Comments on: Cat's in the Cradle

Cat's in the Cradle

Miko — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:53:54 -0800

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:02:34 -0800

Ahhh, thanks for illuminating a part of my childhood I'd almost forgotten about. I used to try and make all sorts of stuff with a large loop of string and my ten fingers--but without any set of instructions--after having seen something on a segment of ZOOM. I still do that at times, but now I can finally know what I'm doing and make something nice for a change!

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:10:44 -0800

I recently watched an elderly woman practically force some youngins to sit down and learn a few string tricks. At first, they were resistant because it didn't have a digital display or noise, but once they got into it they really enjoyed something that was actually tactile and involved their attention.

By: rtha

rtha — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:13:32 -0800

Oh, cool. I learned a bunch of these as a kid (in Hawaii), and thought I'd forgotten most of them. But I found that if I didn't think about what I was doing, my hands and fingers remembered better than my brain. But now I get to re-learn the ones even my fingers have forgotten! Thanks, Miko!

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:52:01 -0800

Kwakiutl String Figures, available as a PDF from the AMNH.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:55:01 -0800

See the cat? See the cradle?

By: natabat

natabat — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:15:53 -0800

I wonder if I still have my Klutz book somewhere. I used to spend hours doing these things. I had another book that had some more complicated ones in it too (I remember lightning, an apache door, a butterfly, and a man that actually climbed a tree!) Now to find a piece of string... Thanks Miko!

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:28:41 -0800

We were just at the Museum of Jurassic Technology, remarking on the string figure exhibit there. One of my former neighbors had been an authority on string figures, and it was neat to see her mentioned in the credits (but kind of melancholy, as she died recently).