science

Grumpy Cat

Grumpy Cat is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Grumpy Cat rather than just read about it. In short: Tardar Sauce (April 4, 2012 – May 14, 2019), nicknamed Grumpy Cat, was an American internet celebrity cat. She was known for her permanently "grumpy" facial appearance, which was caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism.

Key takeaways

Grumpy Cat belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Grumpy Cat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Grumpy Cat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tardar Sauce (April 4, 2012 – May 14, 2019), nicknamed Grumpy Cat, was an American internet celebrity cat. She was known for her permanently "grumpy" facial appearance, which was caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism. She came to prominence when a photograph of her was posted on September 22, 2012, on social news website Reddit by Bryan Bundesen, the brother of her owner Tabatha Bundesen. "Lolcats" and parodies created from the photograph by Reddit users became popular. She was the subject of a popular Internet meme in which humorously negative, cynical images were made from photographs of her. As of June 3, 2023, Grumpy Cat had 8.3 million total likes on Facebook, 2.5 million followers on Instagram 1.3 million followers on Twitter and 275,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Background

Tardar Sauce was one of a litter of four kittens born to a calico mother and a blue-and-white tabby putative father at the home of her owner, Tabatha Bundesen of Morristown, Arizona. The Bundesens said that Tardar Sauce's face appeared grumpy because the feline had a form of dwarfism. Though the mother and father were described as "normal-sized domestic short-hair cats", Tardar Sauce was undersized and had hind legs that were "a bit different". Both she and her brother, Pokey, were born with "a flat face, bubble eyes, and a short tail". Although she had a "grumpy" appearance and was called "Grumpy Cat", according to the Bundesens, "Ninety-nine percent of the time she is just a regular cat." "Meme manager" Ben Lashes represented Grumpy Cat, in addition to Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat. In 2013, Tabatha Bundesen took a leave of absence from her job at Red Lobster to manage Grumpy Cat's schedule, while her brother Bryan Bundesen managed the Grumpy Cat website, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts.

Friskies sponsorship

Grumpy Cat appeared in episodes of the Friskies YouTube game show "Will Kitty Play With It?" In September 2013, it was announced that Grumpy Cat would become the Official Spokescat of Friskies. TMZ reported that for Grumpy Cat's SXSW Interactive appearance in Austin, Texas, Friskies paid for first-class flights, a private hotel room with king-sized bed, a personal assistant, a chauffeur, and unlimited Friskies food and bottled water. On March 22, 2013, Grumpy Cat traveled to New York City promoting the show and appeared on Good Morning America and Anderson Live, and visited Time for a photo shoot.

Merchandising Grumpy Cat Limited held eight trademarks in August 2018 registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office; 1082 items were available on the official Grumpy Cat online shop.

Licensed merchandise Licensed merchandise like T-shirts and mugs are advertised on the Grumpy Cat website and sold at Hot Topic. Stuffed toys are also available, the original official plush was produced by Gund, though as of August 2018, no Grumpy Cat merchandise was available on the Gund website. Ganz, the company behind Webkinz, produced a small Grumpy Cat plush which allowed anyone to play with her electronic likeness on the Webkinz website. Additionally, Chronicle Books has published The Grumpy Cat Wall Calendar each year since 2013, with a 2022 edition available as of January 2022.

Books The official Grumpy Cat book, Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book, was published on July 23, 2013, by Chronicle Books. The book is available in both print and digital formats from retailers worldwide. It debuted at #8 hardcover nonfiction on the Publishers Weekly best seller list. Another Grumpy Cat book called The Grumpy Guide to Life: Observations by Grumpy Cat was published by Chronicle Books and debuted at #3 on The New York Times Best Seller list in the Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous category. Dynamite Entertainment publishes a comic book about Grumpy Cat and her brother, titled The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat and Pokey. Dover Publications has also published Grumpy Cat paper doll, sticker, coloring, and tattoo books.

Digital products An official video game Grumpy Cat: Unimpressed was released in December 2013 by Ganz Studios. Playable on Facebook, iOS devices and Android devices, the game is a match-three game where if combos are performed, Grumpy Cat's insults will appear. The players unlock her memes as they pass each level and she can be made angry with meows, hairballs and laser pointers.

Legal issues

Grumpy Cat Limited v. Grenade Beverage LLC In May 2013, Grumpy Cat Limited partnered with Grenade Beverage LLC to market "Grumppuccino" iced coffee beverages. In December 2015, Grumpy Cat Limited filed a lawsuit against Grenade Beverage LLC citing trademark infringement when the beverage company expanded its line of Grumpy Cat coffee offerings beyond what was originally agreed upon, producing and marketing a Grumpy Cat roasted ground coffee even after being told by email that they were not approved to do so. In January 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California jury decided in favor of Grumpy Cat Limited, and ordered Grenade Beverage Company to pay $710,000 in damages for copyright and trademark infringement, as well as a $1 nominal damage fee for breach of contract.

Death Tardar Sauce died at her home in the arms of her owner Tabatha following complications from a urinary tract infection on May 14, 2019, at age 7. Her death was announced on May 17, 2019, on social media. Tributes were posted worldwide. She is buried at Sunland Pet Rest Cemetery in Sun City, Arizona.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Grumpy Cat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Grumpy Cat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Grumpy Cat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Grumpy Cat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Grumpy Cat

In research: Grumpy Cat appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Grumpy Cat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Grumpy Cat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2012 animal births, 2019 animal deaths, Animal actors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Grumpy Cat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Grumpy Cat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Grumpy Cat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Grumpy Cat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Grumpy Cat in simple terms?

Why does Grumpy Cat matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Grumpy Cat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Grumpy Cat.