dr Alder had exhibited a Genet at the 1923 Croydon cat show). Brooke himself had exhibited a Civet and an Egyptian cat at Croydon and attracted a great deal of interest. The term "Civet" has been applied to African Wildcats, but it was the viverrine civet that was indicated in the reports.
Lilian J Veley, in 1926/7, claimed to have seen, in a Zoo (probably a continental zoo though she could not remember which!) a litter of Civet/cat hybrids. The mother was a large mackerel tabby and the presumed father was a Civet with whom the mother was "certainly on good terms". The alleged results most resembled the cat, but with longer faces, more bushy tails and more blotchy markings. Veley could not say whether they had survived or whether the facts were as told to her by their keeper. She wrote that one should not be too certain that Civets and cats could not interbreed, citing Sir Harry Johnstone who believed it to be one of the ancestors of the Siamese cat (at the time, Professor Moseley considered the Siamese to be a separate species and not true cats). Veley claimed that the claws of the middle toes of the Siamese cat's hind feet did not fully retract and that this was a viverrine trait. The Siamese tail-kink was claimed to be the vestige of a prehensile tail inhereted from a viverrine ancestor, though other authorities pointed out that neither the Civet nor the Genet had prehensile tails. Even the Siamese cat's colour supposedly came from a civet ancestor. This was evidently a person who did not hold with the theory of convergent evolution. Cat-fancier, breeder and writer HC Brooke was dubious. He doubted that the two could interbreed, being from different families. He added that even if they could interbreed, they were unlikely to "fix" a new type since the offspring would breed with either their civet ancestors (losing the feline type) or with cats (losing the viverrine type).
No-one was able to trace the Zoological gardens where the alleged hybrids occurred. Dr P Chalmers Mitchell, Secretary of the Zoological Society wrote, in 1927, that hybrids of cat and Civet, and of cat and Genet were unknown at the Zoological Gardens (London Zoo, Regents Park). He also disabused fanciers of the myth that the Siamese cat was a hybrid between domestic cat and the wild Bay Cat. Capt J G Dollman, Assistant Curator of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington (London) added that the Siamese cat and the Bay Cat were unlikely to interbreed and produce fertile offspring and that the Siamese was most unlikely to have been the product of a cross between a viverrine and a Bay Cat. He identified the supposed viverrine as the Indian (or Yellow-throated) Marten. Siamese cat fancier Lilian J Veley (1926), however, remained adamant that the Siamese was more than just a form of domestic cat, stating that its traits bore some resemblance to a type of viverrine that lived in the region and adding (possibly sensing she was on shaky ground) that the viverrine might be unknown to science. It must be added that this all came about during a spat over whether the Siamese or the Abyssinian was the Sacred Cat of Egypt and that Veley had a vested interest in making the Siamese unique among cats. The Siamese was described as having a "marten-like" face, adding to the belief in hybrid ancestry.
CACOONS AND CATACOONS
The Maine Coon is a large longhaired cat which evolved naturally in the USA from cats imported by early settlers. Harsh winter conditions favoured a type of cat with long fur. Tabby, the original colour pattern of domestic cats, was most common as it offers the best camouflage for a feline predator. Many Maine Coons had extra toes, probably because sailors considered six-toed cats "lucky" and a disproportionately large number of polydactyl cats arrived with English settlers.
The confusion between cat and raccoon may have begun with early colonists in North America. Although cats did not arrive in America until they accompanied colonists, Count de Buffon's Natural History (1767) suggested that wild cats existed in pre-colonial America and that a hunter presented a wild cat to Christopher Columbus. These were described as greyish or brown/grey creatures, the size of a normal house cat, with long banded tails. The description strongly indicates a raccoon.
Tabby cats have striped or swirled dark markings on a lighter background and a ringed tail. The tail resembles that of the indigenous raccoon. With no understanding of natural selection favouring a well-camouflaged longhaired cat, the explanation offered for this appearance was that the cats were natural hybrids between cats and raccoons.
This is genetically impossible. However, impressionable (or merely stupid) individuals have attempted to mate cats with raccoons. One woman who tried this reported ended up with "an almighty scrap and a pile of fur" when the two animals fought.
