why are sunderland called the black cats?
404568
BLACK Cats is an official nickname voted for by Sunderland fans last year. Nicknames are generally unofficial, but Sunderland's previous "official" nickname was the Rokerites, although few fans used the term. Rokermen or simply Roker was often used by sports journalists but all these names were redundant after the move from Roker Park. Black Cats was long used as an alternative nickname - it is the emblem of the supporters' club. Its connection with Sunderland dates back to the 18th Century when a battery of guns protecting the mouth of the River Wear was called the Black Cats.
1160345
I know Sting is from the North East of England, I'm guessing Bobby Moore might be as well, could it be all three of them are from the same area?   Michelle Heatom from Liberty X is definitely a geordie, not sure about Jessica though
216552
The resilience of the cat, especially when falling from a height (and "always landing on hisfeet") has long been noted.  In the 19th century someone finally was able to PHOTOGRAPH a cat falling and observe just HOW the cat had the ability to quickly twist, making the balance adjustment it needed to land as safely as possible.\n\nBut why NINE lives (not seven or eight or ten)?  It might be from the idea that nine was a "trinity of trinities" and so symbolic of perfection or completeness. This would fit with the apparent EGYPTIAN origin of the notion.   \n\nThe specific number probably stems from Ancient Egypt, in whose religion the cat played an important role:\n\n"But why nine? Nine, a trinity of trinities, is a mystical number often invoked in religion and folklore. The cat was once revered in Egypt, and this is probably where its nine lives began. The priesthood in On - known to the Greeks as Heliopolis and now a suburb of Cairo - worshipped Atum-Ra, a sun god who gave life to the gods of air, moisture, earth and sky, who, in turn, produced Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. These gods are collectively known as the Ennead, or the Nine. Atum-Ra, who took the form of a cat for visits to the underworld, embodied nine lives in one creator."
317317
the cat's name was "what"
1122857
I don't know the specifics of this, but it may have something to do with the Black Panthers' propensity towards violence. You might want to read Elaine Brown's "A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story" to learn more about the dark side of the Black Panthers (don't get me wrong, I think they did a lot of great things, but there's definitely another side to them).
12617
The Mummys from actint Egypt are afraid of cats because they have been enemies for thousands of years. Everyone knows a cats inclination to chasing things, just take a piece of yarn and swing it in front of your cat, he will go for it, anyway Mummies naturally have pieces of cloth hanging loose, and in their hayday, swarms of cats would overwhelm a Mummy who strayed from the herd. Many a mummy lived a short afterlife after being unwrapped by a pack of street cats, so much so that actint Mummys first developed aluminum foil to act as a distraction in case of a cat attack.\n\nSo to answer your question, Mummys are dead, and have never walked after that, the fear of cats is a made up thing, in fact hundreds of thousands of cats were mummified by ancient egyptians, as they were revered by them.
120505
It has to do with misunderstood Witchcraft. Many witches -- especially back in the old days -- liked to have a physical familiar. A familiar is usually an animal spirit that helps a person when they are in meditation and tells them how to deal with real-life problems. Black is the color of darkness and the unknown... and many witches that had cat familiars figured knew that wanted to know more about the unknown, and to achieve wisdom and knowledge, they bought and bred black cats. But, the Christians of the time saw witches as evil and cruel and Satan Worshipping... so... they assumed that the cats were the bystanders and helpers of the witches who -- they believed -- were servants of Satan.\n\nHope that helped. :3
270901
It is a reference to animals that puff up their tails when excited or alert, like cats.
317127
why do u look like a cat?
51275
Really different cats.
149800
It is my understanding that in time gone by and I forget the country, but the people lived in huts. And the roofs to these huts were made from grass. (straw) and during colder weather cats as well as dogs would seek warmth from this. Well when it rained naturally the straw would get wet and at times the weight of all the cats and dogs on the roof would cause them to fall through. Hence the saying its raining cats and dogs.
