1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: I guess what, Well, what's that Mango so gave? Are brilliant. 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Brilliant researcher who basically powers the show was telling me 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: that when he moved out to l A, he lived 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: in this airstream trailer behind someone's house. This was as 5 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:16,159 Speaker 1: he and his girlfriend were trying to figure out their 6 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: apartment hunter or whatever, and apparently these raccoons came by 7 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: one day and stole his girlfriend's shoes. But they were 8 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: just sitting outside. They came by, stole the shoes, and 9 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: then a few days after that the shoes were back 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: where she'd left them, except now they've been washed. They've 11 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: been so like the raccoons washed the shoes or what. 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: Apparently he said, this is a real thing. Like there's 13 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: this whole YouTube world of raccoon food washing videos where 14 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: the curtis just kind of like dunk their food and 15 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: water and then rinse it out before they eat it. 16 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: This is not real, it is. But here's the thing. 17 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: So raccoons aren't doing all that washing because they really 18 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: like clean food or they're super like sanitary. It's because 19 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: when they dunk their food, that's the way they learn 20 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: more about it. They've got these hairless front paws that 21 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: are extremely sensitive to touch, and according to the National 22 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: Geographic raccoons have four to five times more sensory cells 23 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: in their paws compared to most mammals, and of the 24 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: part of their brain that processes like sensory signals is 25 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 1: actually devoted solely to that sense of touch. And that 26 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: means they can like determine the weight, size, texture, temperature, 27 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: whatever with their paws, like just when it comes into 28 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 1: touch with something, that's awesome. But how does dunking food 29 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 1: and water help with this? Yeah, so that's the strangest part. 30 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: Water it's like a superpower. It increases their sense of 31 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: touch in the same way like sunlight might for our 32 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: sense of sight, Like you know when you wake up 33 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: in a dark room and step outside for the first time, 34 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: like suddenly you can see everything. And when a raccoon 35 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: dunks the grape or a pair of shoes or a 36 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: smartphone as they like to do on YouTube, into water, 37 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: it stimulates the nerve endings in their paws and as 38 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: a result, it opens up this whole new world to them. 39 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: And uh, it's called dousing, that's what it's called when 40 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: they dip stuff in water. But it's actually developed as 41 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: a way to help them locate food when fishing in 42 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: cold water streams. And while this is a super useful 43 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: trick to have, it's also you know, made them super 44 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: adorable eaters on YouTube's and YouTube celebrities. But that's just 45 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: the first of nine facts we've got about raccoons today. 46 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: Let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to part 47 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,839 Speaker 1: Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined 48 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: by my good friend Man gueshow Ticketer and on the 49 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: other side of the soundproof glass wearing a welcome to 50 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: Pawnee shirt. That just made me smile to see this 51 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,359 Speaker 1: and it's got a big picture of a raccoon on it. Now, 52 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: that's it's an impressive parks and rack reference from our 53 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: good friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Yeah. I mean, you're 54 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: not gonna see any Eagleton shirts with trash pandas on them. 55 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: But you know, well, how do you feel about raccoons, Like, 56 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: are you schemed out by them? Do you think they're cute? 57 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: What's your stance? Well, you know, when I was a kid, 58 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: I actually really liked raccoons because I would go over 59 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: to my grandmother's health. Actually, we've had Mamma on the 60 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: show before talking about how to live a healthy life 61 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: at the age of ninety one. But anyway, I'd go 62 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: over to her house and there was a raccoon that 63 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: we nicknamed Bandit, and we would feed bandit marshmallows. It's 64 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,399 Speaker 1: probably a terrible idea and probably not good for them, 65 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:32,679 Speaker 1: but we would put marshmallows out on a plate on 66 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: the back porch and Bandit would come up and eat them, 67 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: and we just we just watched. But then one time 68 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: I tried to walk out there while Bandit was eating 69 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: the marshmallows, and the scary face that it made at me, 70 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: and the noise, Like any I can't even recreate the noise. 