>>22948935Haha it was this early internet meme. I was in elementary school when I first encountered it, it was 20 years ago or so. Around 2004/5.
Some people created a website providing information about and also offering for sale "banzaii cats". A banzaii cat was a cat which had it's head inserted to a glass jar when it was a young kitten. The glass jars were of varying shapes, and the idea was that the kittens skull grow and form into shape of the jar. So there was these pictures of cats with their heads in these decorative jars being offered for sale at ludicrous sums and a bunch of sold listings. Even some fully grown banzaii cats in there.
Needless to say it was total bullshit and was done by a troll or group of trolls. It went "viral" at the time in the form a lot of things did. A series of chain emails purporting to be a petition to have the owners identified and punitive legal measures be taken against them, to sue them or otherwise punished, or to pass laws against the creation of the banzaii cats and classify it as animal abuse. It took a few different forms. Of course the email also contained links to the offending website in case you wanted to buy a banzaii cat instead of sign the petition and get them justice, you see.
That is how I encountered it. A girl I had a thing with at the time was the one who sent it to me, she was very upset about the banzaii cats and she wanted me to add my name to the petition and pass it on to all my contacts. I remember the email had a shitload of people who had added their name and email address. I don't recall if the email asked for a full name or what. Just that there was hundreds if not thousands of names and emails on there. Being that I liked the girl who sent it and she let me touch her boobies, I added my name and kicked it down the road as asked. A shameful display, but I was young and foolish, as it were.
Now that I think about it that could have been an early form of a data harvesting operation.
