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Video: Japanese Scientists Teach Rats To Use Miniature Rake

pinktentacle.com — Rodents can learn how to wield tools with the proper training, according to new research from Japan ’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN). In a series of experiments conducted over a 60-day period, researchers taught six degus (small rat-like rodents) to use a miniature rake to obtain food.

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  • stejules, on 03/27/2008, -19/+3Rats are very intelligent. Why they shall use a rake? I don't understand. lol
    Greetinx Ste!
    • talonstriker, on 03/27/2008, -7/+4[douchebag]
      to gouge your eyes out.
      [/douchebag]
      • capiCrimm, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4I see you've also been to room 101.
    • halobender, on 03/27/2008, -0/+8Greetinx? Ste?
      I don't understand.
    • jellygraph, on 03/27/2008, -3/+1Its not a rat, but a degu, who are far far more intelligent
    • Gir53457, on 03/27/2008, -0/+8Because of the rocketing housing prices in Japanese cities people are forced to sacrifice large rock gardens in favor of smaller desktop types. These rats are being trained in the fine art of using a rake and soon will be making elegant patterns with sand in the shape of cheese.
  • jflowers45, on 03/27/2008, -1/+7I definitely use a rake for leaves and not food ;)
    • qwertydvorak, on 03/28/2008, -0/+4i would rather rats learn broom and mop use to clean their ***** up.
  • frooo, on 03/27/2008, -1/+32... I'm going to put it out there that one day a Japanese scientist will figure out how to make an octopus tapdance.

    Anyone want to take me on that bet?
    • surKaz, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2I want to get on that bet.. but on your side.. I believe that too..
    • serif69, on 03/27/2008, -0/+12I won't take you up on it, but I will add that they'll run it in a televised obstacle course competition.
    • BlueSkyfish, on 03/27/2008, -1/+3Please don't mention "Japanese" and "octopus" in the same sentence.

      /bad memory
      • qwertydvorak, on 03/28/2008, -0/+3how can you watch the tentacle hentai porn when there is so much high quality japanese schoolgirl porn out there ?
  • scififan9009, on 03/27/2008, -0/+7Army of Mice Armed With Rakes Raids Downtown Tokyo For Cheese - Film@11!
    • surKaz, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Gojira!!!.. No.. Degu!!!!.. meh, Doesn't sound as cool...
  • JoeyDigital, on 03/27/2008, -0/+15opposable thumbs aint got ***** on rats
  • bglav, on 03/27/2008, -1/+94Splinter taught Turtles to fight crime. Not impressed...
    • Ratteler, on 03/27/2008, -0/+5"Splinter taught them to be Ninja teens! He's a radical rat..."
  • BeefPopsicle, on 03/27/2008, -1/+7sure NOW it's rakes, next they will learn to use guns. don't these scientists think of the implications?
    • iticu, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3Yeah, but without opposable thumbs they can;t make the guns.
      Therefore, we could make a little village for them and sell them miniature guns, profit off it and have nothing to worry about!

      It would be like playing God and creating a mafia of rats. Those Japanese would probably turn it into a gameshow aswell..
      • Gir53457, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2I make you a promise on the life of my forty daughters that this is a cheese wheel you can't refuse.
  • chanop, on 03/27/2008, -3/+3is this true, or am I just cheesing
  • talonstriker, on 03/27/2008, -6/+23Alright, I'll get it out of the way:
    I, for one, welcome our new rodent overlords.
    • KSUdesigner, on 03/27/2008, -1/+8At least get it right if you're going to bother.

