Re: Can Buffy or the Slayer Purr?

["Howard Russell" <howardrussell2000@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Everybody!

No.

"Humans seem to be fascinated by animals who can do things that we  
cannot.  We cannot purr, so we are interested in how cats can do it.  It  
turns out that domestic cats, some wild cats like pumas and mountain lions  
(in general, any big cat that cannot roar) and even raccoons are all able  
to purr.  Humans happen to smile and laugh when they are happy, and dogs  
wag their tails.  So it is not unusual for an animal to have a physical  
reaction to happiness.  Cats show happiness by purring."

"Not all kinds of cats can purr.  Cats that can roar -- such as tigers,  
jaguars and African lions -- can not purr.  And cats that can purr --such  
as cougars, bobcats and household tabbies -- can not roar.  Until  
recently, exactly how purring cats managed to purr was a mystery.  If you  
try to purr continuously like a mountain lion or bobcat, you'll quickly  
discover its impossible for you to do.

"When you caress your pet cat, the animal seems to vibrate all over.   
Scientists first thought that cats might possess a special "purring  
organ."  But none has been found.  Then by pressing a microphone against  
different places on a happy cat's body, researchers discovered that the  
greatest vibrations originated at the cat's throat, right over its larynx,  
commonly called the voice box.  They correctly guessed that the purring  
must be coming from the cat's voice box.  But then, why can't we purr?   
After all, human beings have voice boxes too.

"More research finally uncovered the answer.  The puma, bobcat and your  
pet puss possess something you don't.  Inside each of these cats' brains  
is a special timer.

"This timer can send rhythmic nerve messages -- at 25 electrical pulses  
per second -- to a particular muscle in the cat's voice box.  With the  
first pulse from the brain's timer, the muscle swings the vocal folds in  
the larynx together.  It almost closes off the air passage through the  
voice box.  With the next pulse, the muscle relaxes.  The airway again  
opens.  These opening and closing folds change the airflow through the  
cat's voice box.  The airflow is usually steady as the mountain lion or  
bobcat inhales and exhales.  When the timer's working this steady stream  
turns into a putt-putt-putt of air through the larynx.  What does this  
putt putt putt sound like?  Purrrrrr."


So, no, a human cannot purr.

Could a slayer purr?  Debatable but doubtful.  I don't object when I see  
it in fiction, though.

Your fellow 'shipper,
Howard

Excerpts from:
"How does a cat's purring work?" ::  
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question394.htm
"How a Puma Purrs" :  
http://www.sccgov.org:80/inquiraapp/ui.jsp?ui_mode=answer&prior_transaction_id=4482&action_code=5&highlight_info=989856563,186,206&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sccgov.org%2Fportal%2Fsite%2Fscc%2Fmenuitem.cf081aed392e35dfae3cdd102830a429%3FcontentId%3D83b698ba77784010VgnVCM10000048dc4a92____&answer_id=342128#__highlight
------
It's fundamentally good, like Mother Theresa or fellatio.
-- Kerry Douglas Dye

http://www.geocities.com/howardrussell2000/


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