1 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to part Time Genius, the production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: I Guess What? Well, what's that Mango So gave? Are brilliant. 3 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,639 Speaker 1: Brilliant researcher who basically powers the show was telling me 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: that when he moved out to l A, he lived 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: in this airstream trailer behind someone's house. This was as 6 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: he and his girlfriend were trying to figure out their 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: apartment hunter or whatever, and apparently these raccoons came by 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: one day and stole his girlfriend's shoes. They were just 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: sitting outside. They came by, stole the shoes, and then 10 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: a few days after that the shoes were back where 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: she'd left them, except now they've been washed. They've been 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,880 Speaker 1: so like the raccoons washed the shoes or apparently he said, 13 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: this is a real thing. Like there's this whole YouTube 14 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: world of raccoon food washing videos where the critics just 15 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,319 Speaker 1: kind of like dunk their food and water and then 16 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: rinse it out before they eat it. This is not real. 17 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: It is. But here's the thing. So recas aren't doing 18 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: all that washing because they really like clean food or 19 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: they're super like sanitary. It's because when they dunk their food, 20 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,759 Speaker 1: that's the way they learn more about it. They've got 21 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: these hairless front paws that are extremely sensitive to touch, 22 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: and according to the National Geographic raccoons have four to 23 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: five times more sensory cells in their paws compared to 24 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: most mammals, and of the part of their brain that 25 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: processes like sensory signals is actually devoted solely to that 26 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: sense of touch. And that means they can determine the weight, size, texture, temperature, 27 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: whatever with their paws, like just when it comes into 28 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: touch with something, that's awesome. But how does dunking food 29 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: and water help with this? Yeah, so that's the strangest part. 30 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: Water it's like a superpower. It increases their sense of 31 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: touch in the same way like sunlight might for our 32 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: sense of sight, Like you know when you wake up 33 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: in a dark room and step outside for the first time, 34 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: like suddenly you can see everything. And when a raccoon 35 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: dunks a grape or a pair of shoes or a 36 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: smartphone as they like to do on YouTube, into water, 37 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: it stimulates the nerve endings of their paws and as 38 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: a result, it opens up this whole new world to them. 39 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: And uh, it's called dousing, that's what it's called. When 40 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: they dip stuff in water. But uh, it's actually developed 41 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: as a way to help them locate food when fishing 42 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: in cold water streams. And while this is a super 43 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: useful trick to have, it's also you know, made them 44 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,399 Speaker 1: super adorable eaters on YouTube and YouTube celebrities. But that's 45 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: just the first of nine facts we've got about raccoons today. 46 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: Let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part 47 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined 48 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: by my good friend man Guesh Ticketer and on the 49 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: other side of the soundproof glass wearing a welcome to 50 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: Pawny shirt. That just made me smile to see this, 51 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: and it's got a big picture of a raccoon on it. 52 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: Now that's it's an impressive parks and rack reference from 53 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: our good friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Yeah. I mean, 54 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: you're not gonna see any Eagleton shirts with trash pandas 55 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,959 Speaker 1: on them. But you know, well, how do you feel 56 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: about raccoons, Like, are you schemed out by them? Do 57 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: you think they're cute? What's your stance? Well, you know, 58 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: when I was a kid, I actually really liked raccoons 59 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: because I would go over to my grandmother's health. Actually, 60 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: we've had Mamma on the show before, talking about how 61 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: to live a healthy life at the age of ninety one. 62 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:31,959 Speaker 1: But anyway, I'd go over to her house and there 63 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: was a raccoon that we nicknamed Bandit, and we would 64 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: feed bandit marshmallows. It's probably a terrible idea and probably 65 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: not good for them, but we would put marshmallows out 66 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: on a plate on the back porch and Bandit would 67 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: come up and eat them, and we just we just watched. 68 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: But then one time I tried to walk out there 69 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: while Bandit was eating the marshmallows, and the scary face 70 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:53,839 Speaker 1: that it made at me, and the noise, Like any 71 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: I can't even recreate the noise. It's pretty terrifying. So now, 72 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: to be honest, I'm a little bit scared of Yeah, 73 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: I have a little like I I feel the same way. 74 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: I actually like my first stuffed animal was a raccoon, 75 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: so like, I used to carry that around with me everywhere. 