Basketball rats
October 22, 2008 8:34 AM Subscribe
Basketball rats. So the folks at the Finnish Science Centre Heureka have trained rats to play basketball.
Any tame rat can learn to play basketball, but brave rats which are relaxed playing in front of an enthusiastic audience will be the best professionals!
Video here and more here. Via TrueHoop.
Any tame rat can learn to play basketball, but brave rats which are relaxed playing in front of an enthusiastic audience will be the best professionals!
Video here and more here. Via TrueHoop.
Call me when they can play hockey.
posted by carfullofpandas at 8:37 AM on October 22, 2008
posted by carfullofpandas at 8:37 AM on October 22, 2008
That is really not nearly as awesome as I imagined.
posted by parmanparman at 8:38 AM on October 22, 2008
posted by parmanparman at 8:38 AM on October 22, 2008
The ones in the second video seem to have figured out (or been inadvertently trained to) take turns scoring unopposed goals. It may also be a natural result of the one-on-one with 2 goals setup. With two players on a side or with only a single goal, I expect the game would be more interesting.
posted by jedicus at 9:04 AM on October 22, 2008
posted by jedicus at 9:04 AM on October 22, 2008
I think I originally saw the hold-on-to-the-ball-and-send-your-whole-body-through-the-hoop trick in a Harlem Globetrotters cartoon. Or maybe it was Bugs Bunny.
posted by yhbc at 9:11 AM on October 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by yhbc at 9:11 AM on October 22, 2008 [2 favorites]
The problem with a single goal is ....
BLOOD ON THE COURT.
Then it becomes gladiator mice.
posted by The Whelk at 9:17 AM on October 22, 2008
BLOOD ON THE COURT.
Then it becomes gladiator mice.
posted by The Whelk at 9:17 AM on October 22, 2008
Then it becomes gladiator mice.
Give 'em some tiny boxing gloves and I fail to see the problem.
posted by jedicus at 9:20 AM on October 22, 2008
Give 'em some tiny boxing gloves and I fail to see the problem.
posted by jedicus at 9:20 AM on October 22, 2008
They can't dunk, but at least their fundamentals are solid.
posted by boo_radley at 9:40 AM on October 22, 2008
posted by boo_radley at 9:40 AM on October 22, 2008
The NBA should require that all players should have to jump through the hoop to score (as in the second video).
[insert joke here about jumping through hoops for cute grad students]
[slam-dunk of a find]
posted by not_on_display at 9:43 AM on October 22, 2008
[insert joke here about jumping through hoops for cute grad students]
[slam-dunk of a find]
posted by not_on_display at 9:43 AM on October 22, 2008
They have had rats playing basketball at the COSI in Columbus since I was a little kid...
posted by thejanna at 10:24 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by thejanna at 10:24 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
The NBA should require that all players should have to jump through the hoop to score.
As a Knicks fan I would heartily endorse this. Nate Robinson is probably the only player in the league who could do it.
posted by i_cola at 11:20 AM on October 22, 2008
As a Knicks fan I would heartily endorse this. Nate Robinson is probably the only player in the league who could do it.
posted by i_cola at 11:20 AM on October 22, 2008
Follow-up study: White rats can't jump.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:06 PM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:06 PM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Look Around You: Obesity
An experiment was conducted in which rats were trained to score baskets for a food reward. After 21 points were scored, the rats were no long able to reach the basket, due to the amount of food inside them. We therefore conclude that obesity prevents rats from exercising.
Write that in your copybooks now.
posted by salishsea at 12:20 PM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
An experiment was conducted in which rats were trained to score baskets for a food reward. After 21 points were scored, the rats were no long able to reach the basket, due to the amount of food inside them. We therefore conclude that obesity prevents rats from exercising.
Write that in your copybooks now.
posted by salishsea at 12:20 PM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
I have been looking for a reason to go there. I now have it.
I shall visit and report back on this stunning scientific breakthrough.
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:30 PM on October 22, 2008
I shall visit and report back on this stunning scientific breakthrough.
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:30 PM on October 22, 2008
I've been to Heureka a number of times and I'd say it compares well with other children's science museums I've been to, like the Museum of Science, Boston. Heureka's smaller, of course, but if you're in the neighborhood and like science, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
posted by Richard Daly at 12:58 PM on October 22, 2008
posted by Richard Daly at 12:58 PM on October 22, 2008
What thejanna said. I left Columbus when I was 12, but this post brought those Saturday afternoons at COSI right back.
posted by sy at 3:39 PM on October 22, 2008
posted by sy at 3:39 PM on October 22, 2008
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posted by i_cola at 8:35 AM on October 22, 2008