I think the closest modern analogy would be McCarthyism in the 1950s. People's lives were ruined because others were afraid to defend them from charges of communism, lest they also be accused.
Seriously, the spine near the tail is where a cat needs to be scratched. They can't reach that spot easily, and they really appreciate a scratch there.
The source, Annals of Improbable Research, is a humor magazine. Sort of the science version of Mad magazine. I'm convinced that no cats were harmed in the writing of this article.
When I was a kid, there were less than 10,000 phones in our local calling area, so we only had one exchange. That means we only had to dial four numbers for any local call!
I read an article that said one "unnamed miner" had four women fighting over him... a wife he never got around to divorcing, the mother of his child, a roommate, and a new girlfriend. I told my husband, and he said, "When did he ever find time to work?"
Before someone else mentions this is a duplicate, http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/27/brewing-beer-on-a-boat/ the original post is gone, the link dead, and this is apparently an updated recipe from the same people. So I'm glad you posted it, John!
http://muslimswearingthings.tumblr.com/post/1389040713/first-muslim-woman-in-space-anousheh-ansari-is
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/25733