8 ms·

Rat That Sniffs Out Land Mines Receives Award for Bravery

90 points by EndXA 6y ago

blackbear_ 6y ago
> “Magawa’s dedication, skill and bravery are an extraordinary example of this and deserve the highest possible recognition,” Ms. McLoughlin said. It is funny because the little animal probably has no idea what it is doing and does not care for anything but its lunch.
- renewiltord 6y ago
  The anthropomorphism hijack is way too strong. Couldn't help but think "Get in, mate!"
- kube-system 6y ago
  And likewise, it probably does not value a gold medal. gold/silver/bronze in the rat world is probably more like: peanut butter/cheese/grain
  - liability 6y ago
    A cheese medallion seems like a fitting award for a rat.
  - nix23 6y ago
    Rats are intelligent, she will trade it later with a Crow and the Crow then with a ferengi because the Crow needs a self sealing stem-bolt.
- jskdvsksnb 6y ago
  Realistically this is a nice recognition for the handlers and the program that also has a cute news angle. It's a win-win, if the program has attention and funding the rat keeps getting lunch
- foxyv 6y ago
  > "It is funny because the little animal probably has no idea what it is doing and does not care for anything but its lunch." That sounds like an accurate description of most soldiers.
  - tibbydudeza 6y ago
    I think the rat eats better food than MRE's.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
renewiltord 6y ago
Perhaps organic RC systems and training will get better faster in the short term as we get new tech than robotic control systems. I don't see it as likely, but imagining a future where instead of robots we have living organisms that are practically robots is fascinating. After all, ape limbs and hands are far more dexterous than the robotic systems we've built to mimic them. The only problem is control - but perhaps we will learn brain control and training in the brain faster than we will make robotic hands that are as resilient and adaptable as living ones.
- theandrewbailey 6y ago
  Next tech bubble: organic learning. \s
Grakel 6y ago
Paywalled
- glouwbug 6y ago
  Don't you just love how the New York times maxes out CPU usage while asking for cookie confirmation, login, and payment, so we can read about a rat getting a medal with two huge white space borders on the side?
  - Grakel 6y ago
    The last shreds of integrity the Times had are finally gone.
0x6A75616E 6y ago
Bravery doesn't apply when you don't have a choice.
- foxyv 6y ago
  Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die.
- pvaldes 6y ago
  As reboot of Babe the gallant pig in Africa, it works. The other option, ending as african prairie hotdog, was worse paid :-)
JackFr 6y ago
Rat singled out for bravery, for doing thing he was trained to do, which admittedly isn’t dangerous to him at all. Weird definition of brave.
unnouinceput 6y ago
Quote: "When he is not in the minefield, the two-foot-long rat ..." That's not a rat, that's a monster-rat :).
- pvaldes 6y ago
  Is a different species than the common rat. A rodent in a different genus and family that is a solitary monogamous species from african rainforests. They can't stand cold so well as brown rats so couldn't be used in snowy places, probably.
- anotherevan 6y ago
  >>> Insert obligatory The Princess Bride reference here. <<<
qazpot 6y ago
I wonder whether the rat gives a rat's ass about the award.
iJohnDoe 6y ago
Congrats to Magawa! He and his handler are doing great work. The amount of success both of them have achieved is amazing. Wishing them both continued safety.
m3kw9 6y ago
Lol, the rat hasn’t a choice. More like sympathy award. Bravery is pressing forward in the face of fear.
danShumway 6y ago
Mildly related, but domestic rats make really great pets, especially if you live in an apartment. They're a lot less work to take care of than a cat/dog, but also startlingly intelligent, curious, and social. - very little odor compared to 'musky' animals like ferrets, especially if you get females. - smart enough and social enough to recognize their owners, explore around, learn tricks. They can even be leash trained (although I wouldn't recommend taking them outside). - if you get them from a reputable breeder that screens for aggression, they're incredibly gentle, which makes them a lot safer around kids than a typical cat would be. There are a few downsides, the biggest one being that they only live 2-5 years, and they do require some research and prep. It's really easy to be irresponsible and give them a miserable life, which stinks for any pocket pet, but especially for rats because they're so intelligent. But if you want a social, 'interactive' pet but are worried that you wouldn't be able to handle a dog, I'm hard-pressed to come up with another animal I would recommend more.
tibbydudeza 6y ago
More accurate and costs way less than a 75K Boston Dynamics dog.
pvaldes 6y ago
The makers of land mines should be forced to pay for each land mine removed
narwally 6y ago
This same non-profit, the APOPO, also trains these rats to detect tuberculosis. Apparently the laboratory testing in Tanzania produces a lot of false negatives, and the rats can screen the same number of samples it takes a lab tech an entire day to test. They use the rats to double check the lab tests and identify samples to be re-tested.[1] [1]https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/8/140816-rats-tuberculosis-smell-disease-health-animals-world/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/8/140816-rats-t...
jope12 6y ago
If I understand correctly, the rats smell TNT? What are the problems in building artificial TNT detectors working like the olfactory systems of animals?

