Author: Kirstin Fawcett

Norwegian Forest cats are known for their fluffy coats, large builds, and social dispositions. Here are a few other furry facts about the Scandinavian feline. 

1. THEY’RE WARRIOR CATS.

The breed’s origins are a source of mystery. Norwegian Forest cats could be related to black-and-white short-haired cats from Great Britain, which the Vikings used as mousers on their ships. But they might also be descendants of long-haired cats brought to Scandinavia by the Crusaders.

These early relatives roamed Norway’s forests, breeding with feral felines and barn cats. Over the years, they evolved into the large, dense-coated animal we know and love today. 

2. THEY’RE MYTHICAL CREATURES.

Norwegian Forest cats aren’t just any pedestrian pet—they’re the stuff of legend. Norwegian myths tell of the skogkatt, a large, long-haired “mountain-dwelling fairy cat with an ability to climb sheer rock faces that other cats could not manage.” Thanks to their size, coats, and tree-climbing prowess, the Norwegian Forest cat may have served as the real-life inspiration for the skogkatt (which translates to “forest cat”).  

The skogkatt was beloved by Freya, the Norse goddess of love and beauty, who some say traveled in a feline-drawn chariot. And in one Norwegian tale, Thor loses a contest of strength to the tricky god Jormungand, who’s disguised as a skogkatt. Thanks to these legends, some breeders today refer to the Norwegian Forest cat as the “Norse skogkatt.”

3. THEY’RE NORWAY’S NATIONAL CAT.

King Olaf V of Norway designated the Norwegian Forest cat the country’s national cat. No word on whether America will ever gain its own national feline, although it’s likely that Grumpy Cat will vie for the title. 

4. THEY NEARLY BECAME EXTINCT.

Farmers and sailors prized the Norwegian Forest cat for its mousing skills. However, fanciers didn’t start noticing and showing the breed until the 1930s.

During World War II, attention paid toward the Norwegian Forest cat waned, and the breed came dangerously close to becoming extinct thanks to crossbreeding. However, an official breeding program helped preserve the furry cat’s lineage for future generations.

In 1977, the Norwegian Forest cat breed was officially accepted as a recognized breed by the Fédération Internationale Féline. Two years later, the first breeding pair of Norwegian Forest cats arrived in America. And in 1987, the breed was officially accepted by the Cat Fanciers’ Association. 

5. THEY’RE BIG IN EUROPE.

While Norwegian Forest cats don’t crack the top 10 most popular cat breeds in America, they do have a legion of loyal fans in Europe. It’s not surprising that the breed is well-loved in—you guessed it—Scandinavia. (In fact, Norwegian Forest cats are nicknamed “Wegies,” which is short for “Norwegians.”) They’re also popular in France.

6. THEY’RE HUGE.

Norwegian Forest cats are way larger than most cats—and some small dogs, for that matter. Typical male Norwegian Forest cats can range anywhere from 13 to 22 pounds.

7. THEY HAVE BUILT-IN WINTER CLOTHES.

Although Norwegian Forest cats can be any color or pattern, they do have one thing in common: a long, double-layered coat that repels water. (They also have tufted ears and toes, which work like built-in earmuffs and boots.) These handy physical traits helped the breed survive snowy Scandinavian winters.

8. THEY’RE PRONE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS.

Sadly, Norwegian Forest cats aren’t as hardy as their ancient Viking owners. They’re prone to hereditary heart problems, hip dysplasia, and a condition called glycogen storage disease type IV, which causes a harmful build-up of a complex sugar called glycogen in the body’s cells. 

9. THEY’RE RELATED TO MAINE COONS.

With their big bodies and bushy tails, the Maine Coon and the Norwegian Forest cat look like cousins. Appearances aren’t deceiving. Genetic testing indicates that the Maine Coon is descendent of both the Norwegian Forest Cat and an unknown—and now-extinct—domestic breed.

Can’t tell the two apart? Look at their features. Norwegian Forest cats have a triangle-shaped face, whereas Maine Coons have a wedge-shaped head with high cheekbones. 

10. THEY’RE GREAT TREE-CLIMBERS.

Ever seen a cat run down a tree headfirst? If you have, it was most likely a Norwegian Forest cat. The cats have sturdier claws than most breeds, allowing them to achieve impressive climbing feats.

Many old pictures of Dorothy Parker feature the celebrated writer and wit clad in a luxurious mink coat. Parker—who was a part-time resident of rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania—purchased the coat from a Philadelphia furrier sometime around World War II. The glamorous garment hung down to Parker’s shins, and her cursive signature was even embroidered into its lining.