71 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: It was pretty terrifying. So now, to be honest, I'm 72 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: a little bit scared of raccoons. Yeah, I'm a little 73 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: like I I feel the same way. I actually like 74 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: my first stuffed animal was a raccoon, so like, I 75 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: used to carry that around with me everywhere. I had 76 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: fondness for raccoon. But then, uh, once I learned a 77 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: little bit more about them, I've sort of maintained a 78 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: healthy distance from them. But it's curious, Well, what's your 79 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: first fact? Well, how about the fact that Toronto is 80 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: the self proclaimed raccoon capital of the world. That I 81 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: was in Toronto not too long ago, I had no 82 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: idea about this. I don't know how I missed this fact. Well, 83 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: I am intrigued. Go on, all right, Well, for years now, 84 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: the city has been grappling with a raccoon population boom, 85 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: unlike any scene before now. According to the Toronto Star, 86 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: the raccoon takeover began back in two thousand two. This 87 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: is when the city rolled out its organics bin program, 88 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: and that's where they separate compostable waste into you know, 89 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: these separate green bins. And as you'd imagine, local raccoons 90 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: were huge fans of this program because it required residents 91 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,799 Speaker 1: to basically put all of these choice edible garbage items 92 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: into one easily tipable bin. And so pretty soon raccoons 93 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: were coming out of the woodwork and making new homes 94 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: for themselves in these neighborhoods and in people's backyards and 95 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: just kind of throughout the city. And this happened so 96 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:07,600 Speaker 1: much so that last year the city estimated there are 97 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: now more than one hundred thousand raccoons living in Toronto. 98 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: I love that and that is crazy. It is well. 99 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: The infestation has become such a problem that in two 100 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: thousand and sixteen the city spent about twenty four million 101 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: dollars on this special new wastebind type that they were 102 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: putting everywhere, and it was specifically designed to keep out 103 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: the scavenging critters. Not to open one, you have to 104 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: turn a handle on the lid and unhinge this gravity lock, 105 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: and since raccoons don't have thumbs, the city hope that 106 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: raccoons wouldn't be able to work the handle. But as 107 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: we know from science experiments on the subject, there are 108 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: few locks on Earth that can't keep out a hungry raccoon, 109 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 1: and so this proved to be the case last year 110 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: when multiple videos were released showing these determined raccoons opening 111 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:58,920 Speaker 1: the ben's lids and claiming all the garbage goodies inside there. 112 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: But now be fair. Out of nearly half a million bins, 113 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: only a couple dozen raccoon break ins have been reported, 114 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: and the band manufacturer does claim the break ins are 115 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: the result of faulty handles rather than the animals actually 116 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: mastering this lock system, but it doesn't seem like Toronto 117 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: will be giving up its title anytime soon. So on 118 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: that subject, here's the fact that might not surprise you. 119 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: Raccoons are excellent problem solvers. But the question is how 120 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: smart are raccoons exactly? And researchers have been trying to 121 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: figure this out for well over a century at this point, 122 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 1: but the conclusion is unanimous. If there's food involved, raccoons 123 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: are very smart. That makes sense well. One of the 124 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: earliest and most famous studies of raccoon intelligence was carried 125 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: out in the early d by this animal behavior scientists 126 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,679 Speaker 1: named H. B. Davis, and he rounded up a dozen 127 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: wild raccoons and then presented them with a series of 128 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: puzzle boxes, each of which was baited with a piece 129 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 1: of food and and outfitted with a different kind of lock. 130 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: And so the task was for the raccoons to figure 131 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: out how to pick the lock, open the box retrieved 132 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: the snack. And while that, you know, might sound hard, 133 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,159 Speaker 1: Davis actually made the task even tougher. So the raccoons 134 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: have to contend with a variety of lock types, including hooks, bolts, buttons, latches, 135 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: and levers I guess, and some boxes even had multiple locks, 136 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,679 Speaker 1: like two buttons or a pushbar and a lift latch, 137 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: and so it gets pretty complicated. But despite Davis throwing 138 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: everything he could at them, in the end, the raccoons 139 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: could I guess, open eleven of the thirteen different complicated 140 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: lock types, and most of the animals mastered a few 141 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: of them in fewer than ten tries. So Davis suspended 142 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: the experiments for a few years, and then he returned 143 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: to the task and he found that the raccoons immediately 144 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: remembered how to operate the different locks like he started 145 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: testing this. He repeated the experiments several more times, and 146 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: he realized at the end of this that once they 147 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: solve a problem, they can remember exactly what that combination 148 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: is for like three years or more. That is unbelievable. 