      I, for one, welcome our new rake-wielding rodent overlords.
  • Nougat, on 03/27/2008, -0/+56I'm picturing rats with little rakes maintaining a little banzai tree rock garden.
    • surKaz, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1Why did 'Karate Kid' flash across my mind?... Oh yeah, the Banzai garden..
    • TheSnuffster, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1That's what this video should have been. I'm a tad disappointed after watching :(
    • d4rthsid, on 03/31/2008, -0/+2It's actually Bonsai. Banzai is what you say when you jump out of an airplane.
      • Nougat, on 03/31/2008, -0/+1Thank you for that correction. Looking at it now, I feel like a dumbass.
  • Clobbersaurus, on 03/27/2008, -9/+0I wonder how many rats the Japanese had to kill for this research.
  • colorme, on 03/27/2008, -0/+7I used to have Degus! They're really smart, and quite friendly. Good pets, as far as rodents go.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degu
  • 0crabby0, on 03/27/2008, -5/+3Now can has Raturday?
  • khoa1708, on 03/27/2008, -9/+2i, for one, welcome our rodent overlords
  • TheZorch, on 03/27/2008, -6/+5Not any big surprise. Contrary to popular belief and Christian propaganda, tool use is not an exclusive trait of the Human Race.
    • DYMongoose, on 03/27/2008, -2/+5What Christian propaganda says tool use is a human exclusive trait? That sounds rather trollish to me... (and here I am feeding it... *sends self to time out*)
    • fatrandy13, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1shut up thezorch
  • rivasj, on 03/27/2008, -1/+5Why not chop sticks?
  • likwidfuzion, on 03/27/2008, -1/+6I see the Japanese are outsourcing the rats from Home Depot.
  • docquan, on 03/27/2008, -0/+6That sand's not gonna rake itself, Hiroshi.
  • Nimara, on 03/27/2008, -0/+73 responses to: “Scientists teach rodents to use rake” [Below the video]

    STEVE:
    "Great! Now the rats can rake those zen gardens."
    NEIL DUCKETT:
    "Rake the zen gardens, too funny!"
    BRANDON:
    "That’s pretty damn awesome, keeping with the other comments, we need ones that can make zen gardens now."


    Zen Gardens, The Ultimate Goal.
    • nekochan, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1zen gardens are just what you get when you cross japan with tiny rakes.
  • x0mb13, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1Yes! First we get the animals to start using tools, then they develop weapons, and then...A Real Life RPG. Yes, imagine it. Slaying cats riding dogs with spears and taking their loot, sign me up.
    • petebot, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1If the rats were the stars of their own real-lide RPG, their first quest would be to rid the innkeeper's basement of low-level paladins and dwarfs.
  • Treoinmypocket, on 03/27/2008, -8/+2You know, the Japanese are SOoooo lazy.

    First, they copy all our technology - oh sure they improve it but all the HARD work has been done in R&D by then...

    Now, they can't even rake their own leaves? They have to get RATS to do it? I mean I guess it makes sense with all those bonsai tress...you DO need LITTLE rakes...but really.
    • talonstriker, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3lulz R u seroise?
      Following your logic, we (Americans) can accuse ourselves of being lazy because most of the technology developed here are based upon R&D by European scientists during the Enlightenment.
      Besides, being lazy for the sake of imagineing about schoolgirls is completely valid.
      (hopefully your post wasn't sarcastic)
    • DeathMote, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3If anything, US is the one with the boring stuff. Japan comes out with all the wacky electronics. /jealous
      • WriterSD, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1That's so true. Japan has some crazy inventions.
    • Treoinmypocket, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1wow - that was sarcastic. not serious.
  • Cebo, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Today rake, tomorrow Skaven invasion.
  • abhoody, on 03/27/2008, -1/+12I see nothing in that video that demonstrates that the rats even attempted to use the rake to bring in the food. They place the rake either above the food or close enough to it that eventually, after enough attempts, the rats movements will involuntarily bring the food to it. Throw out the thosands of failures and piece together two of the successess and call it success.