After Parker died, the coat was sold; currently, it belongs to a private collector. To mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of Parker’s June 7, 1967 death, Kevin Fitzpatrick—president of the Dorothy Parker Society, a group that promotes the late author’s work and legacy—has launched a Kickstarter campaign to purchase Parker’s mink and have it professionally cleaned and stored. He hopes to bring the coat back to Manhattan’s Algonquin Hotel (where Parker was a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table) on special occasions, and to use it to raise money for charity.

Fitzpatrick is offering the ultimate prize to donors who contribute $50 or more: the chance to actually wear Parker’s coat.

“If you’re in the Jane Austen Society, and they had anything Jane wore, do you think anyone would let you touch it, much less wear it around New York? I don’t think so,” Fitzpatrick jokes in a Kickstarter video.

Pledge $50, and you can try on the mink and take selfies in front of the Algonquin’s storied Round Table. $100 or more gets you a professional photo shoot of yourself wearing the coat in front of the Algonquin Hotel. And Parker fans who donate $250, $500, or $1000 can don the mink while enjoying a night out on the town. (The more you pay, the longer you get to wear it.)

The Kickstarter campaign has already met its goal, but you can still contribute (and score the chance to wear Parker’s mink) until March 1, 2017.

Biologist Anthony Ambrose climbs the world’s largest trees, but he doesn’t do it for the endorphin rush. The University of California-Berkeley researcher studies how drought and climate change affect forest ecosystems—and right now, he’s concerned about how the state’s sequoia trees are faring under California’s ongoing drought.

Ambrose and his team of researchers check on the trees by measuring their water status, a.k.a. how much water is available for them to continue to function and grow. To do this, the biologist needs to take samples from the trees’ crowns, so he scales the 300-foot sequoias in the name of science.

“As water moves up the tree it’s fighting gravity and friction and the top of the tree is going to be the most stressed part of the tree. So in order to get a really good idea of how stressed they are, we need to go to the tippy top,” Ambrose explains.

Learn more about Ambrose’s research in the video above, courtesy of Great Big Story.

[h/t Great Big Story]

Banner image: iStock

Marriage can be a bumpy road, but Megabus wants to give one lucky couple a smooth start by awarding them a free wedding. The discount travel company’s new “Marry Me On A Megabus” sweepstakes provides winners with an all-expenses-paid ceremony aboard a bus, along with two round-trip tickets for the honeymoon and $2500 in cash.

For most people, buses don’t exactly scream “romance.” But according to Sean Hughes, Megabus’s director of public affairs, they often serve as a vehicle for lasting love.

“Over the past 10 years, we have loved hearing about couples that have met on a Megabus or used megabus.com to travel to see their long-distance loves,” Hughes said in a news release. “It’s a pleasure to play Cupid and be a part of so many people’s love life.”

Touching anecdotes aside, all couples—not just far-flung sweethearts—are invited to enter Megabus’s giveaway until February 21, either through the company’s Facebook page or an online form. Submit the story of how you met, and why exactly you want to be married on a Megabus. (The giveaway’s perks—which, in addition to a paid honeymoon, include free music, flowers, and an officiant; and complimentary transportation to and from the ceremony—probably don’t count toward your answer.)

The winning duo will be announced on social media on March 15, 2017; they can select a wedding destination from more than 100 cities. Interested couples can view the official sweepstakes rules online.

We throw out a lot of food in the U.S.—an estimated 30 to 40 percent of our supply. To prevent uneaten meals from ending up in landfills, some choose to dispose of scraps by composting them. However, as Co.Exist reports, this well-meaning approach can backfire: According to a new study led by researchers at Ohio State University, diners who know their leftovers will be turned into fertilizer don’t try as hard to reduce their food waste during a meal.

Led by Brian Roe, an agricultural, environmental, and developmental economics professor, and OSU graduate student Danyi Qi, the experiment observed 266 participants as they ate a self-serve meal of sandwiches, chips, and apple slices. They were allowed to take as much food as they wanted, but they weren’t allowed to share meals or save any leftovers. At the meal’s end, researchers weighed diners’ trays to measure how much food they left behind.

Before the meal, subjects were given some reading material, either educational pamphlets about the environmental harm of food waste (this made up the “educated” group) or information about financial literacy (the “uneducated” group). However, around half of the participants in both groups were informed that their waste would be composted, while the rest were told it would end up in a landfill.

