March 30, 2023 • 9 mins
Small mammals do more than scurry around our feet. They also leave a trail of curious stories for us to follow.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio
and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable,
and if history is an open book, all of these
amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for
us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. The
(00:36):
human body is amazing. Our bodies contain over two hundred
bones and six hundred and fifty muscles that allow us
to stand upright, dance, and compete in various sports. Our
brains have sixteen billion neurons that enable us to perform
quick calculations, invent new ideas, create tools, relate to others,
and create strategies among so much else. Our brains also
(00:59):
regulate our bodies, controlling our muscles, regulating our temperatures and emotions,
and processing the information we take in. Our brains, and
some argue are opposable thumbs, have allowed us to create
inventions that extend or significantly augment what our bodies and
brains were designed to do. Cars, bicycles, and other modes
of transportation allow us to travel greater distances and faster
(01:22):
than we can on foot. Computers, often solve problems more
quickly than our brains. We're pretty impressive as a species,
or at least we'd like to think so. Yet other
species have inspired us to achieve even more. Since humankind's
earliest years, we've longed to fly like birds. Early versions
of aircraft tried to mimic the way birds flew. In
(01:43):
the end, we settled for airplanes, and of course inventions
like hang gliders. We've invented away to see at nights
like owls and other nocturnal predators like cats. Whales have
inspired submarines. Bats and dolphins became the inspiration for sonar.
A duck's webbed feet where the model for flippers. Drones fly, dive,
and hover like hummingbirds or peregrine falcons. Companies have created
(02:07):
dog like robots that can carry objects, trek over outdoor terrain,
and detect various information from locations that are unsafe for
us humans. But of course robots can be a bit
creepy for sure. Science fiction buffs do wonder how far
we are from the humanoid robots in the Terminator movies,
and while we're still working on creating upright robots capable
(02:27):
of moving around like US, it's another animal that has
the US Army's attention. Researchers have set a lofty goal
create a four legged robots capable of maneuvering over the
most challenging terrain. The robot should be able to make
near instantaneous decisions with an array of adjustments, and it
should be able to right itself just as it's about
(02:47):
to roll over. Now in nature, the animal that's inspired
this is practically unrivaled in its ability to jump and
assess obstacles practically on the fly. The animals have a
keen ability to make bold leaps, often of death, defy nature.
In their natural habitat, the animals learn at an early
age how to judge distances and make appropriate calculations when
(03:07):
jumping from object to object. They can flip and twist
seemingly in mid air thanks to their mastery of spatial orientation.
They're also keen observers and can spot threats easily. Although
we don't give these animals much thought, they're almost as
intelligent as they are agile. They can find items that
they haven't seen for months and assess their food quality
(03:28):
by weight. Psychologists who study the mammal created a wall
equipped with a springboard and flexible landing platform. After coaxing
the wild animals that willingly worked for their favorite food,
researchers learned essential facts. For example, the animal values sturdier
takeoff platforms more than flexible ones. The takeoff and landing
objects were more important to the animal than the gap
(03:50):
in between them. Of course, the biologists and biomechanics team
at the University of California's Berkeley campus know that such
a robot isn't like anything we have today. Though we've
seen some impressive moves, today's robots simply aren't built to
be as flexible as our furry friend here. But what
makes this animal's movements so important? The Army believes such
(04:11):
a robot would go anywhere a soldier could. The robots
would be able to weigh their agility against the terrain.
Search and rescue missions would also benefit. The robots could
enter buildings in danger of collapse to search for survivors.
So while we envisioned huge, scary looking robots like those
we see in the movies, researchers and the US Army
are looking at designing furturistic robots that may not work
(04:35):
for peanuts, but are modeled after those that do our
friendly neighborhood squirrel. Everybody has that favorite book they loved
(04:57):
as a child. It might have been about a dragon,
or a fairy princess, or a misunderstood ogre living in
a swamp. Whatever it was, we read it until the
spine wore away and the pages fell out. We can
probably still remember the mom or dad or grandparents who
tucked us in and sat with us as they read
it aloud to us, until we were carried off to
that dreamland on their whispered words. As we got older, though,
(05:20):
we lose touch with that part of our childhood. But
even though we may not read those books anymore, they
stay with us, and if we're lucky, we might get
to share them with our own children and grandchildren. Unfortunately,
one children's book in particular did not leave a love
of reading in one nation's children. Instead, it led to
the takeover of an invasive species, and the country is
(05:41):
still dealing with it. It started in nineteen sixty three
with the publication of the book Rascal, A Memoir of
a Better Era, by Sterling North. North hailed from Wisconsin
and had turned a pivotal year of his life into
a best selling children's book You See When he was younger,
He'd taken care of a baby raccoon, which led to
some hilarious hijinks within the family. In the book, the
(06:03):
animal rode in a basket on North's bicycle and even
helped him win a pie eating contest. The book ends
with young Sterling releasing the raccoon named Rascal back out
into the wild to live where it belonged. It was
a cute story, one that Disney eventually took notice of
and turned into a live action film in nineteen sixty nine,
but it wasn't until a Japanese animation studio got a
(06:25):
hold of it that things took a strange and ecologically
damaging turn. In nineteen seventy seven, Nipon Animation Company adapted
North's book into a fifty two episode anime series called
a Reguma Rasukaru, which in English means raccoon Rascal. Like
its source material, the anime told the story about a
(06:46):
little boy who took care of a small raccoon. He
tried to make it a pet, but the wild animal
refused to be domesticated that had to eventually be returned
to the wild. The show aired from January second of
nineteen seventy seven until December twenty fifth of the same year. However,
despite the anime's serious lessons about caring for and releasing
wild animals, they seem to have no impact on the
(07:06):
people who watched it, or maybe they just never finished
the series because the message of the show was clear
raccoons make terrible pets. Still, that didn't stop Japanese families
from importing them into the country in the years following
its release and eventual conclusion, and usually one of two
things would happen after a family brought in a raccoon.
