Japanese aquarium urges public to video-chat eels
May 1, 2020 3:28 PM Subscribe
Japanese aquarium urges public to video-chat eels who are forgetting humans exist Sensitive creatures are starting to hide when keepers walk past, as a result of the lack of visitors. (SLGuardian)
Funny how this made the global rounds... my mom phoned me about this from Berlin, because one of our kid’s favourite ocean creatures happen to be garden eel, plus he’s worked behind the scenes at an acquarium, so she knew this would be right up his alley. It took me a bit to find the actual information about this, which, if I’m not mistaken works out to: between Sunday May 3rd and Tuesday May 5th, between 10 am and 2 pm (Tokyo time) you can Facetime one of the following numbers/IDs:
helpchin001@gmail.com
helpchin002@gmail.com
helpchin003@gmail.com
helpchin004@gmail.com
helpchin005@gmail.com
and say hi (but please don’t shout) to the eels for 5 minutes, after which it’s someone else’s turn, thanks.
posted by progosk at 3:50 PM on May 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
helpchin001@gmail.com
helpchin002@gmail.com
helpchin003@gmail.com
helpchin004@gmail.com
helpchin005@gmail.com
and say hi (but please don’t shout) to the eels for 5 minutes, after which it’s someone else’s turn, thanks.
posted by progosk at 3:50 PM on May 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
why make them look at the disgusting human forms that they are trying to hide from
hook them up with the eel version of pornhub or at least omegle
posted by Foci for Analysis at 4:00 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
hook them up with the eel version of pornhub or at least omegle
posted by Foci for Analysis at 4:00 PM on May 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
being an eel sounds nice tho
bet there is no elon musk in that aquarium
posted by Foci for Analysis at 4:00 PM on May 1, 2020 [15 favorites]
bet there is no elon musk in that aquarium
posted by Foci for Analysis at 4:00 PM on May 1, 2020 [15 favorites]
No, just eel musk during mating season.
posted by hippybear at 4:02 PM on May 1, 2020 [22 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:02 PM on May 1, 2020 [22 favorites]
bet there is no elon musk in that aquarium
20 minutes and still no Eelon Musk jokes? tsk
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:20 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
20 minutes and still no Eelon Musk jokes? tsk
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:20 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:20 PM
Oh, I see what you've been up to.
posted by hippybear at 4:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
Oh, I see what you've been up to.
posted by hippybear at 4:25 PM on May 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
Why did you give one eel a tinder profile?
That's a Moray.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:39 PM on May 1, 2020 [42 favorites]
That's a Moray.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:39 PM on May 1, 2020 [42 favorites]
Isn’t this sort of thing exactly what scientists rail against all the time? Altering wild animal behavior to suit our needs?
posted by drivingmenuts at 5:10 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by drivingmenuts at 5:10 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
[[I] [am]] [[going to] go] [synergize with] [[a few] [cinnamon rolls]] [to [relax]].
Let's see if my favorite scareline fits the formulae:
"[Werewolves] [protest] [plans to blow up the moon] []"
(from WWNews many a year ago)
darn. it doesn't say WHY
posted by Transylvania Metro Android Castle at 5:17 PM on May 1, 2020
I originally read this as "please distract the eels as they have taken to nibbling on our staff" and I stand by that reading as much more amusing.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 5:18 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 5:18 PM on May 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Isn’t this sort of thing exactly what scientists rail against all the time? Altering wild animal behavior to suit our needs?
They're sort of, um.. already living in an aquarium. Sort of already not quite so wild and pretty altered with their lifestyle. And they used to be inquisitive about the humans in their peculiar circumstances.
posted by hippybear at 5:24 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
They're sort of, um.. already living in an aquarium. Sort of already not quite so wild and pretty altered with their lifestyle. And they used to be inquisitive about the humans in their peculiar circumstances.
posted by hippybear at 5:24 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:20 PM
Oh, I see what you've been up to.
No no, I was still very much on the clock when I posted that. My mind is just naturally that stupid, no altering necessary!
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:30 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oh, I see what you've been up to.
No no, I was still very much on the clock when I posted that. My mind is just naturally that stupid, no altering necessary!
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:30 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
This reminds me of the 'touch tank' at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's stocked with various sorts of critters, some pretty passive (like sea stars) and some more active (like a local ray species), and visitors are encouraged to 'gently' run their fingers over the surface of said critters. Of course, 'gently' when you're talking about small children (and in all fairness, some adults) is pretty variable. So, consequentially, the more active critters all huddle together in the few spots where little arms and fingers can't quite reach.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 6:05 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 6:05 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
You mean: Steve #metoo and the Life Aquatic?
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:09 PM on May 1, 2020
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:09 PM on May 1, 2020
hook them up with the eel version of pornhub
FYI The eel version of pornhub is just rebadged version of regular pornhub.
posted by srboisvert at 7:17 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
FYI The eel version of pornhub is just rebadged version of regular pornhub.
posted by srboisvert at 7:17 PM on May 1, 2020 [9 favorites]
Well, I have a hovercraft...
posted by Windopaene at 7:39 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 7:39 PM on May 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Having a three-day festival is all well and good, but just imagine if every time you had a Zoom conference or a Houseparty get-together you could easily add a tank full of garden eels or a zoo animal as one of the particpants.
posted by Umami Dearest at 10:03 PM on May 1, 2020 [15 favorites]
posted by Umami Dearest at 10:03 PM on May 1, 2020 [15 favorites]
I'm honestly impressed the iPads are waterproof enough to be in the water for the eels to view for 4 hours across each of 3 days.
posted by hippybear at 10:09 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 10:09 PM on May 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
This reminds me of the 'touch tank' at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's stocked with various sorts of critters, some pretty passive (like sea stars) and some more active (like a local ray species), and visitors are encouraged to 'gently' run their fingers over the surface of said critters. Of course, 'gently' when you're talking about small children (and in all fairness, some adults) is pretty variable. So, consequentially, the more active critters all huddle together in the few spots where little arms and fingers can't quite reach.