Diners who didn’t think that composting was an option responded strongly to the educational materials: Those who read the pamphlet detailing the harmful effects of food waste ended up wasting 77 percent less food than those who received the financial literacy one. Educated diners were also nearly 40 percent more likely to finish their entire meal (leaving no waste). However, the positive effects of the education were nullified when diners were told their table scraps would be composted: When diners thought their waste was going to a “good” place, they had leftovers on par with the uneducated group.

The study’s findings pose a challenge for policymakers aiming to reduce America’s food waste. They’ve tried to tackle the problem with public education and with landfill diversion techniques, like composting. However, these two approaches appear to “cancel each other out—they work at cross purposes,” Qi said in a press release.

“It seems that if [people] feel that the social and environmental cost is lower, they may feel less guilty and that may cause them to waste more,” Qi added.

Also, Roe points out to The Columbus Dispatch, people may feel less inclined to take multiple steps to help the environment if they’ve already completed one. “Once one box has been checked, there’s not much appetite to do another thing,” Roe said. “Maybe for some people, that box has been checked off (with composting).”

At the end of the day, composting your food is a better option than throwing it away. However, it’s better to avoid wasting edible goods in the first place—and with a little strategic planning, you can. At home, people can limit food waste by sticking to a strict shopping list of the essentials, cooking only what they’ll actually eat, and donating leftover edible foods to food pantries or shelters. As for restaurant owners, they can try giving customers a crash course in environmental awareness, instead of simply telling them they compost leftovers.

“Do it, but just don’t brag about it,” Qi told the Dispatch.

[h/t Co.Exist]

Mark Twain was famous for his stinging wit, but he also had a softer side. The author was the father of two daughters, Clara and Susy Clemens, and every night, he told them a bedtime story. Twain never published any of these fairy tales, but he did outline one, and called the 16-page work “Oleomargarine.” Now, The New York Times reports, publisher Doubleday is expanding the tale into an illustrated children’s book, slated for release this fall.

Researcher John Bird was perusing University of California-Berkeley’s vast Twain archives in 2011, searching for food references to add to a Mark Twain-themed cookbook. He thought “Oleomargarine” sounded like a recipe—but it turned out to be a bedtime story, written by Twain nearly 140 years ago.

“Oleomargarine” refers to a prince of the same name, who’s kidnapped by giants, and held hostage in a cave guarded by dragons. A poor boy named Johnny—who gains the power to talk to animals after eating a magic flower—embarks on a mission to rescue him.

After perusing Twain’s journals, which mentioned nightly bedtime tales featuring a boy named Johnny, Bird guessed that Twain told the story to his daughters in 1879 (third daughter, Jean, was born the following year). Susy and Clara eventually grew bored with the character, but nobody quite knows why Twain didn’t finish “Oleomargarine,” nor whether he ever planned to share it. However, experts do believe it may have been the only fairy tale that Twain—a prolific journalist, essayist, novelist, and short story writer—ever committed to paper.

Bird notified the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, and they sold the rights to Doubleday Books for Young Readers. The publisher hired author-illustrator duo Philip and Erin Stead to expand on the work; the final product is The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, a 152-page book featuring original drawings.

Twain’s voice is always present, even though the book is framed as a tale “told to me by my friend, Mark Twain.” Philip Stead read a few volumes of the author’s massive autobiography to capture his natural tone, and in one scene, Twain even pops into the story and argues against the plot’s progression.

The Guardian reports that The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine will be published on September 26, which is the 150th anniversary of Twain’s first book, the short-story collection The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches (1867).

[h/t The New York Times]

Ireland’s most famous beer may soon be brewed on American soil, for the first time in more than six decades. The Baltimore Sun reports that Diageo—the alcohol beverages company that owns Guinness Brewery—is planning to build a mid-size version of its Dublin-based Open Gate Brewery near Relay, Maryland, in southern Baltimore County.

Relay is home to a former Seagram’s whiskey bottling plant, and Diageo owns Seagram’s. The company wants to re-purpose the buildings into a major tourist attraction—complete with a brewery, taproom, and tasting room—and focus on producing brand-new beers for U.S. drinkers.

Diageo says it will invest $50 million in the Baltimore-area brewery. As of right now, the plan is to begin construction in Spring 2017 and open facilities to the public as soon as Fall 2017. However, the brewery still needs to pass muster with the Maryland General Assembly, which is responsible for approving a special liquor license to permit large-scale on-site beer sales.

