Curiosity killed the cat

Whenever I hear a popular saying I cannot help wondering if it holds some amount of truth or it is just a whimsical truism conjured to justify some seemingly inescapable result, even if a different outcome would have been equally reasonable in view of a different saying.

So did curiosity truly kill the cat? It seems that already in the late 16th century cats were already suffering from this malaise as reported by the great William Shakespeare in Much Ado About Nothing. It is remarkable the choice of the cat, which purportedly has many lives, as a warning for how often you can get killed by excessive or careless experimentation. Dangers are luring on every corner of live and engaging in any unnecessary risk increases the chances of a sudden (and painful) demise.

Photo: Basile Morin

On the other hand, one cannot deny the role that curiosity has played in our evolution. It is not only a human trait, but it is also shared by many apes and even smaller monkeys. Without our inquisitive minds we would not have discovered how to produce fire at will, which seeds provided nutritious food or how to put satellites in orbit. It is clear that many people in history have been killed by their well intended experiments (Marie Curie and Otto Lilienthal come readily to my mind), but their attempts paved the way to future discoveries.

One of the discoveries that I find the most intriguing is the recipe for the preparation of Hákarl, the Icelandic shark, which is poisonous unless it is gutted and buried to ferment for four to six months. One can only wonder how many hungry north-men fell to a horrible poisoning death rather than facing starvation before someone figured out the necessary waiting time.

The saying came to my mind today, as Karen and I were cooking lunch together and the kids came back from school praising the smell and lifting pot lids. As expected, a puff of steam startled one of them, and the saying popped out of my mouth before I had time to think about. I guess the many summers hearing this at my grandma's house have etched and indelible memory in my brain. I hold many other fond memories from that time and I can only hope that she is fine wherever she is now. Enjoy the weekend.