Comments on: Basketball rats

Basketball rats

i_cola — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:34:30 -0800

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.

By: i_cola

i_cola — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:35:11 -0800

With the amount of food they seem to be getting for playing and the total lack of defence, I can see an opening for Eddy Curry now he's failed to make the starting line up of Mike D'Antoni's new look Knicks.

By: carfullofpandas

carfullofpandas — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:37:26 -0800

Call me when they can play hockey.

By: parmanparman

parmanparman — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:38:26 -0800

That is really not nearly as awesome as I imagined.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:00:12 -0800

Beat me to the NY Knicks joke, i_cola. Solid work.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:01:05 -0800

Dude that was totally a walk!!

By: jedicus

jedicus — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:04:06 -0800

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.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:11:22 -0800

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.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:17:03 -0800

The problem with a single goal is .... BLOOD ON THE COURT. Then it becomes gladiator mice.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:20:26 -0800

Then it becomes gladiator mice. Give 'em some tiny boxing gloves and I fail to see the problem.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:40:23 -0800

They can't dunk, but at least their fundamentals are solid.

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:43:15 -0800

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]

By: thejanna

thejanna — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:24:22 -0800

They have had rats playing basketball at the COSI in Columbus since I was a little kid...

By: i_cola

i_cola — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:20:50 -0800

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.

By: Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:06:43 -0800

Follow-up study: White rats can't jump.

By: salishsea

salishsea — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:20:56 -0800

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.

By: Lord_Pall

Lord_Pall — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:30:12 -0800

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.

By: Richard Daly

Richard Daly — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:58:06 -0800

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.

By: sy

sy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:39:11 -0800

What thejanna said. I left Columbus when I was 12, but this post brought those Saturday afternoons at COSI right back.