The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week Elephant Pranks, Ghost Armies, Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Silkworm
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Dec 4, 2024 Discover the playful antics of elephants at a zoo, showcasing their intelligence and clever pranks with water hoses. Dive into the creative deception of the Ghost Army during WWII, where papier-mâché tricks misled enemies. Uncover the fascinating lifecycle of silkworms and their historical significance in silk production, linked to ancient Chinese secrets. Each quirky story offers a blend of humor and insightful history, making this an engaging exploration of unusual yet impactful topics.
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Elephant Shower Innovation
- Berlin Zoo's elephant Mary innovatively uses a hose to shower herself, adapting her grip for different body parts.
- Researchers believe this tool use stems from elephants' intuitive understanding of trunk-like water spraying and their focus on skincare.
Elephant Pranks
- Young elephant Anshali seemingly pranks Mary by kinking the hose to disrupt her showers, displaying complex tool manipulation.
- Researchers observed Anshali using a "trunk stand" to apply pressure, possibly circumventing training against stepping on hoses.
Banana-Peeling Elephant
- Peng Fa, another elephant at Berlin Zoo, peels spotted bananas, possibly due to taste preference or ease of removing overripe peels.
- This behavior might be linked to her caretaker peeling bananas for her when she was younger, demonstrating observational learning.