Baltimore has always been a beer town. Originally home to National Bohemian Beer (which the Pabst Brewing Company purchased, and moved to Eden, North Carolina and Albany, Georgia), it now has a thriving craft beer scene. A Guinness Brewery would be a welcome addition, officials say, as it could create up to 70 jobs (or even more, once you take guest services into account) and attract tourist revenue.

“Guinness’s plan to build a brewery at its historic facility in Relay, Md., is great news for job creation, manufacturing, and tourism in our state,” Maryland governor Larry Hogan said in a statement. “Beer tourism attracts millions of visitors to towns and communities across the country every year and I look forward to welcoming Guinness to the roster of excellent breweries we have here in Maryland.”

Check out a mock-up of the brewery below, courtesy of Diageo.

[h/t The Baltimore Sun]

Vincent van Gogh died nearly 127 years ago—so naturally, his gravesite is beginning to show the ravages of time. To preserve the famous attraction, The Art Newspaper reports that local council members in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise and the Institut Van Gogh, a historical conservation nonprofit, are seeking donations to restore the artist’s final resting place.

The Post-Impressionist painter spent his last days in Auvers-sur-Oise—where he painted his now-famous wheat field landscapes—before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1890. Van Gogh was buried in the town’s cemetery, and his brother Theo was buried alongside when he died six month later.

Last spring, heavy rainfall damaged the siblings’ headstones. The Institut Van Gogh needs to raise €600,000 (nearly $650,000) to repair them, and to outfit the popular tourist attraction with proper drainage, lighting, and security systems. So far, the campaign has received donations from van Gogh’s family, museums, and art lovers, but they’re still more than $500,000 short of their goal, which they hope to reach by the end of July 2017.

In addition to van Gogh’s gravesite, the Institut Van Gogh is also raising funds to mend the village’s Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption church. Featured in van Gogh’s 1890 painting The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise, the building was badly damaged during a storm in October 2015. So far, state and government agencies have collected about $60,000 to fix the church’s roof (the local council even launched a crowdfunding campaign), but more funds are needed for the roof’s repair, and to restore the church’s grounds.

You can help preserve van Gogh’s grave by visiting helpvangogh.heoh.net and making a donation.

[h/t The Art Newspaper]

It might be hard for many of us old folks to believe, but 39 percent of kids register for a social media account by the age of 11. To keep children entertained and safe from the many dangers of the internet, CNN reports that toy manufacturer LEGO has launched a free social network called LEGO Life that caters to users 13 and under.

LEGO Life launched on Tuesday, and is available on iOS and Android. Like many other social networks, it contains a “news feed”—but instead of browsing selfies or posting status updates, kids can engage in building challenges, watch animated videos, upload pictures of completed LEGO products, and search for—or “like”—images.

More importantly, WIRED reports, LEGO Life is designed so kids can use it without encountering the harassment or bullying that’s common on other social platforms. Randomly generated user names and personalized LEGO avatars protect identities; kids can only share LEGO-themed photos, as images of real people are banned; and comments on other users’ photos are limited to LEGO emoji. (They can, however post regular comments on official, company-sponsored posts.) There is also plenty of adult supervision: Parents have to OK their kids’ accounts via email, and each post must be approved by a LEGO Life moderator.

LEGO Life is currently only available for mobile phones, but a web-based version is reportedly in the works.

[h/t CNN]

Most people try to avoid conflict at work—especially while broaching a touchy subject with colleagues. According to Harvard Business Review, a recent survey of nearly 1100 individuals found that around 66 percent of workers want to make the other person feel comfortable during tough chats. However, these diplomatic intentions can be soured by poorly phrased or negative comments, uttered in moments of stress, anger, or sheer carelessness.

To keep awkward office discussions honest yet positive, steer clear of the 12 phrases below. They may seem innocuous at surface level, but the subtext indicates that you’re not a team player.

For example, expressions like “I’m sorry, but,” “I just assumed that,” and “There’s nothing I can do” sound defensive, making it seem like you’re unwilling to accept constructive criticism or acknowledge any need for improvement. “You should have,” “That makes no sense,” and “You’re wrong” are accusatory and dismissive, and can alienate others from sharing their opinions or seeking feedback. And phrases like “That’s not my problem” or “But we’ve always done it that way” suggest that you’re willing to only do the bare minimum, and don’t want to take extra initiative. None of these attitudes are suitable for an office environment, especially one that prizes collaboration, accountability, and hard work.

Still struggling to find the right words to express yourself? Opt for one of the tactful alternatives supplied by loan provider Headway Capital: