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Anti-Caturday post

By pharyngula on May 28, 2011.

"Caturday"? What is this "Caturday" frippery I see on various blogs today? It seems to consist entirely of photos and video clips of small furry predators in repose or at play, and it's not very interesting. Let us try something more stimulating.

Loom from Polynoid on Vimeo.

The "ooh"ing and "aah"ing and "how cute!"ing may now commence from the gallery. You may also choose to watch it in HD. Watch it multiple times — it's beautiful. My favorite part is when the spider enfolds her prey in her long elegant legs and injects it with enzymes that cause its organs to melt.

Don't talk to me about cats. Cats will be interesting when spiders are big enough to catch them.

Or perhaps they would be more exciting if there had been Cambrian kittens, and we could imagine them meeting Anomalocaris. A new specimen has been discovered from the Ordovician, so the temporal gap has closed a little bit, at least.

i-8f4ec4ec6a86c5d1f1edc6af9d5a4e42-anomalocarid.jpeg

Now that should stir feelings of love and affection in your breast. Is the oxytocin flowing yet? Would it help if I scribble "LOL" or various adorably ungrammatical phrases on the picture?

No, it will not. You will love it without anthropomorphic aids, please. Now.

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