(07:27):
Either the animal escaped, as wild animals are known to do,
or it was released by well meaning owners who wanted
to emulate what they had learned from the show, although
truth be told, the animals themselves were only too happy
to remind their human helpers that they were not meant
to be kept indoors. Many raccoons got belligerent as they
got older, biting and snapping at the boys and girls
(07:48):
who had tried to care for them. But raccoons are
not native to Japan and they have few predators. As
a result, they proliferated in their new country by two
thousand and eight, descendants of the original animals had moved
into all forty seven Japanese prefectures where they had wreaked havoc.
Ever since, it's believed that eighty percent of Japanese temples,
(08:09):
as well as acres of crops, have been damaged or
destroyed by invasive raccoons, costing the country thirty million yen
or almost two hundred and twenty five thousand dollars every year.
To combat the scourge of these ringtailed rascals, Japan actually
banned the import of pet raccoons, but still contends with
their progeny to this day. When art inspires us, it
(08:31):
can lead to wonderful things. We may go on to
create our own art or take up a meaningful cause,
But in Rascal's case, the only thing it led to
was finding new and unique ways to secure your garbage
canlids every single night. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided
(08:52):
tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on
Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting
curiositiescast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron
Manke in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another
award winning show called Lore which is a podcast, book series,
and television show and you can learn all about it
(09:14):
over at the world of Lore dot com. And until
next time, stay curious.
Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio
and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable,
and if history is an open book, all of these
amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for
us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. The
(00:36):
human body is amazing. Our bodies contain over two hundred
bones and six hundred and fifty muscles that allow us
to stand upright, dance, and compete in various sports. Our
brains have sixteen billion neurons that enable us to perform
quick calculations, invent new ideas, create tools, relate to others,
and create strategies among so much else. Our brains also
(00:59):
regulate our bodies, controlling our muscles, regulating our temperatures and emotions,
and processing the information we take in. Our brains, and
some argue are opposable thumbs, have allowed us to create
inventions that extend or significantly augment what our bodies and
brains were designed to do. Cars, bicycles, and other modes
of transportation allow us to travel greater distances and faster
(01:22):
than we can on foot. Computers, often solve problems more
quickly than our brains. We're pretty impressive as a species,
or at least we'd like to think so. Yet other
species have inspired us to achieve even more. Since humankind's
earliest years, we've longed to fly like birds. Early versions
of aircraft tried to mimic the way birds flew. In
(01:43):
the end, we settled for airplanes, and of course inventions
like hang gliders. We've invented away to see at nights
like owls and other nocturnal predators like cats. Whales have
inspired submarines. Bats and dolphins became the inspiration for sonar.
A duck's webbed feet where the model for flippers. Drones fly, dive,
and hover like hummingbirds or peregrine falcons. Companies have created
(02:07):
dog like robots that can carry objects, trek over outdoor terrain,
and detect various information from locations that are unsafe for
us humans. But of course robots can be a bit
creepy for sure. Science fiction buffs do wonder how far
we are from the humanoid robots in the Terminator movies,
and while we're still working on creating upright robots capable
(02:27):
of moving around like US, it's another animal that has
the US Army's attention. Researchers have set a lofty goal
create a four legged robots capable of maneuvering over the
most challenging terrain. The robot should be able to make
near instantaneous decisions with an array of adjustments, and it
should be able to right itself just as it's about
(02:47):
to roll over. Now in nature, the animal that's inspired
this is practically unrivaled in its ability to jump and
assess obstacles practically on the fly. The animals have a
keen ability to make bold leaps, often of death, defy nature.
In their natural habitat, the animals learn at an early
age how to judge distances and make appropriate calculations when
(03:07):
jumping from object to object. They can flip and twist
seemingly in mid air thanks to their mastery of spatial orientation.