149 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: All right, Well, I know we talked about raccoons love 150 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: for washing things, especially Gabe's girlfriend's shoes. I mean that 151 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: seems like a great trick, right, Like you just leave 152 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: all your laundry out and hope the raccoon laundry service 153 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: returns it. Press unfolded, right, But I don't know how 154 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: the press then folded part, but it's uh, it's impressive 155 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: either way. But that's the interesting thing is that the 156 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: raccoons are actually named for their little hands. So the 157 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: word raccoon was derived from the Powhatton tribes name aurankan, 158 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: which means the animal that scratches with its hands. And 159 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: I'm certain that I mispronounced that, but I did find 160 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: that fact interesting, and it was one of them, right, 161 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: I said hands, thank you. I know how to say 162 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,439 Speaker 1: hands now, But it was one of the first Palhatton 163 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: words ever recorded by English colonists at Jamestown. But they 164 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: weren't the only ones to notice the raccoon's pause, as 165 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: it's really it's defining feature. The ass tech name for 166 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: raccoons was actually a word that means the one who 167 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: takes everything in its hands. So weirdly, the raccoon's scientific 168 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: name also takes its cues from the animals dexterous pause. 169 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,200 Speaker 1: It's called the price ion lodar, which is a Neo 170 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: Latin word and it translates to the before dog washer. 171 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: I guess because raccoons came around before dogs. But it 172 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,199 Speaker 1: is funny that like everyone zoned in on that hands feature, 173 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: the pause feature, right, like, like I feel like I 174 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: I look at their cute mass or whatever their fuzzy tails. 175 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: So I'm gonna take this back to Calvin Coolidge, who, 176 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: as you might remember, had a pet raccoon when he 177 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: was president in the nineteen twenties. And that's a fact 178 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: I feel like we've all heard and remembered, but I 179 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: never knew how it came to be, And Gabe pulled 180 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: us up for me. So the first thing to know 181 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: is that Calvin and his wife Grace Coolidge were about 182 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: the biggest animal lovers ever to live in the White House, right, 183 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: and the whole country knew it. So the couple had 184 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: like this menagerie of animals on the grounds, including like 185 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: a goose, a donkey, a wallaby of all things. And 186 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: they have this collection of pets that the press called 187 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:58,199 Speaker 1: the Pennsylvania Avenue Zoo, and Coolidge supporters were so eager 188 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: to like add to this presidential zoo that they would 189 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: just routinely sent him these unsolicited pets. So like he 190 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: got cats, dogs, and canaries, which are pretty standard things. 191 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: And then history dot com says he received a black 192 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: haired bear from Mexico and African pygmy hippopotamus from a 193 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: rubber bagnate, and even a pair of live line cubs, 194 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 1: which the fiscally conservative president gave the less than fuzzy 195 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: names Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau. Of course, the raccoon 196 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:30,959 Speaker 1: was also a gift from this admirer, this woman from 197 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: Mississippi named Vinnie Joyce, except that Vinnie hadn't sent the 198 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: raccoon to be a pet. She actually intended the animal 199 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: to be slaughtered and served as an entree at that 200 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 1: year's Thanksgiving. But I guess at the time raccoon meat 201 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: was something of a delicacy, and in fact, the first 202 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: edition of Joy of Cooking has a recipe for raccoon. 203 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: But um so weird, I know. Thankfully for the raccoon, though, 204 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: President Coolidge did not share the country's taste for raccoon 205 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: and decided to grant the massed animal this pardon and 206 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: he kept as a pet instead. They named Rebecca. And 207 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: it's pretty funny, like they tried to keep her in 208 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: the house. She clawsed upholstery, she tears apart clothing, She 209 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: just generally runs the muck. But then the cool just 210 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: decided to build her this wooden treehouse outside on the 211 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 1: south lawn, and they were just obsessed with her. They'd 212 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 1: walk around on a collar and leaf. The caller said, 213 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: Rebecca Raccoon of the White House. On it. She even 214 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,560 Speaker 1: participated in the Easter egg roll, though apparently that was 215 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: kind of the last raw because she um clawed at 216 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: children and and then kept running away from the White House, 217 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: so like the staffers had to keep chasing her down, 218 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,880 Speaker 1: but they decided to donate her to the National Zoo, 219 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: where she lived happily and was heralded as the first 220 