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The Cat Who Helped
Build a Dam
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The Grand Coulee Dam, a
hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington state,
USA, is the largest electric power-producing facility and the largest
concrete structure. It is the fourth largest producer of
hydroelectricity in the world.
And it might not have been completed without the help of a cat.
In 1942, the Dam had been under construction for 9 years when they
reached a stumbling block: they couldn't figure out how to run a
cable through 500 feet of partially blocked, narrow, crooked, drain
pipe.
Then one of the engineers thought of the little white cat that had been
visiting the site for a few days. The cat didn't complain when he
tied some string to her tail, nor did the cat complain when he tied the
string to the cable. When the engineer placed the cat in the pipe, she
moved ahead. With people calling to her at the other end, she
steadfastly walked the full length of the pipe. When she came out
the other side, the crew cheered.
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