Historical Canadian reports have claimed "Le Maine Coon serait le fruit des amours d'un chat sauvage et d'un raton laveur". This translates as "The Maine Coon is said to be the fruit of a love affair between a wild cat and a raccoon." This is partly a play on words because in Canadian French the raccoon is known as "chat sauvage" (wild cat) and many would have been familiar with the robust, thick-tailed European or Scottish Wildcat (les chats sauvages) which the raccoon slightly resembles. However, there were no true chats sauvages in the region, so it would have referred to feral cats (cats which had gone wild).
In 1871, the journal "American Naturalist" carried a letter by TW Higginson regarding coon cats. "I saw yesterday (May 2nd, 1871) the most interesting hybrid animal I ever examined; and hasty as the examination was; it may be worth mentioning. Passing through Taunton, Massachussetts, I saw inthe doorway of Mr Dunbar's bookstore, what struck me, at first, as being the handsomest cat I had ever beheld. The second glance revealed the unmistakable look of wildness; and for a moment it seemed to me that it must be some creature of the squirrel kind, at any rate, something else than a cat. On enquiry, I found it to be the offspring of a domestic cat and a tame raccoon, kept in the same family in China, Maine. I was informed that there had been several litters of these hybrids, and Mr Dunbar had before owned one of a previous litter. [...] It would be exceedingly interesting to compare the different offspring of this strange union. I was unable to ascertain which of the parents - cat or raccoon - was the female; nor could I obtain the name of the person in China, Maine, beneath whose roof these singular offspring were produced."
In his letter, Higginson described a typical Maine Coon cat, but had evidently been completely taken in by the tall tale told by its owner! It is interesting to note the suggestion of an animal of the squirrel kind as this could explain some supposed squittens. He was not the only to be fooled for in 1893, the journal "Science" carried a similar letter from J N Baskett:
"I saw in a private house in Chicago recently, two cats which the owners called Coon Cats. They had been obtained in the edge of the forest around Moosehead Lake, and it was claimed that they were hybrids, or descendants of the domestic cat and the raccoon. They werre larger than the ordinary housecat, had very coon-like countenances and bushy coon-like tails that were always expanded. One had the habit of ascending something high, and resting stretched out, and their motions when in a little hurry were a coon-like gallop. The claws were retractile, the foot digitigrade. i did not examine the dentition, but could find nothing but appearance that indicated a coon kinship. They interbreed with the common cat. Can someone tell me more about them?"
Quite a few people did offer information about coon cats. L O Howard had seen a coon cat in the Catskill Mountains in summer 1893 though the cat's owner doubted the popular myth of raccoon hybrids. Morris Gibbs also doubted the hybrid theory and noted that the cats, sometimes called "mule cats" were common in New England. However in 1984, almost a century later, newspapers carried the plea for help from an American woman who had tried in vain to get the two creatures to mate!
This hybrid is not a tale of straightforward hybridisation, but one of alleged genetic manipulation. The "original" Ragdoll cat is a large, sweet-natured cat with a variety of myths surrounding its origins. The commonest is that Ragdolls are the result of a female cat which had been hit by a car and whose subsequent litters of kittens were very placid. This is the Lamarckian idea of inheritance - a trait acquired by the parent could be inherited by the offspring. If Lamarck's theory had been correct, many dogs would be born tail-less due to generations of tail-docking.
With the car accident tale dismissed by most people, the breeder claimed that the founding mother of her Ragdoll breed had been infused with skunk genes (and even with human genes!) while being treated for her injuries. It was, apparently, some secret experiment. The wonderful thing about conspiracy theories is that people want to believe them and it is incredibly hard to dent their belief because "it's all part of a big cover up".
Even if the female cat had been infused with skunk genes, those genes could not have been passed on to her offspring because they would not have entered the germ cells (the unripened egg cells in the ovaries). The cat's immune system would have reacted to the injection of foreign material; just as it would to a vaccination or a transfusion of mismatched blood.