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: Raccoon of the White House. What a great story. All right, Well, 221 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: why don't we talk a little bit about raccoon masks, 222 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: because you were saying that that probably would have been 223 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: the defining feature that I would have thought about if 224 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: I was trying to give this creature a name. And 225 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 1: you know, raccoons have always been viewed as bandits in 226 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: popular culture, and that's partly for good reason, Like they 227 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: make off with whatever they can get their weird little 228 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: hands on. And let's be honest, those little black masks 229 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: they wear aren't helping matters, since it just makes them 230 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 1: look like these little furry outlaws. They may be cute, 231 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 1: but they definitely look like outlaws. Yeah, it's like in 232 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: that Secret Pizza Party, which, yeah, from the guys who 233 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: made dragons love tacos. But uh, you know, I I 234 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: love that book so much. Just how that raccoon like 235 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: dreams of stealing pizza and like has all these ideas 236 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: and and you know he finally does it because he 237 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: tricks people by thinking he has a mask on. Yeah. Well, 238 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: obviously they don't wear the eyemasks to be stealthy or stylish, 239 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: but you know, these markings actually help the raccoons, and 240 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: it helps them to see more clearly. So according to researchers, 241 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: the black fur kind of functions like you know, like 242 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: you would put grease pain or like black stickers that 243 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 1: athletes wear under their eyes during games, so that dark 244 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: color absorbs incoming lights so that the glare doesn't interfere 245 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: with their vision. And raccoons use this trick to see 246 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: better in the dark. Actually, so their mass cut down 247 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,360 Speaker 1: on the peripheral light that might be out there in 248 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: the dark, and it makes it easier for them to 249 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: perceive contrast and and tell different objects apart from each other. 250 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: I had actually never heard this before. Yeah, that's really fascinating. 251 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: So here's a bit of a surprising research I found. So, 252 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,320 Speaker 1: according to Suzanne McDonald, who is this psychology professor and 253 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: biologist at York University near Toronto, the raccoon capital of 254 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: the world. I guess uh, city raccoons tend to be 255 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: smarter than their country cousins. And in two thousand fourteen, 256 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: she outfitted city raccoons with GPS callers to see how 257 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: they handled themselves compared to country raccoons, and in one experiment, 258 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: she discovered that the city dwellers had learned to avoid 259 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: major intersections altogether. And in another test, she found that 260 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: most city raccoons were capable of opening trash can lids, 261 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: while the country raccoons would like they never quite figured 262 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,439 Speaker 1: it out. In fact, they smell food at the bottom 263 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 1: and just like kind of powed it, but they never 264 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: understood how the lids system worked at all. And uh, 265 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,840 Speaker 1: you know, it's it's funny because, like um, she she 266 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,200 Speaker 1: was comparing the two, the city raccoons just went for 267 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,319 Speaker 1: the lid every single time. But you know, I think 268 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: it's an interesting test. I do hope it doesn't lead 269 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 1: to like stereotyping of country raccoons, because I'm sure there 270 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: are some smart country raccoons out there and and they 271 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 1: have other talents that they're way better at. But uh, 272 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: it is a fun study. Yeah, that's pretty funny. Well, 273 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: I know we've got two more facts to go, but 274 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: before we get to those, let's take a quick break. 275 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: Welcome back to part time Genius where we're talking raccoons. 276 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: All right, mego, what is your last fact going to be? 277 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: How about we talk about Japan, which has been dealing 278 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: with an out of control of raccoon population for about 279 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 1: forty years now. So Toronto isn't the only cosmopolitan place 280 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: with this issue. And surprisingly, Jeff and his whole mess 281 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: can be traced back to this beloved children's cartoon, really 282 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: a cartoon. Yeah. In ninety seven, this animation company released 283 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: an anime adaptation of this memoir called Rascal Memoir of 284 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: a Better Era, And both the book and the animated 285 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: series are about this author, Sterling North, and this baby 286 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: raccoon named Rascal that he kept for a year as 287 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: a boy. And the anime cartoon series. It premiered in 288 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: January of that year in and then ran a new 289 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: episode each week for the entire year, and pretty much 290 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: the whole country was swept up in raccoon fever. So 291 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: families began importing these pet raccoons from North America so 292 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: their