76 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: I had fondness for raccoons. But then, uh, once I 77 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: learned a little bit more about them, I've sort of 78 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: maintained a healthy distance from them. But it's curious. Well, 79 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: what's your first fact? Well, how about the fact that 80 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: Toronto is the self proclaimed raccoon capital of the world. Now, 81 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: I was in Toronto not too long ago. I had 82 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: no idea about this. I don't know how I missed 83 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 1: this fact. Well, I am intrigued. Go on, all right, Well, 84 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: for years now, the city has been grappling with a 85 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: raccoon population boom, unlike any scene before. Now. According to 86 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: the Toronto Star, the raccoon takeover began back in two 87 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: thousand two. This is when the city rolled out its 88 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: organics bin program, and that's where they separate compostable waste 89 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: into you know, these separate green bins. And as you'd imagine, 90 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: local raccoons were huge fans of this program because it 91 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: required residents to basically put all of these choice edible 92 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: garbage items into one easily typical bend. And so pretty 93 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: soon raccoons were coming out of the woodwork and making 94 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,279 Speaker 1: new homes for themselves in these neighborhoods and in people's 95 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: backyards and just kind of throughout the city. And this 96 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: happened so much so that last year the city estimated 97 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: there are now more than one hundred thousand raccoons living 98 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: in Toronto. I love that, and that is crazy. It 99 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: is well. The infestation has become such a problem that 100 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: in two thousand sixteen the city spent about twenty four 101 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: million dollars on this special new wastebind type that they 102 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: were putting everywhere, and it was specifically designed to keep 103 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: out the scavenging critters. Not to open one, you have 104 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: to turn a handle on the lid and unhinge this 105 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: gravity lock, and since raccoons don't have thumbs, the city 106 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: hope that raccoons wouldn't be able to work the handle. 107 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: But as we know from science experiments on the subject, 108 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: there are few locks on Earth that can't keep out 109 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 1: a hungry raccoon, and so this proved to be the 110 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: k last year when multiple videos were released showing these 111 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: determined raccoons opening the bin's lids and claiming all the 112 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: garbage goodies inside there. But now, to be fair, out 113 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,679 Speaker 1: of nearly half a million bins, only a couple dozen 114 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: raccoon break ins have been reported, and the band manufacturer 115 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: does claim the break ins are the result of faulty 116 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: handles rather than the animals actually mastering this lock system, 117 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: but it doesn't seem like Toronto will be giving up 118 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: its title anytime soon. So on that subject, here's the 119 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: fact that might not surprise you. Raccoons are excellent problem solvers. 120 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: But the question is how smart are raccoons exactly? And 121 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: researchers have been trying to figure this out for well 122 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: over a century at this point, but the conclusion is unanimous. 123 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: If there's food involved, raccoons are very smart. That makes 124 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: sense well. One of the earliest and most famous studies 125 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 1: of raccoon intelligence was carried out in the early d 126 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: by this animal behavior scientists named H. B. Davis, and 127 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: he rounded up a dozen wild raccoons and then presented 128 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: them with a series of puzzle boxes, each of which 129 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: was baited with a piece of food and and outfitted 130 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: with a different kind of lock. And so the task 131 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: was for the raccoons to figure out how to pick 132 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: the lock, open the box retrieved the snack. And while that, 133 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: you know, might sound hard, Davis actually made the task 134 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: even tougher. So the raccoons had to contend with a 135 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: variety of lock types, including hooks, bolts, buttons, latches, and 136 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: levers I guess, and some boxes even had multiple locks, 137 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: like two buttons or a pushbar and a lift latch, 138 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: and so it gets pretty complicated. But despite Davis throwing 139 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: everything he could at them, in the end, the raccoons 140 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: could I guess, open eleven of the thirteen different complicated 141 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: lock types, and most of the animals mastered few of 142 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: them in fewer than ten tries. So Davis suspended the 143 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: experiments for a few years, and then he returned to 144 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: the task and he found that the raccoons immediately remembered 145 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: how to operate the different locks like he started testing this. 146 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: He repeated the experiments several more times, and he realized 147 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: at the end of this that once they solve a problem, 148 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: they can remember exactly what that combination is for like 149 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: three years or more. That is unbelievable. All right, Well, 150 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: I know we talked about raccoon's love for washing things, 151 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: especially Gabe's girlfriend's shoes. I mean that seems like a 152 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: great trick, right, Like you just leave all your laundry 153 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 1: out and hope the raccoon laundry service returns it press enfolded, right, 154 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: But I don't know how the presston folded part, but 155 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: it's it's impressive either way. But that's the interesting thing 156 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: is that the raccoons are actually named for their little hands. 