472289
Cats have long been held sacred and linked to images of power. In ancient Egypt the Goddess Bast was not only the divine mother of cats, She was also protectress of the Pharoah and of women, Goddess of joy, dance, fertility & motherhood. The Egyptian term for cat was Mau, an imitation of a cats cry and a mother-syllable\n\nFeline reverence is not peculiar to Ancient Egyptian civilisation. Muslim theology maintains that the prophet Muhammad once found a cat sleeping on his robe; instead of waking it, he cut a hole through his robe so as not to disturb the animal. This reverence can be found in ancient Indian texts, where records of cats involved with human society can be found in two ancient Indian great epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, circa 500 BCE. As the Hindu and Parsee religions respected all forms of life and were especially sympathetic towards cats, all good Hindus were expected to take care of at least one cat during their lives. By contrast, the Islamic culture generally regards dogs as somewhat unhygienic animals.\n\nThe exaltation of cats in Ancient Egypt most likely began with their contribution to agriculture. Feral cats, or "reed cats", naturally preyed upon the rats and other vermin that would otherwise eat from the royal granaries. They earned their place in towns and cities by killing mice, poisonous snakes and other pests.\n\nThe Egyptians viewed their gods not as simple spirits but as intelligences that could be personified in a body. The earliest evidence of cats as deities comes from a 3100 BCE crystal cup decorated with an image of the lion-headed goddess Mafdet. The goddess Bast was originally depicted as a fiercely protective and warlike lion, but as her image "softened" over time she became more strongly associated with domestic cats.\n\nAs cats were sacred to Bast, the practice of mummification was extended to them, and the respect that cats received after death mirrored the respect they were treated with in everyday life. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that in the event of a fire men would guard the fire to make certain that no cats ran into the flame. Herodotus also wrote that when a cat died, the household would go into mourning as if for a human relative, and would often shave their eyebrows to signify their loss.\n\nSuch was the strength of feeling towards cats that killing one, even accidentally, incurred the death penalty. Another Greek historian, Diodorus Siculus, describes an interesting example of swift justice imposed upon the killer of a cat: about 60 BCE, he witnessed the chariot of a Roman soldier accidentally run over an Egyptian cat. An outraged mob gathered and, despite pleas from pharaoh Ptolemy XII, killed the soldier.\n\nThe belief that a black cat brings bad luck started in the Middle Ages, with the Germanic peoples and the Normans. To some, they were an omen of impending death. On roads, a black cat crossing one's path was considered a signal of danger ahead.\n\nSince the 1880s, the color black has been associated with anarchism. The black cat, in an alert, fighting stance was later adopted as an anarchist symbol. More specifically, the black cat is associated with anarcho-syndicalism, a branch of anarchism that focuses on workers' rights. Anarchists, Situationists and Revolutionary Industrial Unionists (such as the IWW) believe that wildcat strikes could be the spark for revolution.\n\nIn the 1930s, the Wiccan religious tradition emerged. Since much of Wicca is reconstructed from supposed witchcraft practices, the black cat was adopted as a Wiccan symbol.\n\nThe archaic associations of black cats with bad luck or evil once appeared frequently in North American popular culture, but are no longer widely held. In the early years of television, several stations located on "unlucky" channel 13 made sport of the association by using black cats as mascots. \n\nContrarily, in the UK, black cats are the most well-known sign of good luck and
139582
I believe "seltik" is the name of the basketball team; "keltik" is the name of the people who lived in the British Isles.\n\nAdditional: I was thinking of the Boston Celtics.  Interesting to find out that there's another team out there called the Celtics too!
994528
Because it was\ntrapped by Tom Cat.
286134
We got a Maine Coon cat who we named Harryhausen. His father's name was Hal Bop, which I thought was a cool name for a cat. Harryhausen is the greatest - provokes astonishment from guests, is gigantic, peaceable, with a quiet meow. I had an Angora once and he was the most obnoxious bloody cat on the planet with a very irritating meow. Manx cats look kinda cool, but I don't know much about them. Ditto, Persian.
178127
What an insane, ridiculous, X-files question!  Everyone knows that cats are the transformed and eternal vessels for souls that escaped fiery destruction and watery death in atlantis.  Fnord.
692501
go to sunderland ..they need players