kids could re enact what they'd seen on screen, 293 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: and the trend became so popular that for years after 294 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: the cartoons released, more than fifteen hundred raccoons were brought 295 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: to Japanese shores each month, and as you can probably guess, 296 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: things got out of hand pretty quickly. So Japanese families 297 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: soon discovered that real raccoons aren't as loyal or cuddly 298 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 1: as you might see on TV. The real life versions 299 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: might trash your house, attack your kids, and and also 300 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: eat way way more than you think, so they aren't 301 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 1: great roommates. But when when the pet raccoons grew too 302 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: larger unruly, many families just released them into the wild, 303 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 1: and eventually the Japanese government got wise they banned the 304 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: important ownership of raccoons, but it was already far too late, 305 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: and today the descendants of that first wave of raccoons 306 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: have spread to forty two of the country's forty seven prefectures, 307 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: and they're believed to cause about three thousand dollars worth 308 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: of damage to food crops every year. Oh wow, so, 309 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: so what about the cartoon like, did it kind of 310 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 1: fade into obscurity after you know, people lost their love 311 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: for these raccoons or what. No, Rascal Raccoon is actually 312 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 1: still an icon there and he's this merchandizing powerhouse in Japan. 313 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: And of course the original series is still considered a classic. 314 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: And you know you get that right, Like, as awful 315 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: as they are, cartoon raccoons are still pretty cute. So definitely, 316 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: So what are you gonna with? All right, Well, how 317 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 1: about a little fact about marshmallows. You know I shared 318 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: the fact at the beginning there. So last year, a 319 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: team of scientists put eight raccoons through what is known 320 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: as the Asop's Fable test to see whether they could 321 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,919 Speaker 1: recognize cause and effect. So you might be familiar with 322 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,159 Speaker 1: the fable in question, and it's the one where a 323 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: thirsty crow can't access the water at the bottom of 324 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: a picture, so the bird cleverly drops pebbles into the 325 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: picture until the water level rises enough for the crow 326 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 1: to be able to take a drink. I vainly remember that. 327 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 1: I don't know what the moral of that story is, 328 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: I do remember that, So how's it related to the test. 329 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: We're not going to get into the morals of this today, 330 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:39,800 Speaker 1: it's it's just way too deep for us, but well 331 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: for the raccoon version. Researchers knew that the water alone 332 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: wouldn't be a big enough draw, so they added marshmallows 333 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 1: to the mix. Now, the raccoons were placed in a 334 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: room with a cylinder of water with marshmallows floating on 335 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: the surface, and then stone scattered all around it. Now, 336 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: the catch, of course, was that the water level was 337 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 1: so low that the raccoons couldn't get to the marshmallows. 338 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: They actually have to displace the water with the stones 339 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: in order to be able to reach those marshmallows. So 340 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: the researchers demonstrated this move for the raccoon audience, and 341 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,879 Speaker 1: then they waited to see if they would repeat this 342 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: behavior themselves. Now, in the end, two of the eight 343 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,360 Speaker 1: raccoons successfully repeated the trick and claimed these marshmallows. Well, 344 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,919 Speaker 1: the third raccoon decided to go her own way, so 345 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: she climbed on top of the cylinder, rocked it back 346 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,440 Speaker 1: and forth until the whole thing tipped over, allowing her 347 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,880 Speaker 1: to claim the marshmallow prize without lifting a single stone. Anyway, 348 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: given enough time, they all seemed to somehow get to 349 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 1: the marshmallows. Yeah, of course they do. I mean they 350 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,639 Speaker 1: always get the marshmallows. But you know, I like that fact. 351 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: I like that you brought sticky treats into the mix, 352 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:48,479 Speaker 1: that you've got raccoon ingenuity just highlighted there, and of 353 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: course as off the trifecta. So I think I've got 354 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: to give it to you this week. Thanks so much. 355 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: And if any of you out there have great facts 356 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: or stories about raccoons and Mamma, if you happen to 357 00:18:58,280 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: be listening Mega. I don't know if you've heard mam 358 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: pitched the podcast, but she tells people to listen and 359 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 1: she says it's like the radio on your phone, and 360 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: so it's a it's a good pitch. But if you've 361 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:10,639 Speaker 1: got great facts, are great stories, we always love to 362 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: hear those from you hit us up on the socials, 363 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,880 Speaker 1: but from Gabe, Tristan Mango and me. Thanks so much 364 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: for listening.