Received 2 September 2002,
accepted with corrections 11 October 2002
| * Arup Facade Engineering, Johannesburg ** School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg |
The "White Wine" method is a novel technique for feline tongue length determination, making use of the latest advances in digital technology. It supersedes the earlier more labour-intensive "Beefy Bovril" method [1] and the "Creamy Yoghurt" method [2].
Apparatus required, in addition to the cat, is some white wine, a glass (not shown) and a digital camera.
You will not need a whole litre of wine; we leave deciding what to do with the remainder as an exercise for the reader.The method of measurement is as follows: (1) Lightly coat the inside surface of the glass with the wine. (2) Find the cat. (3) Offer the glass to the cat, as illustrated below.
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On frame 3 above we see confirmation that the cat and the wine are indeed compatible. Earlier preliminary tests indicated that not all cats have this essential property.[2]
The main experimental difficulty encountered is the short duty cycle of the cat's tongue, clearly visible in the above data set. A camera with a high frame rate [3] will help ensure a reasonable sample is obtained within the subject's attention span.
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Good results can be obtained by this method, as shown below:
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The authors would like to thank Robertson Winery, and volunteer Miss P. Abbott.
[1] T. D. Abbott, Determination of cat tongue length using the "Beefy Bovril" method, http://www.mabot.com/random/bovril/ (2001)
[2] Abbott Family, unpublished research, 1994-2001
[3] P. Askey, Canon PowerShot S40 Review, http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons40/ (2001).
| by Michael Abbott (email)
September 2002 ©
www.mabot.com > random stuff > white wine method |