Lesson plan
Cabbit
A cabbit is a fictional hybrid between a cat and a rabbit. They have appeared in fiction and fantasy stories and have also been dubiously claimed to have been observed in the wild. Most if not all observations are attributable to either misidentified Manx cats or outright hoaxes. A cat–rabbit hybrid creature was first incorrectly documented in 1845 by Joseph Train of Castle Douglas, Galloway, Scotland, in his An Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of Man, where he opined that the local Manx cat, a breed typified by a short, tufty tail and long, powerful hind legs like a rabbit, was such a hybrid: "My observations on the structure and habits of the specimen in my possession, leave little doubt on my mind of its being a .... cross between the female cat and the buck rabbit." Scientific study has determined that such a hybrid is genetically impossible. The portmanteau term cabbit is used for such imagined hybrids. The exact year of coinage is uncertain. The term was used in 1977 to describe a specimen found in New Mexico and exhibited in Los Angeles. The specimen was showcased on The Tonight Show and was later determined to be a cat with a deformed pelvis.
Article summary
A cabbit is a fictional hybrid between a cat and a rabbit. They have appeared in fiction and fantasy stories and have also been dubiously claimed to have been observed in the wild. Most if not all observations are attributable to either misidentified Manx cats or outright hoaxes. A cat–rabbit hybrid creature was first incorrectly documented in 1845 by Joseph Train of Castle Douglas, Galloway, Scotland, in his An Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of Man, where he opined that the local Manx cat, a breed typified by a short, tufty tail and long, powerful hind legs like a rabbit, was such a hybrid: "My observations on the structure and habits of the specimen in my possession, leave little doubt on my mind of its being a .... cross between the female cat and the buck rabbit." Scientific study has determined that such a hybrid is genetically impossible. The portmanteau term cabbit is used for such imagined hybrids. The exact year of coinage is uncertain. The term was used in 1977 to describe a specimen found in New Mexico and exhibited in Los Angeles. The specimen was showcased on The Tonight Show and was later determined to be a cat with a deformed pelvis.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.