Original photo by Svetlana Sultanaeva/ iStock
Most politicians are at least somewhat divisive. One notable exception: Stubbs, a cat who served as the honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, for more than 18 scandal-free years. He first entered office around 1998, when the town (technically an unincorporated census-designated place) and its 900 residents chose him as their leader. (Rumors that Stubbs was officially elected as a write-in candidate are incorrect, but locals loved their feline “mayor” nonetheless.) Over the course of the next two decades, Stubbs became a popular tourist attraction and performed such mayoral duties as, in the words of Smithsonian Magazine, “wandering around the town, drinking catnip-laced water from margarita glasses, and of course, sleeping a lot.” Take note, human politicians.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factThe French astrocat’s name was Félicette, and she soared 100 miles above the planet in a Véronique AG1 rocket on October 18, 1963. The brave tuxedo cat returned from her 15-minute journey safe and sound after boldly going where no feline had gone before — or since.
Stubbs isn’t the only animal to lead a town. A black Labrador retriever named Bosco served honorably as mayor of Sunol, California, from 1981 until his passing in 1994; the town later erected a statue in his honor. Fair Haven, Vermont, made the wise decision when electing its first-ever mayor in 2019 to put a goat named Lincoln in office, though he was defeated in the following year’s election by Murfee the therapy dog. And across the country in San Francisco, Frida the Chihuahua had a one-day term as mayor in 2014 — among many other furry, friendly local officials.
Numbers Don't Lie
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Alaska’s most populous city is ______.
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Alaska’s most populous city is Anchorage.
Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows when their cats died.
You likely already know that the ancient Egyptians revered cats, but did you know that they mourned their beloved pets by shaving their own eyebrows? The Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the practice, which is comparable to the mourners of today wearing black after a loved one’s passing. The Egyptians would continue to mourn their cats until their eyebrows grew back. Some of the felines were even mummified after death and placed in their owners’ tombs. If you’ve ever been woken up by a hungry cat in the middle of the night and been more amused than annoyed, you can probably relate to that level of devotion.
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
