88 pointsby PlaceboGazebo16 days ago13 comments
  • Meegul10 days ago

        ________________________________________
      / "We report here our experimental        \
      | demonstration of flexible egocentric     |
      | tooling in a pet cow (Bos taurus),       |
      | Veronika, who uses a deck brush to self- |
      | scratch. Across randomized trials, she   |
      | preferred the bristled end but switched  |
      | to the stick end when targeting softer   |
      | lower-body areas. This adaptive          |
      | deployment of tool features reveals      |
      | multi-purpose tool use not previously    |
      \ reported in non-primate mammals."       /
        ----------------------------------------
               \   ^__^
                \  (oo)\_______
                   (__)\       )\/\
                       ||----w |
                       ||     ||
    • ronsor10 days ago
      Finally an appropriate time to use cowsay!
    • heckelson10 days ago
      For me, the cow was just below the bottom of the screen, which caused me to first wonder what the heck and then get great comic relief after scrolling down!
  • mikewarot10 days ago
    The Wikipedia page about tool use by non humans started me down a rabbit hole that lead to this delightful video of Stoffel the Honey Badger who clearly understands tool use.[2]

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_use_by_non-humans

    [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c36UNSoJenI

  • hypertexthero10 days ago
  • mitchell_h10 days ago
    I'm a small time cattle rancher and raise a few pigs per year. Also friends with many fellow ranchers. My only response to this is entirely "duh". Cows and pigs maybe dumb, but they figure things out with trial and error at an amazing rate.
    • IAmBroom9 days ago
      Also, using a stick as a scratching tool is not really on the same spectrum as flint-knapping a knife, sun-baking a pinchpot, or sharpening a fire-hardened spear point.

      This is like those articles that claim that trees "communicate" because they exude more waste products under duress, or somesuch horseshit.

  • elil1710 days ago
    I feel that the tool lacked something in sophistication
  • 10 days ago
    undefined
  • 10 days ago
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  • hmartiniano10 days ago
    Someone should nominate the authors for an ig Nobel prize.
  • stefanka10 days ago
    Love the video. And Veronika
  • hiAndrewQuinn10 days ago
    Someone get this cow Clawdbot. Cowdbot.
  • ganelonhb10 days ago
    cow tools.
  • lacoolj10 days ago
    I love you, Veronica!