Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop of string back and forth between two or more players. The true origin of the name is debated, though the first known reference is in ''The light of nature pursued'' by Abraham Tucker in 1768. The type of string, the specific figures, their order, and the names of the figures vary. Independent versions of this game have been found in

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

cultures throughout the world, including in Africa, Eastern Asia, the Pacific Islands, Australia, the Americas, and the Arctic.

Play

The simplest version of the game involves a player using a long string loop to make a complex figure using their fingers and hands. Another version of the game consists of two or more players making a sequence of string figures, each altering the figure made by the previous player. The game begins with one player making the eponymous figure ''Cat's Cradle'' (above). After each figure, the next player manipulates that figure and removes the string figure from the hands of the previous player with one of a few simple motions and tightens the loop to create another figure, for example, ''Diamonds''. ''Diamonds'' might then lead to ''Candles'' (which is also known as ''Pinkies''), for example, and then ''Manger''—an inverted ''Cat's Cradle''—and so on. Most of the core figures allow a choice between two or more subsequent figures: for example, ''Fish in a Dish'' can become ''Cat's Eye'' or ''Manger''. The game ends when a player makes a mistake or creates a dead-end figure, which cannot be turned into anything else. Many players believe that ''Two Crowns'' or ''King's Crown'' is one such dead-end figure, although more experienced players recognize that it can be creatively maneuvered into ''Candles'' or ''Pinkies'', which allows the game to continue.

History

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The origin of the name "cat's cradle" is debated but the first known reference is in ''The light of nature pursued'' by Abraham Tucker in 1768.

"An ingenious play they call cat's cradle; one ties the two ends of a packthread together, and then winds it about his fingers, another with both hands takes it off perhaps in the shape of a gridiron, the first takes it from him again in another form, and so on alternately changing the packthread into a multitude of figures whose names I forget, it being so many years since I played at it myself."

The name may have come from a corruption of cratch-cradle, or

manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...

cradle (although this derivation is disputed by the

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

). The connection between the two words, ''cratches'' and ''cradle'', may come from the Christian story of the birth of Jesus, in which a manger is used as a cradle. In an 1858 ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' cartoon it is referred to as "scratch cradle", a name supported by

Brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...

's 1898 '' Dictionary''. As "Cat's cradle" often is used to refer to string figures and games in general, Jayne uses "Real Cat's-Cradle" to refer to the specific game. Different

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

s have different names for the game, and often different names for the individual figures. The French word for manger is ''crèche'', and cattle feed racks are still known as ''cratches''. In Japan it is called “ayatori.” In

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

the whole game is called simply, ''the game of string'', and the ''diamonds'' pattern is called ''carpet'', with other pattern names such as ''field'', ''fish'', and ''sawhorse'' for the other figures—a ''cat'' isn't mentioned.Buchanan, Andrea J. and Peskowitz, Miriam (2007). ''The Daring Book for Girls'', p.277. . The game may have originated in China. In China the game is called 翻繩 ''fan sheng'' ( en, turning rope), In

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

the game is called "Knitting Grandmother" (in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: "סבתא סורגת", ''Savta Soreget''). In some regions of the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, this game also is known as ''Jack in the Pulpit''.

World records

Geneva Hultenius, Maryann Divona, and Rita Divona completed 21,200 changes of cat's cradles in 21 hours in Chula Vista, California between August 17–18, 1974. The '' Guinness Book of World Records'' reported it as a world record in the 1975 and 1976 editions. Jane Muir and Robyn Lawrick completed 22,700 changes of cat's cradles in 21 hours at Calgary Market Mall, Alberta, Canada on August 25, 1976.McWhirter, Ross (1983). ''Guinness Book of World Records 1979'', p.453. .

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