    Some of you guys need to take at least a basic level science course.
  • jboettcher, on 03/27/2008, -0/+6My cats use me as a tool to get food. Get on, purr and knead skin, make a general cute nuisance of themselves and soon enough they get food. It's nothing new.
  • jward12345, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2I didn't see him do anything with that green plastic thing besides push it around.....
  • VivaLaUndead, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1that ain't a rat
  • Galaeron, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Master Splinter creates zen garden
  • dbsmoker, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1That little guy would be perfect for getting in those hard to reach areas like under the couch!

    or

    Haven't the Japanese heard of a Roomba?
  • Deputy_Doodah, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1Can I place an order for 10,000 of the little buggers around...say...November?
  • stackered, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Yes! Now I don't have to rake my own miniature-sized fields.
  • smoger, on 03/27/2008, -1/+4When all the illegal immigrants leave America, who will do our landscaping? Rats.
  • mrSimon, on 03/27/2008, -2/+3A rat who knows if you fiddle with this thing, sometimes you get food.
    Film it long enough, you're sure to get the odd shot like this.
    I dont buy it.
  • whoamarcos, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1BEWARE!

    THE JAPANESE RAT ARMY IS ON ITS WAY!

    /cruise control
    • TheSnuffster, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1And I suppose you think you're cool?
  • anachronaut, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3I watched the video twice and I never saw the rodent using a tool... the only rake-like object visible to me was the fence that they were placing the seed behind, but I always saw the rodent using his paws to pull the seed forward.

    Am I blind?
    • TheAbsintheHare, on 03/27/2008, -1/+2On the third attempt, the rat uses the green little rake thing to pull the seed towards him. The green thing is the rake, and there's a tiny little seed next to the rake. I missed it the first time; it's really small.
  • Evi1d33d, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1They use them to rake zen gardens.
  • Dunge, on 03/27/2008, -0/+7That seemed like a random movement while trying to grab the food, not intelligence..
    • DYMongoose, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4That's exactly what I was thinking...
    • aidave, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Yeah. Why doesn't this link have "Reported as possibly inaccurate" on it?
  • cJw314, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Buried as misleading. Degus, not rats, are closely related to guinea pigs. -.-
  • porkdanish, on 03/27/2008, -2/+1I'm shocked! I would have expected that taking upskirt photos of schoolgirls would have been their first research item.
  • borkus69, on 03/27/2008, -2/+0I guess this means that rats are more intelligent than politicians-- if they could only teach politicians not to lie, then we'd have something really staggering!
  • A11YND, on 03/27/2008, -1/+3I for one welcome our new Japanese rat overlords.
  • mahdaeng, on 03/27/2008, -2/+1Wow! They trained rodents! I didn't think that was possible!

    /sarcasm (in case it didn't show)
  • fullofshit, on 03/27/2008, -3/+2I for one welcome our new mice over lords.
  • WalkerBetween, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Well last year it was shown that rats do possess Metacognition (the ability to think about thinking) which, up until now, only Humans and some Primates had been show to possess and some scientists think it's a trait required for a species to become sapient and sentient. It is entirely possible that if early rats had possessed stronger forepaws with opposable thumbs, the world would be run by highly evolved rats instead of highly evolved monkeys.
  • blackgrape, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4Is pawing at a rake the same think as using a rake?

    In which case, my cat can drive a car....
  • Aines, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1The day when the Japanese rodents will overcome us all draws near.
    • Juber, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0i for one welcome our new rat overlords

      (I see now that I am late to this party)
  • Tezkat, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2The Secret of NIMH. Anyone ever watched it? It's pretty damn frightening.
    • WriterSD, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1That movie gave me nightmares as a child. :-(
  • davidg11, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Here's video of these little guys using their rakes. I can't believe it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfp7FbsnsbU
  • tivicus, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1The beginning of another attempt at cheap labor.
  • hakz, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1I want to say a monty python joke so badly right now, but I'm ill and I can't think :(
  • aidave, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Looked really fake to me. Just trial and error videos which showed 2 instances of the rat randomly hitting the rake to the food. Not scientific at all.
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