90 points by EndXA 6y ago

> “Magawa’s dedication, skill and bravery are an extraordinary example of this and deserve the highest possible recognition,” Ms. McLoughlin said. It is funny because the little animal probably has no idea what it is doing and does not care for anything but its lunch.

renewiltord 6y ago
The anthropomorphism hijack is way too strong. Couldn't help but think "Get in, mate!"
kube-system 6y ago
And likewise, it probably does not value a gold medal. gold/silver/bronze in the rat world is probably more like: peanut butter/cheese/grain
- liability 6y ago
  A cheese medallion seems like a fitting award for a rat.
- nix23 6y ago
  Rats are intelligent, she will trade it later with a Crow and the Crow then with a ferengi because the Crow needs a self sealing stem-bolt.
jskdvsksnb 6y ago
Realistically this is a nice recognition for the handlers and the program that also has a cute news angle. It's a win-win, if the program has attention and funding the rat keeps getting lunch
foxyv 6y ago
> "It is funny because the little animal probably has no idea what it is doing and does not care for anything but its lunch." That sounds like an accurate description of most soldiers.
- tibbydudeza 6y ago
  I think the rat eats better food than MRE's.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

renewiltord 6y ago

Perhaps organic RC systems and training will get better faster in the short term as we get new tech than robotic control systems. I don't see it as likely, but imagining a future where instead of robots we have living organisms that are practically robots is fascinating. After all, ape limbs and hands are far more dexterous than the robotic systems we've built to mimic them. The only problem is control - but perhaps we will learn brain control and training in the brain faster than we will make robotic hands that are as resilient and adaptable as living ones.

theandrewbailey 6y ago
Next tech bubble: organic learning. \s

Grakel 6y ago

Paywalled

glouwbug 6y ago
Don't you just love how the New York times maxes out CPU usage while asking for cookie confirmation, login, and payment, so we can read about a rat getting a medal with two huge white space borders on the side?
- Grakel 6y ago
  The last shreds of integrity the Times had are finally gone.

0x6A75616E 6y ago

Bravery doesn't apply when you don't have a choice.

foxyv 6y ago
Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die.
pvaldes 6y ago
As reboot of Babe the gallant pig in Africa, it works. The other option, ending as african prairie hotdog, was worse paid :-)

JackFr 6y ago

Rat singled out for bravery, for doing thing he was trained to do, which admittedly isn’t dangerous to him at all. Weird definition of brave.

unnouinceput 6y ago

Quote: "When he is not in the minefield, the two-foot-long rat ..." That's not a rat, that's a monster-rat :).

pvaldes 6y ago
Is a different species than the common rat. A rodent in a different genus and family that is a solitary monogamous species from african rainforests. They can't stand cold so well as brown rats so couldn't be used in snowy places, probably.
anotherevan 6y ago
>>> Insert obligatory The Princess Bride reference here. <<<

qazpot 6y ago

I wonder whether the rat gives a rat's ass about the award.

iJohnDoe 6y ago

Congrats to Magawa! He and his handler are doing great work. The amount of success both of them have achieved is amazing. Wishing them both continued safety.

m3kw9 6y ago

Lol, the rat hasn’t a choice. More like sympathy award. Bravery is pressing forward in the face of fear.

danShumway 6y ago

Mildly related, but domestic rats make really great pets, especially if you live in an apartment. They're a lot less work to take care of than a cat/dog, but also startlingly intelligent, curious, and social. - very little odor compared to 'musky' animals like ferrets, especially if you get females. - smart enough and social enough to recognize their owners, explore around, learn tricks. They can even be leash trained (although I wouldn't recommend taking them outside). - if you get them from a reputable breeder that screens for aggression, they're incredibly gentle, which makes them a lot safer around kids than a typical cat would be. There are a few downsides, the biggest one being that they only live 2-5 years, and they do require some research and prep. It's really easy to be irresponsible and give them a miserable life, which stinks for any pocket pet, but especially for rats because they're so intelligent. But if you want a social, 'interactive' pet but are worried that you wouldn't be able to handle a dog, I'm hard-pressed to come up with another animal I would recommend more.

tibbydudeza 6y ago

More accurate and costs way less than a 75K Boston Dynamics dog.

pvaldes 6y ago

The makers of land mines should be forced to pay for each land mine removed

narwally 6y ago

This same non-profit, the APOPO, also trains these rats to detect tuberculosis. Apparently the laboratory testing in Tanzania produces a lot of false negatives, and the rats can screen the same number of samples it takes a lab tech an entire day to test. They use the rats to double check the lab tests and identify samples to be re-tested.[1] [1]https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/8/140816-rats-tuberculosis-smell-disease-health-animals-world/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/8/140816-rats-t...

jope12 6y ago

If I understand correctly, the rats smell TNT? What are the problems in building artificial TNT detectors working like the olfactory systems of animals?