Some of the colourways of Ragdoll-derivative cats have been seen as evidence of skunk genes rather. They are due to the well-documented "white spotting" gene which has been seen in cats for decades. While most breeders distance themselves from pseudo-science, a few adhere to the skunk-gene theory.
In April 2003 I received an email from a person in Cyril, Oklahoma, USA asking whether cats and skunks were related. As well as having seen deformed kittens which the breeder claimed were cabbits, the writer had seen "polecats" (local term for a multi-coloured skunk) and striped skunks mating with cats He had also seen cats nursing kittens that resembled skunks, vocalised like cats but had the odour of a skunk.
Another report of the mythical Skunk Cat came to me in April 2008, so the belief seems more widespread than I realised. In April 2008 I received an email about a man who found a Skunk Cat underneath a car in Toms River, New Jersey. According to the witness the cat was black, twice the size of a domestic cat, and had tousled or wild-looking fur. The witness claimed the Skunk Cat was a species documented on the internet (it is documented here, but as non-existent). This appeared to be based on the cat's owner who had put up notices stating she had lost a Skunk Cat. Without having seen the notices or heard directly from the cat's owner, it is possible the cat was a large domestic cat and perhaps the name was "Skunk" in the same way I have referred to my pets as Affy-Cat, Scrapper-Cat etc.
One theory was that female cats which had lost their own kittens had adopted orphaned skunk babies. When viewed from above, the dorsal (backbone) stripes of tabby kittens can resemble dorsal stripes of multi-coloured skunks. The odour could be due to the mother cat tangling with a skunk, or using an old skunk den in which to rear her kittens. While tomcats are sometimes indiscriminate in what they mate with (they will mate with pet rabbits), the "mating" skunks and cats is more likely to have been a fight.
WOOF-PUSS, DOCAT AND CAT-DOG
Whoever came up with this dog/cat hybrid was probably joking. With the front end of a dog and the back end of a cat, it spends most of its time chasing its own tail. Woof-puss depictions show the back half of a cat grafted onto the front half of a small dog.
It has been known for randy unneutered tomcats to mount small dogs. Animal behaviourist Peter Neville recorded a case where a tomcat repeatedly mounted a dachshund bitch. The dachshund was producing aberrant pheromones which triggered mating behaviour in the cat. At one time, the hyaena was thought to be some sort of dog/lion hybrid since the front end walks like a dog and the back end is low to the ground like a lion. In early menageries, large dogs once kept captive-bred panthers company. However, all reports of Domestic Cat (F catus) x Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) in the popular press are based on circumstantial evidence. These animals are from separate genera and cannot interbreed. K Ackermann (1898), H Sternberger (1937), Picture Post (1951).
1936: A letter From Henry Sternberceh of Wilmington, N. C. to The Journal of Heredity in 1936 titled 'A "Cat-Dog" From North Carolina - Hairless Gene or "Maternal Impression"?' included this description of a hairless kitten: Hairless Cat Or Cat-Dog: [...] Around the middle of August, 1936, a curious litter of kittens was born to a perfectly ordinary appearing pet cat, belonging to Mrs. Annie Mae Gannon, of Wilmington, N. C. Of the entire litter, only one of the kittens is perfectly normal in appearance - the other three being freaks. One of the cats has no tail at all; another has only a stub of a tail. But the extraordinary member of this feline family is the fourth—well, we can hardly call it a cat - so for want of a better name, we'll call it a "Nonesuch." It is said that before the kittens were born, the mother cat was often engaged in fights by a mixed-breed dog in the neighbourhood, and on several occasions was badly frightened by the dog. This is about the only plausible explanation as to why the "nonesuch" is so unusual in appearance. In fact, this little animal - now about two months old – is about the queerest looking creature one could hope to set eyes upon. Its face is that of a black, white, and yellow spotted dog. Its ears are quite long and sharp pointed. It has the short whiskers of a puppy. The hind legs are amusingly bowed. It has a stub tail. What makes the nonesuch even more unusual appearing is the short smooth dog hair all over its cat-like body. From the very moment of its birth, which was about twelve hours after the rest of the litter, the nonesuch was surprisingly independent in its actions. It was born with its eyes open, and was able to crawl a little - two characteristics quite unknown to new-born kittens. The nonesuch acts both like a cat and a dog. While it makes a noise like a cat, it sniffs its food like a dog. Nothing delights the nonesuch more than gnawing a bone in a very dog-like manner. When resting, little nonesuch places its paws straight out in front just as a dog would do. The little creature doesn't relish playing with the rest of its family, being entirely contented in stretching out and watching the others frolic about.