157 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: So the word raccoon was derived from the Powhatton tribes 158 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: name aurankan, which means the animal that scratches with its hands. 159 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,959 Speaker 1: And I'm certain that I mispronounced that, but I did 160 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,079 Speaker 1: find that fact interesting, and it was I said hands, 161 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: thank you. I know how to say hands now. But 162 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: it was one of the first Palhatton words ever recorded 163 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: by English colonists at Jamestown. But they weren't the only 164 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: ones to notice a raccoon's pause, as it's really it's 165 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: defining feature. The as tech name for raccoons was actually 166 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: a word that means the one who takes everything in 167 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: its hands. So weirdly, the raccoon's scientific name also takes 168 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,719 Speaker 1: its cues from the animals dexterous pause. It's called the 169 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: price ion lodar, which is a Neo Latin word and 170 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: it translates to the before dog washer. I guess because 171 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: raccoons came around before dogs. But it is funny that 172 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: like everyone zoned in on that hands feature of the 173 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: pause feature, right, like like I feel like I I 174 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: look at their cute masks or whatever. There they're fuzzy tails. 175 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: So I'm gonna take this back to Calvin Coolidge, who, 176 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: as you might remember, had a pet raccoon when he 177 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 1: was president in the nineteen twenties. And that's a fact 178 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: I feel like we've all heard and remembered, but I 179 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: never knew how it came to be, And Gabe pulled 180 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: us up for me. So the first thing to know 181 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: is that Calvin and his wife Grace Coolidge were about 182 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 1: the biggest animal lovers ever to live in the White House, 183 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: right and the whole country knew it. So the couple 184 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: had like this menagerie of animals on the grounds, including 185 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,959 Speaker 1: like a goose, a donkey, a wallaby of all things. 186 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: And they this collection of pets that the press called 187 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: the Pennsylvania Avenue Zoo, and Coolidge supporters were so eager 188 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: to like add to this presidential zoo that they would 189 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: just routinely sent him these unsolicited pets. So like he 190 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: got cats, dogs, and canaries, which are pretty standard things. 191 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: And then history dot com says he received a black 192 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:24,439 Speaker 1: haired bear from Mexico and African pygmy hippopotamus from a 193 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: rubber bagnate, and even a pair of live line cubs 194 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: which the fiscally conservative president gave the less than fuzzy 195 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: names Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau. Of course, the raccoon 196 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: was also a gift from this admirer, this woman from 197 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: Mississippi named Vinnie Joyce, except that Vinnie hadn't sent the 198 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: raccoon to be a pet. She actually intended the animal 199 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: to be slaughtered and served as an entree at that 200 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: year's Thanksgiving. But I guess at the time raccoon meet 201 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: was something of a delicacy, and in fact, the first 202 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 1: edition of Joy of Cooking has a recipe for raccoon. 203 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: But um so weird, I know. Thankfully for the raccoon, though, 204 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: President Coolidge did not share the country's taste for raccoon 205 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: and decided to grant the massed animal this pardon and 206 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: he kept as a pet instead. They named Rebecca. And 207 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: it's pretty funny, like they tried to keep her in 208 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: the house. She clawsed upholstery, she tears apart clothing. She 209 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: just generally runs the muck. But then the Coolidges decided 210 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,319 Speaker 1: to build her this wooden treehouse outside on the south lawn, 211 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: and they were just obsessed with her. They'd walk around 212 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: on a collar and leash. The caller said, Rebecca Raccoon 213 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 1: of the White House. On it. She even participated in 214 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: the Easter egg roll, though apparently that was kind of 215 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,680 Speaker 1: the last draw because she um clawed at children and 216 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: and then kept running away from the White House, so 217 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 1: like the staffers had to keep chasing her down, but 218 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: they decided to donate her to the National Zoo, where 219 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: she lived happily and was heralded as the first Raccoon 220 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: of the White House. What a great story. All