Right before the cat his the ground, it begins to spin. Since both conditions (feet down, butter down) cannot be met simultaneously, the cat hovers mere inches above the ground, spinning. A dynamo can be hooked up to harvest this energy.
Years later …
Aye laddie. I was on the force 20 years. Stopped 3 hold-ups single handedly, got shot in my vest once, and delivered four separate babies and a set of twins.
But you rescue one goat and what do they call ye?
Years ago, one of the local TV stations was doing a live report from Pimlico for the Preakness, when they noticed a cat on top of a phone pole. Conversation ensued viz how to get the cat down. Kitty had apparently had enough dicking around, leapt from the pole, spread its appendages like a flying squirrel, coasted to Terra Firma just as smooth as you please, landed without a scratch (it seemed), dusted itself off as cats do and split before it could be interviewed.
CRACKED Magazine’s spoof of The Towering Inferno, joked about OJ Simpson finding the cat in the apartment on the fire floor. I’ll just toss it out the window; cats always land on their feet, he thought. Ulp, not when they’re on the 92nd floor! ::splat::
Around here they do.
And why not?
They’re just sitting around at the Fire station waiting for a call, this will give them something useful to do. And with their radios, they can respond quickly if a higher-priority call gets dispatched to them. They’ll be dispatched in their own area anyway, so not very far away.
Seems a perfectly sensible use of taxpayer resources for a non-emergency task.
Why does everyone always say this? That violates both of the conditions. And there’s nothing that says that both landings have to be simultaneous.
Cecil wrote a relevant column: Do fire departments actually rescue cats from trees? (short answer: sometimes)
And another: Do cats always land unharmed on their feet, no matter how far they fall? (short answer: no, not always)
And another: When toast falls, what’s more likely: Buttered side up or buttered side down? (short answer: it’s probably about 50-50)
I don’t recall that he ever covered the theoretical potential of the CTBPMM (cat-toast-butter perpetual-motion machine).
Because it’s funny?
Although I didn’t make the call, we were dispatched for another life-saving rescue; although this one did not result in a happy family reunion.
It seems there were 12 ducklings swimming away in the apartment complex pool, who could nether fly out yet or otherwise make it over the lip/edge. We were dispatched & arrived on scene in a very expensive apparatus filled with lots of rescue gear for which we have undergone many man hours of training, only to use the complex’s leaf strainer to eventually get them all out & then turn them over to the game warden & eventual rehoming at a sanctuary. Mamma duck flew off to save herself but has been referred to Protective Services for building her nest on the pool deck so close to a body of water they can’t exit on their own. Unless she turns herself in she will probably not see her brood again.
As a volunteer fire co, maybe we should reach out to Mutual of Omaha for a grant; after all, they used to sponsor Wild Kingdom; maybe they’d be interested in reupping for a ‘rescue edition’???
Well done! 
As athletic and graceful as cats are, I’m firmly convinced that many of these rescues are simply attention grabbing on the part of the cats.
Here’s what happens when you strap a piece of buttered toast to a cat’s back:
I suspected as much. What a hoot.
An example of a “funny once” “joke”.
A friend of mine is a tree surgeon and has rescued a few cats in his day. No ladders, just up the tree with his climbing gear.
Many years ago, another friend’s dog chased a goose out onto an only partially frozen small lake and fell through the ice. He was able to make it to a small island in the middle of the lake. But being a doberman without much insulation he refused to swim back. The FD came out with their water rescue kit (inflatable boats and maybe wetsuits) and got him back with no harm.
Either dry suits or dedicated ice rescue suits, both of which keep water out; one doesn’t want to be wearing a wetsuit, which traps the water against your body if the water temp is in the low 30°s. Also, the inflatable was probably a dedicated ice rescue sled which are open with just a thin ‘floor’ in the middle at the end which makes it easier to pull the victim in rather than over the tube. Notice the two ropes on it; once the rescuers recover the victim, the shore-based personnel pull them back across the ice. Given how the ‘victim’ is dressed (dry suit, gloves, PFD, & helmet), this photo is most definitely from a class/training.
Yes, I’m certified in both swift water & ice rescues; however the only ice rescues I’ve been on were class/training scenarios.
Thanks for the info. I remember my friend telling me the FD were happy to get a chance to get the kit out and use it. It’s pretty rare to get iced over ponds or lakes in southern England these days.