The irony of the infamous simultaneously alive and dead cat of our dear Mr. Schrodinger is that the whole example ~ the cat, the box, its unknown time or cause of death (I heard by poison in my science lectures, however I have also heard that the poor kitty was subject to radiation and a bomb), was entirely fabricated because Schrodinger was trying to illustrate how ridiculous he thought the whole idea was... talk about not being understood as you become a cultural icon!