right, 221 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: why don't we talk a little bit about raccoon masks, 222 00:11:57,280 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: because you were saying that that probably would have been 223 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: the defining feat, sure that I would have thought about 224 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: if I was trying to give this creature a name. 225 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: And you know, raccoons have always been viewed as bandits 226 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: in popular culture, and that's partly for good reason, Like 227 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: they make off with whatever they can get their weird 228 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: little hands on. And let's be honest, those little black 229 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,679 Speaker 1: masks they wear aren't helping matters, since it just makes 230 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:19,679 Speaker 1: them look like these little furry outlaws. They may be cute, 231 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: but they definitely look like outlaws. Yeah, it's like in 232 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: that book Secret Pizza Party, which yeah, from the guys 233 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: who made dragons love tacos. But uh, you know, I 234 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: I love that book so much. Just how that raccoon 235 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: like dreams of stealing pizza and and like has all 236 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,920 Speaker 1: these ideas and and you know he finally does it 237 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:42,439 Speaker 1: because he tricks people by thinking he has a mask on. Yeah. Well, 238 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 1: obviously they don't wear the eyemasks to be stealthy or stylish, 239 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: but you know, these markings actually help the raccoons, and 240 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: it helps them to see more clearly. So according to researchers, 241 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: the black fur kind of functions like you know, like 242 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: you would put grease pain or like black stickers that 243 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: athletes wear under their eyes during gay aims, so that 244 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 1: dark color absorbs incoming lights so that the glare doesn't 245 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: interfere with their vision. And raccoons used this trick to 246 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: see better in the dark. Actually, so their mass cut 247 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,560 Speaker 1: down on the peripheral light that might be out there 248 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: in the dark, and it makes it easier for them 249 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,199 Speaker 1: to perceive contrast and and tell different objects apart from 250 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: each other. I had actually never heard this before. Yeah, 251 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,199 Speaker 1: that's really fascinating. So here's a bit of a surprising 252 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: research I found. So, according to Suzanne McDonald, who is 253 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: this psychology professor and biologist at York University near Toronto, 254 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 1: the raccoon capital of the world. I guess, uh, city 255 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: raccoons tend to be smarter than their country cousins. And 256 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: in two thousand fourteen she outfitted city raccoons with GPS 257 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: callers to see how they handled themselves compared to country raccoons, 258 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: and in one experiment, she discovered that the city dwellers 259 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: had learned to avoid major intersections altogether. And in another test, 260 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: she found that most city raccoons were capable of opening 261 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 1: trash can lids, while the country raccoons would like then ever, 262 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: quite figured it out. In fact, they smell food at 263 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: the bottom and just like kind of pod it, but 264 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: they never understood how the lids system worked at all. 265 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, it's it's funny because, like um, 266 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: she she was comparing the two, the city raccoons just 267 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: went for the lid every single time. But you know, 268 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: I think it's an interesting test. I do hope it 269 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: doesn't lead to like stereotyping of country raccoons, because I'm 270 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 1: sure there are some smart country raccoons out there, and 271 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: and they have other talents that they're way better at. 272 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: But uh, that's right. It is a fun study. Yeah, 273 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 1: that's pretty funny. Well, I know we've got two more 274 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: facts to go, but before we get to those, let's 275 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: take a quick break. Welcome back to Part time Genius 276 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 1: where we're talking raccoons. All right, mego, what is your 277 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: last fact going to be? How about we talk about Japan, 278 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: which has been deal with an out of control of 279 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: raccoon population for about forty years now. So Toronto isn't 280 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: the only cosmopolitan place with this issue. And surprisingly, Japan's 281 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: whole mess can be traced back to this beloved children's cartoon, 282 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: really a cartoon. Yeah. In ninety seven, this animation company 283 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: released an anime adaptation of this memoir called Rascal Memoir 284 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: of a Better Era, And both the book and the 285 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: animated series are about this author, Sterling North, and this 286 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: baby raccoon named Rascal that he kept for a year 287 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: as a boy. And the anime cartoon series it premiered 288 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: in January of that year in seven and then ran 289 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: a new episode each week for the entire year, and 290 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 1: pretty much the whole country was swept up in raccoon fever. 