Cat's eye

Cat's eye or Cat's Eye may refer to:

Science and technology

Products

Entertainment

Cat's eye (road)

The cat's eye is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. It originated in the UK in 1933 and is today used all over the world. It consists (in its original form) of two pairs of reflective glass spheres set into a white rubber dome, mounted in a cast-iron housing. This is the kind that marks the centre of the road, with one pair of cat's eyes showing in each direction. A single-ended form has become widely used in other colours at road margins and as lane dividers. Cat's eyes are particularly valuable in fog and are largely resistant to damage from snow ploughs.

A key feature of the cat's eye is the flexible rubber dome which is occasionally deformed by the passage of traffic. A fixed rubber wiper cleans the surface of the reflectors as they sink below the surface of the road (the base tends to hold water after a shower of rain, making this process even more efficient). The rubber dome is protected from impact damage by metal 'kerbs' – which also give tactile and audible feedback for wandering drivers.

Cat's Eyes

Cat's Eyes are an alternative pop duo formed in early 2011 by vocalist Faris Badwan (known for his work with English indie rock band The Horrors) and Italian-Canadian soprano, composer and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira.

History

The band formed after Badwan introduced Zeffira to 1960s girl group music. Zeffira became intrigued by the likes of The Ronettes and acts produced by Joe Meek and Phil Spector, and soon began work on a demo version of a track (which eventually became "The Lull") in a similar style, which she sent to Badwan upon completion.

Using Zeffira's classical music contacts, the band were able to perform a short performance using a church organ and choir at the Vatican, in front of several important cardinals. Following positive press on the performance, they offered free downloads of two songs via their website, "Not a Friend" and a cover/remix of Grinderman's "When My Baby Comes".

On 28 February 2011, the duo released the Broken Glass EP on the Polydor label. It was recorded at Peter Gabriel's RealWorld Studios with record producer Steve Osborne. The Broken Glass EP featured three original compositions and a cover of a previously unreleased demo song by The Horrors, "Sunshine Girls". It met with positive press and was followed by the release of full-length album Cat's Eyes on 11 April 2011. Also recorded at RealWorld Studios, Cat's Eyes received positive reviews, with a four-star review from The Guardian and a score of 7.9 from Pitchfork Media, and yielded two singles, "Face in the Crowd" (on 2 May 2011) and "Over You" (on 25 July 2011).