UPDATED. Moments such as this make the thankless, burdensome toil of bloggerhood worthwhile. BoingBoing reader Vann says, "I wish I'd stumbled across this clip before your zero-G flight." I couldn't agree more.
Link to quicktime movie of some people throwing a live cat around in zero gravity on a "vomit comet."
The file is linked from an Air Force website for an online education class called " COCKPIT PHYSICS: Physics Instruction for the Twenty-First Century." The website doesn't appear to be a joke, nor does the cat-tossing QuickTime clip, presumably intended to illustrate the science that governs cruelty to fluffy, innocent housepets in reduced gravity environments.
While you're visiting the Air Force website, don't miss this equally invaluable physics lesson (Link):
#1 If you are outside in a lightning storm, you may notice that your hair starts to stand on end. Why do you think this happens?
Some good advice is to stay indoors during a lightning storm. If your hair is standing up, then you are in extreme danger.
Words to live by.
UPDATE: The Air Force website where this was first spotted has removed the cat-toss video. New download location details in this update post: Link
