I totally understand the position of Australia in this. I'm a devoted cat fancier, but they're a real pest to the local fauna there as it is. A hybrid would only drive already endangered species closer to the brink.

On the other hand, I think caracats and savannahs pose as much danger to kids as dogs. I was attacked by dobermans as a child and have had Parson Russell Terriers (Jack Russells) fighting to the death over my lap. Those dogs are made of nothing but pounds per square inch of jaw pressure yet no one ever makes a fuss of their danger to small children. The culture rarely frets over anything more cuddly than the pit bull.

ANY animal we bring into our homes should be supervised around small children. That should go without saying. Cats are no more "predators", hybrid or not, than is man's best friend.

I'd be more surprised if it never happened.

That's the thing about statistics. Statistically speaking, unlikely things should sometimes occur, but people will always impute meaning to things which are meaningless. Which isn't to say that it isn't interesting.

Yeah, I just always assumed that waterspouts were responsible for that frogs and fish nonsense was true until I read the skeptoid article linked above. So it's a little disappointing when Neatorama fails to research these things and set the record straight.

In conclusion: Needs more googling!

That's my city, all right.

@Felixthecat: Yes, what a travesty that someone called something art that you don't like or get. How terrible.

I mean, do you really think the majority of Youtube commenters talk like that to their co workers and family? Of course they don't.

Everyone remembers their childhood fondly, and few of us remember the fifties at all, so this is simply a case of confirmation bias. Every time we see an outburst we think it's the end of freaking civilisation, but it's not.

Yes the comments on Youtube are crap, but this is a function of both the mob mentality and anonymity, not a symptom of a wider illness. The people that I encounter on the street or at work are no different now than they were twenty years ago. Some of them are jerks, some of them are exceedingly polite, but the vast majority of them are nice to people they like, rude to people they don't, and often prickly to everyone on bad days. Also, we don't report on kindness or politeness unless it goes above and beyond reasonable expectations, like buying someone a house, so of course it seems like the world is getting ruder if you just look at the headlines on a bad day.

I hate seeing these articles, because they go back as far as the slow news day. It's just a chance for everyone to pat themselves on the back and say, "Boy, kids sure be crazy these days."

Well get off my lawn, you lazy good for nothing kids! Haven't you got anything better to do than make rain out of sunshine?

I prefer having my own bed. As much as I love my partner, I'm just too selfish.

Great, now I'm going to have to clap like a madwoman to bring her back! You horrible skeptic's killing Tinker Bell! *sob*

Especially when it confirms their biases, Duane. Fat people = stupid, oafish.

It's days like this I sarcastically remark on how great it is to be a human being in this enlightened day and age. I'm not saying we shouldn't be asking these questions, of course, but the response to the most insignificant of data is always so extreme, and so extremely depressing. People are only skeptical when they don't like the results.

Yes the glory days when women were shelved at the age of thirty and men were just too important to serve you coffee.

By the by, part of the reason we call them "flight attendants" these days is because of all the men who serve us peanuts and show us the exits on modern flights. "Stewards" wasn't as catchy, and I'm sure the skirts made it embarrassing for the dudes when they had to go down those inflatable emergency slides.

Really Joe? When?

Ted, I once took a six week old kitten I was fostering to the vet because he'd stopped eating. The little guy was paralyzed, but mobile. The vet X-rayed him and found that there was something very wrong with his insides (I'll spare you the details). In spite of the fact that I was willing to spend anything, she told me flat out that there was nothing I could do.

After they put him down, the vet sent me a card signed by the vet and her assistants to offer condolences. Maybe she and the vet who gave my parents free medications to save a litter we were losing to a major flea infestation when I was a kid were just exceptions.

Pshow!

Vaxjo, check these comments again in an hour.