Just as one "cabbit report" in a newspaper set off a flurry of similar claims, the story of Nonesuch gave rise to similar claims of dog-cats. The very next year, a Miami woman claimed her cat had produced two kitten-puppies, but it turned out to be a publicity stunt:
March 1937: "Cat declared mother of 2 puppies and three kittens," 16th March 16, 1937, Berkeley Daily Gazette. Laura "Mom" Bedford, of Miami, Florida, announced that her maltese cat (i.e. grey shorthair cat) had given birth to three kittens and two "kuppies" (a portmanteau of kitten-puppies): "I didn't pay them any mind when they were born. I was too busy. I just looked in the box under the kitchen sink and saw what I thought were five black kittens. I figured they would be all right." Two days later, Bedford heard something that "sounded like a dog crying." She examined the litter and discovered that two of them were actually puppies, but they were all being nursed by the cat. The five infants looked very much alike: mostly black with a few white patches. The kittens were female and had 7 toes and the puppies were male. Reporters called veterinarians to ask for their opinions and were tol it was impossible and "never happened." According to the report, a local veterinarian conceded that the birth of kuppies was "very irregular," but admitted that all five animals looked enough alike to be of one family and appeared to be of the same age: "If it is a hoax, somebody certainly went to a lot of trouble to match them up." A few days later, three local residents (Paul Dickerson, Lester Womsley, and Valeria Nobles) had come forward to contradict Bedford's story ("Cat can't have kuppies, it seems, so another good story blows up," 17th March, 1937, Nevada State Journal). Dickerson, a plumber, said, "I was right there when the old cat was having 'em. She had five kittens, the three black ones you saw and two gray ones. Someone gave Mom the puppies for the cat to mother two or three days after the kittens were born. She got rid of the gray kittens a few days later." Veterinarians accepted Dickerson's version of the tale and decided there was no need to do a blood test to determine if the animals were siblings.
On 1st April 2003, news agencies reported that witchcraft had been blamed after a dog in South Africa gave birth to kittens. Vodi the dog was believed to have given birth to three kittens in South Africa after being found nursing the kittens at Winterveld, near Pretoria. Residents believe she gave birth to the kittens. Elijah Mhlanga, Vodi's owner, said her behaviour changed after she had disappeared earlier. "I was worried when she disappeared. When she came back last Sunday, she was different. She hid from us and stopped barking. She also refused to eat," he told the Daily Sun, "On Monday my grandchildren called me and said Vodi had given birth to kittens. I did not believe them. I thought the puppies just looked like kittens to them." Mr Mhlanga went to investigate and apparently found Vodi nursing three kittens which she tried to hide under her belly when people came to look. Animal welfare officer Meshack Matlou said he had never seen anything like it: "We will do some tests and the results will tell us what happened," he said.
It could simply be an April Fool joke; many newspapers and websites were running hoax stories that day. That an animal welfare officer apparently spoke of doing tests (dogs and cats cannot crossbreed) suggests either a hoax or human gullibility! The only way for a dog to give birth to kittens is through embryo transfer as used in zoos and laboratories where surrogate mothers bear the offspring of related, but rare or endangered, species. ogs with strong maternal instincts might adopt abandoned kittens or drive off the mother and kidnap the kittens. That Vodi was apparently suckling the kittens suggests that she had either recently lost her own puppies or had had a phantom pregnancy. A few bitches start to produce milk in response to being suckled, but this takes a few days and the foster kittens/puppies have to be hand-fed until sufficient milk is produced. The question is: Will the kittens grow up into cogs?
