How cats survive amazing falls

io9.com:

Cats can famously fall from skyscrapers and only suffer the most minor of bruises, including the recent story of a cat surviving a 19-story fall in Boston with only a bruised chest. What’s the secret of this feline survival?

There’s a great rundown of just how cats survive these falls over at BBC News, but the short answer is that it’s all about evolution. Domesticated cats are the descendants of arboreal creatures that had to be able to survive the occasional fall while jumping from tree branch to tree branch. That’s added up to an amazing biological toolkit that helps ensure their survival, even when falling from dozens of stories up.

Now, if they would only stop scurrying in front of cars.