a cat fell from a window and lived.

一隻貓從窗戶掉下來還活著

After vets treated the cat's chipped tooth and collapsed lungs,

獸醫醫治了這隻貓斷裂的牙齒和氣胸後

the feline was sent home two days later.

牠兩天後就出院回家了

Cats fall a lot,

貓很常掉落

and they've gotten really good at it.

而且牠們對此很擅長

Drop a cat upside down, for example,

舉例來說，把一隻貓倒著丟下去

and it will almost always land on its feet.

牠幾乎每次都會用腳著地

That's because cats are extremely flexible.

那是因為貓非常靈活

They can twist their bodies mid-air as they fall.

牠們可以在掉落時，在半空中扭轉身軀

But landing feet first isn't always the best strategy.

但是腳先著地並不總是最好的策略

Like if you're falling from 32 stories up.

像如果是從 32 層樓高掉下來的話

To figure out how cats manage that perfect landing every time,

為了得知貓咪如何每一次都能完美著陸

a series of studies looked at over a 100 cats' falls from two to 32 stories up.

一系列的研究觀察了 100 隻貓從 2 至 32 樓掉落的情況

Comes as no surprise that cats

結果不意外

who fell from the second floor had fewer injuries than cats who fell from the sixth floor.

比起從 6 樓跌落的，2 樓掉下來的貓咪比較少受傷

But here is the fascinating part.

但有趣的是

Above the seventh story,

在 7 樓以上的高度

the extent of the injuries largely stayed the same,

受傷程度則大致相同

no matter how high the cats fell.

無論貓是從幾層樓掉下來

So, how is that possible?

所以，這是怎麼一回事呢？

Well, it all comes down to acrobatics or lack thereof.

嗯，這應該都要歸功給特技表演

Cats that fell from two to seven stories up mostly landed feet-first.

從 2 至 7 樓掉落的貓咪多半都是用腳著陸

Above that, however, cats used a different technique.

然而在更高的樓層時，貓會使用不同的技巧

Instead of positioning their legs straight down as they fell,

相對於在掉落時將四肢伸直

they splayed out like a parachuter.

牠們會攤開身體，像是跳傘一樣

And landed belly-first instead.

然後用肚皮著陸

But this method isn't 100% foolproof.

但這個方式並非百分之百安全無虞

Chest trauma, like a collapsed lung,

胸腔損傷，像是氣胸

or broken rib is more common with this landing method.

或是肋骨斷裂都有可能伴隨而來

But the risk of breaking a leg is much less.

但是摔斷腿的風險就會降低

So, how do cats somehow subconsciously know how to land?

所以，為什麼貓潛意識地就會知道如何著陸呢？

It has to do with a physics phenomenon called terminal velocity.

這和一個叫做終端速度的物理現象有關

At first, the cat plummets faster and faster under gravity

一開始因為地心引力，貓的墜落速度會越來越快

until she's fallen the equivalent of five stories.

直到她掉落將近五層樓的高度

At that point, she hits constant terminal velocity at 100 kilometers per hour.

在這個時候，她達到了她的終端速度 —— 每小時 100 公里

She's now in free fall

她現在是在自由落體

where air friction counteracts her acceleration under gravity.

空氣摩擦力抵消了她的重力加速度

At this point, she's no longer accelerating

在這個時候，她不再繼續加速了

and, more importantly,

而且更重要的是

doesn't feel the pull from gravity.

不會感受到重力的拉扯

So, here's what researchers think is happening.

以下是研究人員推估出來的

From two to seven stories up,

2 至 7 樓的高度

cats don't have enough time to reach terminal velocity

不足以讓貓達到終端速度

and prep for landing feet first.

所以牠就先以腳著陸

But once they hit terminal velocity,

但是一旦牠們達到終端速度

their instinct changes and they parachute their limbs.

牠們的本能就會使得牠們攤開四肢

All that said, don't throw your cat out of a window.

總而言之呢，別把你的貓丟出窗外

I can't believe I have to say this.

真不敢相信我會說這句話

Not only is it still very dangerous,

不僅因為那樣做還是很危險的

it's not very polite.

而且那非常不禮貌

Don't throw your cat out the window just to see all that go down.

別為了看牠掉下去會如何，就把你的貓咪丟出窗

Just watch this video again.

只要再看一次這部影片就行了

Just hit the little replay button.

按下那小小的重播按鈕吧