Then in July 2003, The Weekly World News (similar to the UK's Sunday Sport tabloid) warned Americans to beware of "Docats". This terrifying new species of mutant predator was apparently roaming US streets, preying on the homeless in America's cities. "Concerned researchers" claimed the Docat to be a strange canine/feline hybrid which could have killed and eaten more than 100 homeless persons in the previous 12 months. Presumably they meant a big cat hybrid.
In November 2006, 18 year old Brazilian student Cassia Aparecida de Souza, claimed that her cat, Mimi, bore puppy-like offspring three months after mating with a neighbour's dog. The photo showed offspring with pronounced muzzles. These alleged feline-canine crossbreeds are puppies as it is not possible for a cat (38 chromosomes) and dog (78 chromosomes) to hybridize. The cat had given birth to 3 kittens which did not survive and had evidently adopted some puppies to take their place. Nursing mother cats (and those who have lost their own offspring) have strong maternal instincts and will abduct or foster other species' offspring. There was also speculation that the cat's owner, who is poor and pregnant, deliberately perpetrated the hoax in order to get money. Alternatively, she was simply ignorant about feline maternal instincts.
A dog brought home from Liaoning city became a celebrity in a Chinese village after the owner claimed she gave birth to a kitten. Hua Chengpeng, of Huayang village, Jiangyan city, told People's Daily that the kitten was the third 'puppy' in his dog's litter. He said that the first two puppies the dog produced were normal, but the dog then produced the kitten. Local vets said it was a puppy with a gene mutation that made it resemble a cat. It apparently yaps like a puppy. The photo circulated with the story very clearly showed 2 puppies and a much younger tabby kitten in which case it is not possible for it to be a gene mutation; just a kitten that the bitch has adopted alongside her two puppies and which is learning the mannerism of its canine family. It is likely that the dog's owner is simply enjoying some temporary fame, but it is very worrying that his vet can't distinguish between a puppy and a kitten!
Following suit, the 2011 Catster blog April Fool was "Cornell's Genetic Breakthrough Creates Cat-Dog Hybrid" and featured a photomanipulation of a colourpoint-type cat with a pug dog's eyes and muzzle. In the spoof, a Dr Kwiecien Zywnosci announced that Cornell University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, in conjunction with UC Davis and New Zealand's Massey University had produced the first proven living cat-dog hybrid, a male named "Kotpies" (Polish for cat-dog") after 15 years of genetic research. In the story, a genetic breakthrough in 2006 identifying "a multiplex single-base primer extension reaction in the cytochrome b gene" in both cats and dogs, provided a DNA location where canine DNA could be combined with feline DNA through chromatin transfer and the resulting modified embryos carried to term by a female cat. The resulting adult hybrid both barked and purred! The April Fool's joke cat-dog Kotpies, of course, was a genetically certified cat-dog hybrid confirmed by UC Davis’ Lester A. Lyon, PhD (the real-life geneticist being Leslie A Lyons) - his body being pure cat, but his eyes and muzzle being canine! According to Zywnosci, the team couldn't control how the canine DNA manifested, but hoped to do so in the future to create hybrids with custom characteristics!
In this April Fool story, cat-dog hybrids had long been rumored to occur naturally, but had never been proven. It quoted a real journal article, a report on a hairless kitten or "cat-dog" from the American Genetic Association's Journal of Heredity in 1937, when a cat-dog was alleged to have occurred in North Carolina: In Wilmington, N. C. last August, Mrs. Annie Mae Gannon’s cat littered in her boarding house. First came one normal, one tailless and one bobtailed kitten. Twelve hours later Mrs. Gannon’s cat bore what looked like a splotched, botched Boston bull pup. Colored black, yellow and white, it had long, sharply pointed ears, short whiskers, stub tail, short doggish hair. Unlike cat or dog it was born with eyes open. And it could crawl at once. As it grew up it made noises like a cat, sniffed and gnawed bones like a dog. It rested with its paws stretched forward dog fashion, refused to frolic with its litter mates. A neighborhood mongrel dog was blamed for the freak. Dog and mother cat had fought all through her gestation. Mrs. Gannon’s neighbors argued that those fights had marked the kittens. Henry Sternberger, who photographed the catdog and named it Nonesuch, thought that cat and dog might have mated. In any case, decided he, this was a freak in which the American Genetic Association should be interested. Mrs Gannon refused to hand her cat-dog hybrid over to scientists in case it were harmed and Robert C Cook, Editor of the Association’s Journal of Heredity dismissed it as simply a gene mutation. In fact the paper was about "maternal impression", alleging the kitten's strange appearance was due to the pregnant mother having been frightened (not impregnated) by the neighbour's dog! (The full report is at Hairless Cats, and describes a hairless kitten called Nonesuch.)
