SCP-529 as it existed in August 2008 on the WikiDot SCP Wiki.

SCP-529 is an early SCP posted to /x/ in thread # 446341, on January 19, 2008.^[1]https://archive.ph/jmVa6^[2]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-8225.10-8225.23 It is arguably the most important early SCP from 4chan besides SCP-173. It was posted to the EditThis by an anonymous user a day after its creation on January 20, 2008. ^[3]http://web.archive.org/web/20080409210737/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series^[4]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410120644/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-529^[5]http://web.archive.org/web/20080422032211/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=SCP-529&action=history Its author is unknown. It has been translated into 15 languages other than English.^[6]https://scpper.com/page/1956301 SCP-529’s image was replaced on May 23, 2020 in order to be compliant with the site’s Creative Commons license.^[7]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82005/scp-529#post-4660074

History & Contributions

SCP-529 is the predecessor to thematic variations on horror in the SCP format. It broke with convention as the first “not scary” SCP, foreshadowing the expansion of the SCP format and containment fiction into genres other than horror. The appeal and novelty represented by SCP-529 would be replicated numerous times, and almost immediately on 4chan’s /x/.^[8]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-9983.30-9983.44^[9]https://archive.ph/rHdvx#selection-2613.10-2613.60 SCP-529 was also the subject of some controversy:

“Why should it have an SCP number when there are no special containment procedures?”^[10]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410225129/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP_Series, archive — Anonymous EditThis user

SCP-529 was ported to the WikiDot by Lt Masipag on July 25, 2008.^[11]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-529 Though the content and presentation have been altered dramatically, including the addition of a Creative Commons-compliant photo and an object class, SCP-529 exists and occupies its original numerical slot on the current SCP Wiki.^[12]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-529^[13]http://05command.wikidot.com/original-pages

SCP-529 is the first SCP to introduce a name or title (“Josie”), a practice which has become ubiquitous in modern containment fiction writing. SCP-529 is more widely known as its current title of “Josie The Half-Cat”, the title which was present by the time of EditThis.^[14]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on#500_to_599 SCP-529 was the first instance of the “freely walking around the facility” trope, which was copied so much, it would reach the point of cliche in later years for SCPs.^[15]https://web.archive.org/web/20191030033950/https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/cliche-con-2019

From available commentary, SCP-529 was appreciated for being uniquely benign, relatively harmless, loveable, cute, whimsical, comparatively mundane, and thought-provoking.^[16]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-8693.0-8865.103^[17]http://web.archive.org/web/20080422032637/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-529^[18]https://archive.vn/1jSvG#selection-2699.0-2699.262 SCP-529 remains beloved by the SCP fandom and is commonly the subject of merchandise, such as plushies.^[19]https://www.etsy.com/listing/919699974/scp-529-josie-the-half-cat-plush

Logo/Mascot

“Josie the Half cat was one of the first major entries to be posted on EditThis, and was popular enough that the first SCP logo was based on her appearance.” — History of the Universe: Part One^[20]https://archive.ph/hD7IW#selection-1515.84-1515.239

Josie the Half Cat was the official logo for the SCP EditThis Wiki.^[21]https://web.archive.org/web/20080409210737/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP_Series#^[22]http://web.archive.org/web/20080607185852/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:Main_Page It replaced a non-descript image of a dinosaur. It was the EditThis Admin who suggested Josie.^[23]https://archive.ph/QNbYp#selection-19377.1519-19377.1699

O5 Command, the WikiDot wiki/forum devoted to the SCP Wiki staff and its public operations, selected Josie the Half Cat as their official insignia. At the time a formal Wikipedia page was made for the SCP Foundation, the staff considered Josie the Half Cat as the official insignia for the SCP project’s greater representation, though far2’s circle-and-arrows logo was chosen instead.^[24]https://archive.ph/xwD4w#selection-5047.0-5059.185 The anterior half of a cat remains the favicon of O5 Command on browser tabs.

Trivia

SCP-529 was initially titled simply “Josie”; the epithet was added later on EditThis.^[25]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-8225.10-8225.31^[26]http://web.archive.org/web/20080409210737/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series The name is assumed to be a reference to “Josie and the Pussycats“.

The discussion page for SCP-529 on EditThis features a comment questioning why this is given a “Special Containment Procedure number”, arguing that it is not a real SCP, more a joke, because it is amusing.^[27]http://web.archive.org/web/20080422032637/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-529

A line present in the original on /x/, “Staff are not permitted to feed cheese to her – she will become distressed if not given sufficient cheese.” has been the topic of much confusion and debate over the years since its creation, with many giving theories as to why this is, and others suggesting it be removed from the article.^[28]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-8225.1286-8225.1429^[29]http://web.archive.org/web/20080422032637/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-529^[30]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82005/scp-529#post-802784^[31]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82005/scp-529#post-1450260^[32]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82005/scp-529#post-2381313^[33]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82005/scp-529#post-2480481 In the original SCP-529, when discouraging personnel from feeding it cheese, the document stated “… it is already too fat.”^[34]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-8225.1286-8225.1425 This phrase was excluded from the article sometime between its initial version and the first archive of it on EditThis in April 2008.^[35]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410120644/http://editthis.info/SCP_wiki/SCP-529 The removal of this portion has contributed to much of the ambiguity over the remaining line.

SCP-529 was included in SCP-004 from January to September 2009.^[36]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82005/scp-529#post-372262^[37]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82005/scp-529#post-1273865

A comment reacting to the initial SCP-529 on /x/ noted “Although a quick DNA test would determine the sex.”^[38]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-8779.30-8779.81 This information would be added to later editions, with the cat being female.^[39]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410120644/http://editthis.info/SCP_wiki/SCP-529^[40]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-529