Some objects in our daily lives are just there, and it seems like they always have been. We don't know who invented them, when, or why. They are simply there. However, today at ARISTOPET, we want to reveal the identity of the person who invented the cat flap, also known as a cat door. That door allows your ARISTOCAT to roam freely, coming and going as it pleases.
Well, none other than Isaac Newton "came up" with this brilliant idea. According to Cyril Aydon, in "Curious Stories of Science," while the scientist was working on his research, his cat kept meowing to enter and exit the house. This must have been quite annoying for Newton as it hindered his concentration, though he probably also felt bad about not being able to dedicate all the necessary time to his cat. So, he decided to make a hole in the bottom of the door so his cat could come and go as many times as it wanted. The legend adds that Newton covered the holes with felt to avoid the excess light that bothered him during his experiments, which made his invention the precursor of the modern cat flap.
These primitive holes, over the years, evolved into the current hinged and spring-loaded panels that offer protection against wind and rain. And in more sophisticated cases, even into cat flaps that are electronically controlled or cat flaps with radiofrequency identification to read the animal's implanted microchip.
So we owe a lot to Newton in this matter. Well, and in so many others. Because, as you know, Newton was a physicist, philosopher, theologian, inventor, alchemist, and mathematician. He described the law of universal gravitation and established the foundations of classical mechanics with the laws that bear his name.
Newton is often called "the greatest scientist of all time." It has been said of him that "he was the greatest genius that ever lived and also the luckiest, given that a system that governs the world can only be found once."
Today at ARISTOPET, we discover that he was probably also a true ARISTOPETER, as he cared for the well-being of his cat and devised a system to facilitate its mobility and movements. Surely, at the time, he was not aware of what had just happened in his house... by making that hole in the door. But he revolutionized the lifestyle of ARISTOCATS!
