# cat with a sandwich on it's back. What happens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2002, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834 "2002-08-14T13:04:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rickard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rickard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rickard)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/1 "2002-08-14T13:04:07Z")
cats always land on their feet. When you drop a sandwich it always falls with the buttered side down. What really happens if you attach a sandwich (with the buttered side up) to a cats’ back and throw it out from the balcony ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/2 "2002-08-14T13:20:15Z")
The cat lands on its feet. The reason the bread doesn’t fall buttered side down is that it never reaches the ground. You might try the experiment using two cats tied back-to-back. ---
**Author:** ![JBERGES](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@JBERGES](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBERGES)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/3 "2002-08-14T14:08:32Z")
Who butters the outside of a sandwich anyway? Assuming you’re having a butter sandwich, the butter would be on the inside of two pieces of bread. Therefore, this is a trick question. ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/4 "2002-08-14T14:17:29Z")
Rickard, you are using a simplified version of the buttered bread rule. The Parkay Corrolary states that a piece of buttered bread will fall buttered side down on your carpet, yet fall buttered side up on a tile or laminated floor. JBERGES, ever had a grilled cheese sandwich? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/5 "2002-08-14T14:24:57Z")
So when I park my cat on the driveway, why do my kidneys wake up in a bathtubgry full of ice? ---
**Author:** ![JBERGES](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@JBERGES](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBERGES)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/6 "2002-08-14T14:30:51Z")
Grilled cheese is buttered on _both_ sides. Either way it falls is butter side down, so it is not useful in this experiment. Now, I guess we could say we have a half-made grilled cheese, with butter on only one side strapped to the cat… In that case, the cat will notice the sandwich on its back midair, and find a way to eat it, thus removing the paradox. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/7 "2002-08-14T14:47:46Z")
Or a big dog will be standing under the cat/sammich combo and eat them both. What I want to know is what kind of weird person ties a sandwich to a cat? And what kind of cat stands still long enough to have a sandwich tied to it? It’s a silly question. Someone change the subject! Oh yeah - and when I make grilled cheese, I spread mayo on the outside - yum! ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/8 "2002-08-14T14:48:51Z")
Actually, there’s a reason bread always lands butter-side down: [It’s the Universe’s fault](http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rajm/toast.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DougAB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@DougAB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougAB)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/9 "2002-08-14T14:50:00Z")
> [@](#): > > So when I park my cat on the driveway, why do my kidneys wake up in a bathtubgry full of ice? Wow! Two legends in one! I am very impressed! ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Guest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@Second\_Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Guest)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/10 "2002-08-14T15:39:47Z")
We shall soon have _the_ definitive solution to this puzzling problem. I now have my cat sufficiently slathered in butter (OK, so it’s actually I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter–I hope that doesn’t skew the results) and I have a high-speed digital camera set to record Fluffy’s exact position at the moment of impact. I just need to know: From what height should I drop her? A quick reply would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Guest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@Second\_Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Guest)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/11 "2002-08-14T15:41:01Z")
Wait a minute…What’s this piece of bread for? ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/12 "2002-08-14T15:41:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Second Guest \* > \*\*From what height should I drop her? A quick reply would be appreciated. \*\* Standing upright, arms perpendicular to the body. For true scientific results, the process should be repeated with a number of cats, and various types of bread and butter-ish spreads. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/13 "2002-08-14T15:55:20Z")
I just need to point out a previous discussion: [A possible way to keep cats from falling](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=70667&highlight=centipede%2A) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/14 "2002-08-14T15:55:37Z")
I swear Cecil answered this in one of his books. It’s one of the older ones. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-with-a-sandwich-on-its-back-what-happens/123834/15 "2002-08-14T21:56:05Z")
Serious [thought](http://psheldon.rmwc.edu/catsbutt.htm) has already been given to this topic.