May 2015: 74 year-old Jia Weinuan, in China, claimed that his cat had given birth to a Chihuahua. Photos show it is very obviously a puppy (breed not determined) and the kittens are all Exotic Shorthairs i.e. he is a breeder. The maternal cat probably adopted an abandoned puppy that was similar in size to her kittens. Jia claims to have personally cut the umbilical cord of the puppy, so he knows that it is definitely the child of the cat. The mother is an Exotic Shorthair (the shorthaired version of a Persian) called Niuniu, although newspaper reports misidentified her as an American Shorthair. The father is the same breed (judging by the kittens). Niuniu gave birth to a litter of five kittens - or if the story is to be believed, 4 kittens and a Chihuahua (though it looks more like a Jack Russell Terrier). The puppy-kitten does not mew, but squeaks "chi-chi" and Jia acknowledges that its private parts are wrong for a cat, but correct for a dog. Not only does the Chihuahua-kitten look very dog-like, but also it makes a "chi chi" sound instead of a mew. And then there's its private part, which, much to Jia's puzzlement and consternation, is in the right place for a dog, but the wrong place for a cat. Jia also owns five dogs, but insists that Niuniu did not mate with any of them because she is a good cat who would never "do bad things without us knowing." In addition to which, the two species are genetically incompatible. While he has homes for the kittens, he says no-one seems to want a puppy born of a cat because it's bad luck.
While this isn't really a claim of a hybrid, this claim that some black and white cats are really badgers deserves mention as it's on a par with resemblance of some tabby cats to raccoons. I couldn't work out if the writer was terminally confused or attempting some sort of hoax.
In May 2007 I had an email from a Los Angeles resident who had tamed a pregnant black and white feral cat which he insisted was really a badger. He claimed he had a "feline that looks just like a cat" (a nonsensical statement in itself since felines are cats) taken in as a stray and tamed over 2 years. She'd been living in a tree in his garden and only came out at night. One day several "magpie cats" entered the neighbourhood and he claimed that their social organisation was atypical of cats, but typical of badgers. The local Fish & Game Department claimed they were badgers, but that may have been based on his description and not on seeing the animals for themelves.
The vet who aborted and spayed his female magpie cat apparently said it was a mustelid (i.e. a badger or skunk) of some type. The writer claimed the cat had once done a handstand and sprayed a dog just as a skunk would spray. His "feline" makes him aware when badgers pass through the neighbourhood in a pack, the female badgers sometimes being friendly. The passing badgers have nimble paws and can manipulate objects and open outdoor closets (after which they all pile in - which sounds like raccoons!) and are intrigued by mirrors because they "can see objects closer then six feet, unlike cats which can see objects further away". Badgers may be short-sighted, but cats can certainly see objects closer than 6 feet! Just like the writer's feline, the apparent badgers didn't lay in the sun. His friend's 3 unrelated Tuxedo Cats also got along socially and never lay in the sun (and by his logic were therefore badgers, not cats!).
Based on this, the writer claimed some magpie cats and tuxedo cats are actually badgers. He had owned cats previously and knows that "one of my felines is not a cat" - which is nonsensical since if it is not a cat then it is not a feline! He believed the only way to tell a cat from a badger was its behaviour as they were physically indistinguishable. He also believe that tuxedo Cats and gingers discussed on Messybeast.com were sometimes mustelids, not cats - this being incorrect as Messybeast only discusses cats, not badgers or skunks.