291 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: So families began importing these pet raccoons from North America 292 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: so their kids could re enact what they've seen on screen, 293 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: and the trend became so popular that for years after 294 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: the cartoons released, more than fifteen hundred raccoons were brought 295 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: to Japanese shores each month. Yea, and as you can 296 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: probably guess, things got out of hand pretty quickly. So 297 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: Japanese families soon discovered that real raccoons aren't as loyal 298 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 1: or cuddly as he might see on TV. The real 299 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: life versions might trash your house, attack your kids, and 300 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: and also eat way way more than you think, so 301 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: they aren't great roommates. But when when the pet raccoons 302 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: grew too larger unruly, many families just released them into 303 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: the wild, and eventually the Japanese government got wise they 304 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: banned the important ownership of raccoons, but it was already 305 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: far too late, and today the descendants of that first 306 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: wave of raccoons have spread to forty two of the 307 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 1: country's forty seven prefectures, and they're believed to cause about 308 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: three thousand dollars worth of damage to food crops every year. 309 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: Oh wow, So, so what about the cartoon like did 310 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: it kind of fade into obscurity after, you know, people 311 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 1: lost their love for these raccoons or what. No, Rascal 312 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: Raccoon is actually still an icon there and he's this 313 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: merchandizing powerhouse in Japan. And of course the original series 314 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: is still could a classic and you know you get 315 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 1: that right, Like, as awful as they are, cartoon raccoons 316 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: are still pretty cute. So definitely, So what are you 317 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 1: gonna end with? All right, Well, how about a little 318 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: fact about marshmallows. You know I shared the fact at 319 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: the beginning there. So last year a team of scientists 320 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: put eight raccoons through what is known as the Asop's 321 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 1: Fable test to see whether they could recognize cause and effect. 322 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: So you might be familiar with the fable in question, 323 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,400 Speaker 1: and it's the one where a thirsty crow can't access 324 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: the water at the bottom of a picture, so the 325 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,119 Speaker 1: bird cleverly drops pebbles into the picture until the water 326 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,399 Speaker 1: level rises enough for the crow to be able to 327 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: take a drink. I vaguely remember that. I don't know 328 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: what the moral of that story is, I do remember that, 329 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:44,639 Speaker 1: So how's it relates to the test. We're not going 330 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:46,719 Speaker 1: to get into the morals of this today, it's it's 331 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: just way too deep for us, but any well, for 332 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: the raccoon version, researchers knew that the water alone wouldn't 333 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,879 Speaker 1: be a big enough draw, so they added marshmallows to 334 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,360 Speaker 1: the mix. Now, the raccoons were placed in a room 335 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,880 Speaker 1: with a cylinder of water with marshmallows floating on the surface, 336 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: and then stones scattered all around it. Now, the catch, 337 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:07,880 Speaker 1: of course, was that the water level was so low 338 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,399 Speaker 1: that the raccoons couldn't get to the marshmallows. That actually 339 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 1: have to displace the water with the stones in order 340 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 1: to be able to reach those marshmallows. So the researchers 341 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 1: demonstrated this move for the raccoon audience, and then they 342 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: waited to see if they would repeat this behavior themselves. Now, 343 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 1: in the end, two of the eight raccoons successfully repeated 344 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,880 Speaker 1: the trick and claimed these marshmallows. Well, the third raccoon 345 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: decided to go her own way, so she climbed on 346 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: top of the cylinder rocked it back and forth until 347 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: the whole thing tipped over, allowing her to claim the 348 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:44,160 Speaker 1: marshmallow prize without lifting a single stone. Anyway, given enough time, 349 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,440 Speaker 1: they all seemed to somehow get to the marshmallows. Yeah, 350 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,160 Speaker 1: of course they do. I mean they always get the marshmallows. 351 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: But you know, I like that fact. I like that 352 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: you brought sticky treats into the mix, that you've got 353 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: raccoon ingenuity just highlighted there, and of course ASoft the trifecta. 354 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: So I think I've got to give it to you 355 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: this week. Thanks so much. And if any of you 356 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,679 Speaker 1: out there have great facts or stories about raccoons and Mamma, 357 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: if you happen to be listening Mango, I don't know 358 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: if you've heard Mamma pitched the podcast, but she tells 359 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: people to listen and she says it's like the radio 360 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 1: on your phone, and so it's a it's a good pitch. 361 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: But if you've got great facts are great stories, we 362 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 1: always love to hear those from you hit us up 363 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: on the socials, but from Gabe, Tristan, Mango and me, 364 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:24,639 Speaker 1: thanks so much for listening.