# Out of curiosity... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2000, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476 "2000-09-25T16:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/1 "2000-09-25T16:54:33Z")
Ever notice a cat (sometimes a dog too) staring out in the distance (usually through the window), then you go to look, to see what it’s staring at and you see nothing. The cat then jumps away to go do something else. Is that cat equivalent of “Ha ha, made you look” ? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/2 "2000-09-25T16:58:03Z")
No; I think it’s a sign that you need to get out more. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/3 "2000-09-25T17:07:58Z")
Was Orion teasing you again? Seriously, I think that cats’ eyes are just designed differently from ours and they pick up movement we can’t detect. There was probably a bug or something in the grass that caught his attention. When it quit moving or flew away, he got bored. I read that cats’ eyes are better at detecting side-to-side motion than up-and-down. Experiment on Orion with a wad of paper on a string and see if there’s a difference in how he tracks it. But don’t get so wound up in it (no pun intended) that you forget to go to the post office 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/4 "2000-09-25T17:16:03Z")
My home office is a small room with glass doors just off our living room. One night we were watching TV. Our springer puppy Phyllis was lying in front of my office door, as if looking into my office – but the office was completely dark. Suddenly she got agitated and started barking and growling, as if she saw something happening in the office. But how could she? It was completely dark. I went over to investigate and when I got to where I could see the door from her angle, it was obvious – with the darkened room behind it, the glass was acting as a mirror and was reflecting the scene in the living room. She was seeing our reflections in the door and thought someone was in the office. Now I leave a light on in here at night. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/5 "2000-09-25T18:42:52Z")
My dad’s dog barks at his own reflection in the water bowl. You’d think the water jumped up and bit his nose or something. ---
**Author:** ![orion007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@orion007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orion007)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/6 "2000-09-25T18:59:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gr8Kat \* > **Was Orion teasing you again?** What did I do? Or is there another Orion somewhere? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/7 "2000-09-25T19:58:36Z")
This reminded me of the lyrics of one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite songwriters: [Everything reminds me of my dog](http://www.smoe.org/nbh/albums/bbtblyrics.html#Everything%20reminds%20me%20of%20my%20dog) By Jane Siberry . . . . . . . . . . It’s like when we go for a walk to get the Sunday paper I stand there and read the headlines, he reads the wind. Sometimes he hits a funny smell, and laughs, I hate it when he does that: I feel so dumb! “What? What?” I say Everything reminds me of my dog– beautiful things– sunsets remind me of my dog (Gina, go to your window). Einstein reminds me of me dog: I wanna pat his fluffy head. This whole world reminds me of my dog; my dog reminds me of this whole world. Do I remind you of a dog? (thump thump) I do? (thump thump thump thump) Skyscrapers remind me of my dog, sitting in the tall grass waiting for a rabbit. Guys in red cameros too (it’s gettin’ to be a habit). Artists remind me of my dog: staking out their originality on the nearest tree. Old folks remind me of my dog; my dog reminds old folks of their dogs (Barfy, Ruffo, Beanhead. Gina says I remind her of my dog, the way that I just did that. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/8 "2000-09-25T21:54:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by orion007 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Gr8Kat \* > > **Was Orion teasing you again?** > > What did I do? Or is there another Orion somewhere? 😕 \*\* LOL! Orion is also the name of our cat! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/9 "2000-09-25T22:04:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\*No; I think it’s a sign that you need to get out more. \*\* It’s not like this happens to me on a regular basis. I’ve just noticed this off and on over the years. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/10 "2000-09-25T22:25:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\*. . . It’s not like this happens to me on a regular basis. I’ve just noticed this off and on over the years. \*\* Sorry, Joel, I was just kitting. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/11 "2000-09-25T22:57:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > This reminded me of the lyrics of one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite songwriters: > > [Everything reminds me of my dog](http://www.smoe.org/nbh/albums/bbtblyrics.html#Everything%20reminds%20me%20of%20my%20dog) > > By Jane Siberry You might want to track down a copy of “Everything Reminds Me of My Therapist” by Nancy Tucker. ---
**Author:** ![orion007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@orion007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orion007)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/12 "2000-09-25T23:11:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gr8Kat > > LOL! Orion is also the name of our cat! 🙂 \*\* Hehe, woops… 😃 I feel stupid now. :: Ducks and runs:: ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-curiosity/34476/13 "2000-09-28T16:40:14Z")
Speaking of poetry and pets, there’s a great poem I’d like to see again. It was read by Garrison Keillor on the Writer’s Almanac one morning, called “Catlight.” Anyone ever hear of it? The only line I can remember is: “…her skull, like a kneecap…”