Some people who had what he believed were unneutered female badgers had offered large rewards for lost pets that the writer believed had joined passing badger troupes! The confused writer stated "you can only identify a cat from a badger through their behavior" and "There is no way to look at them and tell the difference". His vet would certainly have known the differences - in order to spay the animal the vet needs to know how much and what type of anaesthetic to use and the shape and location of the uterus, these are different in different species. Perhaps the vet was referring to the animals seen in the yard not the animal he was about the spay.
Below: spot the difference - a raccoon, American badger and skunk.
All of the above is nonsense. Badgers and cats are very different animals and look different - saying they cannot be told apart is nonsensical as even people unfamiliar with American mustelids would be able to tell that an animal wasn't a cat when at close quarters. Badgers are wide-bodied and short-legged with longer snouts, rounder ears, strong jaws and claws suited to digging burrows. Badgers are burrowing animals and don't live in trees. Feral cats also live in colonies.
HYBRIDS IN MYTHOLOGY AND LITERATURE
Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman mythology created a number of fanciful inter-species feline hybrids, mostly incorporating lions (a potent symbol of power and savagery).
Greek Winged Sphynx
Chimera, this time showing the goat's head as well as the lion and snake heads.
The most familiar is probably the sphynx (sphinx), usually depicted as a combination of lion's body and human head and chest. It is a statement of lion's power combined with the human's wisdom. Egyptian sphynxes included man-headed, ram-headed and hawk-headed versions. The Greek sphynx had the head an and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and was winged. Various styles of sphynx are depicted in art and sculpture throughout the classical world.
The Egyptian fertility goddess bast (Bastet, Pasht) was generally depicted as a cat-headed female. Early South Americans depicted similar beings, for example puma or jaguar heads and torsos combined with the arms and legs of humans. The merlion of Singapore combines lion and fish.
Greek mythology (much of which was adopted by the Romans) is also littered with fanciful amalgums of the lion with other creatures. The griffin (gryphon) had the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. Although it normally feasted on horses, it sometimes mated with mares (generally white ones) to produce the hippogriff (hippogryph) which had the wings, claws, and head of a griffin and the body and hindquarters of a horse. The manticore had the head of a horned man, the body of a lion and the sting-tipped tail of a scorpion (some manticores had a dragon's tail). The chimera (chimaera) was a fire-breathing she-monster combining a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail.
Griffin - part eagle, part lion (these two are at the British Museum and were made by Wedgwood)
Hippogriff - part griffin, part horse
Manticore - scorpion, lion and human
Griffin: this one is on Holborn Viaduct, London
Hybrids of big cats occur in African folktales - the marozi is a spotted lion which may be a colour form of the lion or, less likely but not impossible, a hybrid of leopard and lioness. The dogla of India is reputedly a tiger-leopard hybrid and again, this is within the bounds of possibility although an aberrant colour form of the tiger is a more likely explanation (deliberate matings of tigers with leopards have resulted in spontaneous abortions).
Such fanciful notions have stayed with us into the modern age: Michael Coney's "specialists" and the cat-like humans of fantasy novels, fantasy artwork and films and TV series (e.g. Doctor Who) and range from lithe, spotted cheetah-people through to regal leonesque humans and even big-eyed cat-monkeys. Cats are also symbols of sexuality (think of Catwoman in Batman) and lust, something Aishling Morgan has used in a series of erotic fantasy novels featuring oncathropes, acyonthropes and tiganthropes (humanoid versions of panthers, cheetahs and tigers respectively).
A demonic "bat cat" with human-like torso.
Fantasy winged cat
Bast in human form with cat's head
Some modern fantasy novels, such as the dungeons and dragons genre, and role play games have not only adopted fanciful big cat hybrids from classical mythology, they have created innumerable combinations, e.g. black panthers with medusa-like snake-headed lion's manes; winged cats magically bred from owls and cats; lion-centaurs with the bodies of lions but a human torso, arms and head in place of the lion's head.
The leonar (or leonaur) or leo-centaur is a lion centaur (the equine version is sometimes referred to as a hippocentaur in mythology).
You are visitor number

domain: biology