They're also keen observers and can spot threats easily. Although
we don't give these animals much thought, they're almost as
intelligent as they are agile. They can find items that
they haven't seen for months and assess their food quality
(03:28):
by weight. Psychologists who study the mammal created a wall
equipped with a springboard and flexible landing platform. After coaxing
the wild animals that willingly worked for their favorite food,
researchers learned essential facts. For example, the animal values sturdier
takeoff platforms more than flexible ones. The takeoff and landing
objects were more important to the animal than the gap
(03:50):
in between them. Of course, the biologists and biomechanics team
at the University of California's Berkeley campus know that such
a robot isn't like anything we have today. Though we've
seen some impressive moves, today's robots simply aren't built to
be as flexible as our furry friend here. But what
makes this animal's movements so important? The Army believes such
(04:11):
a robot would go anywhere a soldier could. The robots
would be able to weigh their agility against the terrain.
Search and rescue missions would also benefit. The robots could
enter buildings in danger of collapse to search for survivors.
So while we envisioned huge, scary looking robots like those
we see in the movies, researchers and the US Army
are looking at designing furturistic robots that may not work
(04:35):
for peanuts, but are modeled after those that do our
friendly neighborhood squirrel. Everybody has that favorite book they loved
(04:57):
as a child. It might have been about a dragon,
or a fairy princess, or a misunderstood ogre living in
a swamp. Whatever it was, we read it until the
spine wore away and the pages fell out. We can
probably still remember the mom or dad or grandparents who
tucked us in and sat with us as they read
it aloud to us, until we were carried off to
that dreamland on their whispered words. As we got older, though,
(05:20):
we lose touch with that part of our childhood. But
even though we may not read those books anymore, they
stay with us, and if we're lucky, we might get
to share them with our own children and grandchildren. Unfortunately,
one children's book in particular did not leave a love
of reading in one nation's children. Instead, it led to
the takeover of an invasive species, and the country is
(05:41):
still dealing with it. It started in nineteen sixty three
with the publication of the book Rascal, A Memoir of
a Better Era, by Sterling North. North hailed from Wisconsin
and had turned a pivotal year of his life into
a best selling children's book You See When he was younger,
He'd taken care of a baby raccoon, which led to
some hilarious hijinks within the family. In the book, the
(06:03):
animal rode in a basket on North's bicycle and even
helped him win a pie eating contest. The book ends
with young Sterling releasing the raccoon named Rascal back out
into the wild to live where it belonged. It was
a cute story, one that Disney eventually took notice of
and turned into a live action film in nineteen sixty nine,
but it wasn't until a Japanese animation studio got a
(06:25):
hold of it that things took a strange and ecologically
damaging turn. In nineteen seventy seven, Nipon Animation Company adapted
North's book into a fifty two episode anime series called
a Reguma Rasukaru, which in English means raccoon Rascal. Like
its source material, the anime told the story about a
(06:46):
little boy who took care of a small raccoon. He
tried to make it a pet, but the wild animal
refused to be domesticated that had to eventually be returned
to the wild. The show aired from January second of
nineteen seventy seven until December twenty fifth of the same year. However,
despite the anime's serious lessons about caring for and releasing
wild animals, they seem to have no impact on the
(07:06):
people who watched it, or maybe they just never finished
the series because the message of the show was clear
raccoons make terrible pets. Still, that didn't stop Japanese families
from importing them into the country in the years following
its release and eventual conclusion, and usually one of two
things would happen after a family brought in a raccoon.
(07:27):
Either the animal escaped, as wild animals are known to do,
or it was released by well meaning owners who wanted
to emulate what they had learned from the show, although
truth be told, the animals themselves were only too happy
to remind their human helpers that they were not meant
to be kept indoors. Many raccoons got belligerent as they
got older, biting and snapping at the boys and girls
(07:48):
who had tried to care for them. But raccoons are
not native to Japan and they have few predators. As
a result, they proliferated in their new country by two
thousand and eight, descendants of the original animals had moved
into all forty seven Japanese prefectures where they had wreaked havoc.
Ever since, it's believed that eighty percent of Japanese temples,
(08:09):
as well as acres of crops, have been damaged or
destroyed by invasive raccoons, costing the country thirty million yen
or almost two hundred and twenty five thousand dollars every year.
To combat the scourge of these ringtailed rascals, Japan actually
banned the import of pet raccoons, but still contends with
their progeny to this day. When art inspires us, it
(08:31):
can lead to wonderful things. We may go on to
create our own art or take up a meaningful cause,
But in Rascal's case, the only thing it led to
was finding new and unique ways to secure your garbage
canlids every single night. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided
(08:52):
tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on
Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting
curiositiescast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron
Manke in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another
award winning show called Lore which is a podcast, book series,
and television show and you can learn all about it
(09:14):
over at the world of Lore dot com. And until
next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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