. . . the Nobble Dobble Prize for their contributions to medicine. To find out how they won, this Morning Hairball reporter interviewed the spokescat for the team, Avid Clawser. "For which of your accomplishments did you win the Nobble Dobble Prize?

"Don't you watch television?" Avid Clawer demanded. "We won the ND Prize for discovering how canines transmit their thoughts to one another."

This Morning Hairball twitched her whiskers. "I didn't happen to catch that particular newscast," she admitted. "But don't dogs communicate by barking?"

"Yes, but we proved it, because we are scientific-minded felines," Avid Clawer confirmed. He then went on to explain the Nobble Dobble Prize application process. "First, we sent in 3 box tops from Nobble Dobble cereal. Because there were three of us, we each only had to buy one box. This is important, because Nobble Dobble cereal tastes worse than dog food. Then we wrote an essay about our greatest scientific discovery, and we submitted it along with our photos. Several months passed, and then we were asked to model for the Nobble Dobble Prize committee in bathing suits and evening gowns. Finally, after answering one question for the committee -- which movie star do you most admire, and why -- our team was selected as Nobble Dobble Prize winners."

Even Mama Mothball found that fascinating. And she is not without her scientific orientation herself. In fact, she spends much of her time chasing bugs and documenting the intricate ways in which they decompose, when their corpses are left on windowsills. So, if Mama Mothball can get through 3 boxes of Nobble Dobble cereal, she just might enter next year's contest herself. Mama Mothball would love to be on television. And she's pretty sure that she can win a bathing suit and evening gown competition, paws down.

Talk back to Mama Mothball: mama_mothball@meowmail.com