The Ray-Cat Solution

I posted a while back about a project to brainstorm methods for warning future civilizations about the dangers of nuclear waste dumps. It said, in part,

But the strangest suggestion by far came from two European linguists. They argued that governments around the world should breed cats that turn colors when exposed to radiation. These so-called “ray cats” could then be immortalized in song and legend, so that even after the scientific knowledge of radiation had been lost to the sands of time, folklore would tell of their supernatural power to change their fur in the presence of extreme danger.

Matthew Kielty investigated the “ray cat” solution, including tracking down Paolo Fabbri, the man who first conceived of the idea. Kielty posted about it, and people started trying to make it happen. Emperor X produced an album of music about the ray cats, that includes the song “Don’t Change Color, Kitty!” Biologist Kevin Chen is looking into how we can make those cats a reality. He’s looking for collaborators on the project. (via Metafilter)