10 votes

The doomed mouse utopia that inspired the ‘Rats of NIMH’. Dr. John Bumpass Calhoun spent the ’60s and ’70s playing god to thousands of rodents.

Posted by cfabbro
Tags: psychology.comparative, ethology, national institute of mental health, population density, john b calhoun, rodents, rats, mice, behavioral sink, utopias, history, 20th century, science.behavioural, science.social, author.cara giaimo, source.atlasobscura
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-doomed-mouse-utopia-that-inspired-the-rats-of-nimh

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Title
The Doomed Mouse Utopia That Inspired the 'Rats of NIMH'
Published
Sep 14 2016
Word count
1444 words

6 comments

  1. [6]
    Eric_the_Cerise
    Link
    That was one of my all-time favorite books as a child. I still reread it every few years. Yes, there's a cartoon, too; it's not bad, but the book is so much better. I tried doing this, too. I bred...

    That was one of my all-time favorite books as a child. I still reread it every few years. Yes, there's a cartoon, too; it's not bad, but the book is so much better.

    I tried doing this, too. I bred corn snakes for several years, for a place to dispose of the extra mice....

    2 votes
    1. [5]
      cfabbro
      Link Parent
      ...the extra mice? That deserved some elaboration, IMO, because now I'm slightly confused and my imagination is running wild. :P

      ...the extra mice? That deserved some elaboration, IMO, because now I'm slightly confused and my imagination is running wild. :P

      1. [4]
        Eric_the_Cerise
        Link Parent
        Sorry ... selective breeding for intelligence.

        Sorry ... selective breeding for intelligence.

        1 vote
        1. [3]
          cfabbro
          Link Parent
          Doing so in some official capacity for a lab, as a breeder, or something similar... or just as a hobby? p.s. Sorry for prying, but that sounds pretty interesting in any case. :)

          Doing so in some official capacity for a lab, as a breeder, or something similar... or just as a hobby?

          p.s. Sorry for prying, but that sounds pretty interesting in any case. :)

          1. [2]
            Eric_the_Cerise
            Link Parent
            Just for fun and personal scientific curiosity, but explicitly inspired by that book. I never had enough time, space or resources to pursue the idea properly, but basic genetics suggests there's a...

            Just for fun and personal scientific curiosity, but explicitly inspired by that book.

            I never had enough time, space or resources to pursue the idea properly, but basic genetics suggests there's a pretty hard limit on how smart mice (or anything) can become purely thru selective breeding, w/o some significant genetic mutation added.

            2 votes
            1. Omnicrola
              Link Parent
              Well that just seems like a good reason to start irradiating mice, whats the worst that could happen

              w/o some significant genetic mutation added

              Well that just seems like a good reason to start irradiating mice, whats the worst that could happen

              1 vote