I used to volunteer at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. My least favourite duty was supervising the touch pool. This was partly because it's really cold work, up to your elbows in cold water for hours at a time (our shifts were very long) but mostly because of the frustration with how limited the interaction was for most people. They didn't really seem to get all that much out of the process.
Our touch pool had a lot of anemones, some big hermit crabs, various crustaceans, and a lot of different types of sea weed with a few tiny fish darting about.
Most people were very reluctant to touch the creatures, which I can understand. But it also depressed me how surprised people are when you explain that the reason they shouldn't poke their fingers right into the middle of the anemones is because it hurts the anemone. It seemed to create cognitive dissonance for some people. "Oh, I shouldn't touch it because it will sting me?" "No, it's because you might hurt it." "Huh?"
I much preferred supervising the microscope stand where there was a little tank that you encouraged people to peer into through the microscope. The aquarists would put a lump of kelp in there full of creatures and you never knew whether you'd be showing people bristle stars, brine shrimp, or barnacles. I also LOVED the fact that the display needed a lot of care - complete water change once an hour, and at the end of the day the little creatures got to be released into a bigger tank, and the microscope turned off and covered up. There was something so satisfying about checking all the stages off on a clipboard. Filter on, check. Temperature correct, check. Something so soothing about that
posted by Zumbador at 1:16 AM on May 2, 2020 [8 favorites]
I used to volunteer at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. My least favourite duty was supervising the touch pool. This was partly because it's really cold work, up to your elbows in cold water for hours at a time (our shifts were very long) but mostly because of the frustration with how limited the interaction was for most people. They didn't really seem to get all that much out of the process.
Our touch pool had a lot of anemones, some big hermit crabs, various crustaceans, and a lot of different types of sea weed with a few tiny fish darting about.
Most people were very reluctant to touch the creatures, which I can understand. But it also depressed me how surprised people are when you explain that the reason they shouldn't poke their fingers right into the middle of the anemones is because it hurts the anemone. It seemed to create cognitive dissonance for some people. "Oh, I shouldn't touch it because it will sting me?" "No, it's because you might hurt it." "Huh?"
I much preferred supervising the microscope stand where there was a little tank that you encouraged people to peer into through the microscope. The aquarists would put a lump of kelp in there full of creatures and you never knew whether you'd be showing people bristle stars, brine shrimp, or barnacles. I also LOVED the fact that the display needed a lot of care - complete water change once an hour, and at the end of the day the little creatures got to be released into a bigger tank, and the microscope turned off and covered up. There was something so satisfying about checking all the stages off on a clipboard. Filter on, check. Temperature correct, check. Something so soothing about that
posted by Zumbador at 1:16 AM on May 2, 2020 [8 favorites]
They didn't really seem to get all that much out of the process.
I paid for a touch the rays thing in Vegas. $15 to touch slimy mucus.
posted by srboisvert at 5:17 AM on May 2, 2020
I paid for a touch the rays thing in Vegas. $15 to touch slimy mucus.
posted by srboisvert at 5:17 AM on May 2, 2020
I'm starting to forget about humans too. But please don't FaceTime me. I like it this way.
Poor eels
posted by kitten magic at 6:22 AM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
Poor eels
posted by kitten magic at 6:22 AM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
imagine if every time you had a Zoom conference or a Houseparty get-together you could easily add a tank full of garden eels or a zoo animal
You can: Zoom with the Cincinnati Zoo: You can now add a zoo animal to your next video conference Oh, Hi Fiona. How's your quarantine going?
posted by pangolin party at 7:43 AM on May 2, 2020 [6 favorites]
You can: Zoom with the Cincinnati Zoo: You can now add a zoo animal to your next video conference Oh, Hi Fiona. How's your quarantine going?
posted by pangolin party at 7:43 AM on May 2, 2020 [6 favorites]
That's a brilliant fundraising idea from the Cincinnati Zoo. It's pricey but getting to hang out with hippos is a great donation incentive, way better than a tote bag. And damn, zoos must be scrambling to handle the loss of visitor revenue, when costs aren't dropping at the same rate. You can't furlough animals.
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:11 PM on May 2, 2020
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:11 PM on May 2, 2020
$15 to touch slimy mucus.Same as in town, then?
posted by Cogito at 1:00 PM on May 2, 2020 [3 favorites]
If you're touching the slimy mucus, it's usually $15 into your pocket, not something you're paying out.
posted by hippybear at 6:37 PM on May 2, 2020
posted by hippybear at 6:37 PM on May 2, 2020
Zoom with the Cincinnati Zoo: You can now add a zoo animal to your next video conference
posted by pangolin party
Eponysterical!
[And just a UX side-note for the Cincinnati Zoo: if you're soliciting donations, maybe don't make people jump through hoops (image Captcha) just to see your information pages.]
posted by Umami Dearest at 10:04 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by pangolin party
Eponysterical!
[And just a UX side-note for the Cincinnati Zoo: if you're soliciting donations, maybe don't make people jump through hoops (image Captcha) just to see your information pages.]
posted by Umami Dearest at 10:04 PM on May 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
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[[I] [am]] [[going to] go] [synergize with] [[a few] [cinnamon rolls]] [to [relax]].
posted by Riki tiki at 3:41 PM on May 1, 2020 [19 favorites]