Psychotic Lab Mice

meltoast writes "We send lab mice through a maze to see their reactions and then take that information and apply it to our knowledge of the human psyche. Well, what if those mice are completely out of their minds? Discover recently ran an article showing that mice kept in a standard laboratory environment may be crazy. 'In one sequence, a mouse climbs the stainless-steel walls of its cage, hangs from the ceiling by its forelegs while gnawing on the bars, then drops to the floor, only to repeat the process endlessly. On the other side of the cage, a second mouse performs backflips, one per second, for up to 30 minutes at a time.'"

All maze, no beer make Homer something something..

[Anonymous Coward]

... Go crazy?

Don't mind if I do!!

Those hyperintelligent pandimensional beings!!

[deek]

• How better to disguise their real natures, and how better to guide your thinking. Suddenly running down a maze the wrong way, eating the wrong bit of cheese, unexpectedly dropping dead of myxomatosis. If it's finely calculated the cumulative effect is enormous.

Credits to D.Adams ... R.I.P

Cubefarm

[limekiller4]

This behavior bears a disturbing resemblance to my former cubefarm cellmates.

The "acid test" of insanity

[GuyMannDude]

My point is, unless you want to get inside of their head, or ask them why they are doing what they are doing, we can't say it's abnormal behavior. To an "alien in space" (who knows nothing of human "culture") someone jumping on a trampoline, or someone jumping into a pool over and over again may seem pointless and that we are out of our minds. Just a thought. I'm sure the mice are just keeping themselves busy.

Don't human psychiatric workers keep track of how many times their inmates masturbate as a measure of frustration and stress? And don't soldiers who are exposed to heavy enemy fire on a daily basis usually succumb to self-manipulation 10+ times a day?

So are these mice jerking themselves silly or what? Just doing flips over and over isn't a sure sign of going nutso. Maybe they're just staying in shape! But if these cameras are capturing these mice reaching down between their legs a lot (or maybe rubbing their groins against every object in their cage), then I think we have a rock-solid case!

GMD

Re:Cubefarm

[Alethes]

meltoast writes "We send employees through a cubicle farm to see their reactions and then take that information and apply it to our knowledge of the human psyche. Well, what if those employees are completely out of their minds? Discover recently ran an article showing that employees kept in a cubicle environment may be crazy. 'In one sequence, an employee climbs the cloth-covered walls of his cubicle, hangs from the false ceiling by his hands while gnawing on the frame, then drops to the floor, only to repeat the process endlessly. On the other side of the room, a second employee makes copies, one per second, for up to 30 minutes at a time.'"

NO!!!

[JDWTopGuy]

The mice have gone crazy? Oh rats!

Crazy?

[Tyrdium]

On the other side of the cage, a second mouse performs backflips, one per second, for up to 30 minutes at a time.
Nah, it was just training for the Olympics...

You talking 'bout mice or slashdot trolls?

[GuyMannDude]

Hmmm. It's scary how many of these behaviors also apply to slashdot trolls:

A) These activities consume up to half of the creatures' waking hours, every single day.

I'm sure they spend about half their time in front of the computer either reading, posting, or thinking of new offensive, off-topic things to say on slashdot.

B) The affected animals also exhibit other deficiencies and obsessive behaviors.

You mean like hitting "refresh" on the slashdot home page every 1-2 minutes so they can get first post?

C) The entire lifestyle of these creatures is wildly altered by the addition of something as simple as a cardboard tube to their cages.

The entire day of these creatures is wildly altered by something as simple as a fellow slashdotter replying to their message, not realizing it wasn't serious.

GMD

ZOIT! NARF!

[Glytch]

I think so, Brain, but who'd want to watch Snow White and the Seven Samurai?

Re:How are we any more sane?

[ChowyChow]

C) The entire lifestyle of these creatures is wildly altered by the addition of something as simple as a cardboard tube to their cages.

If you were trapped on an 10x10 meter island with nothing but a coconut tree and did not know of 'civilization' what would you do?

Then, what would you do if we added Natalie Portman to your island?? (hot grits included) Yea, that's what I thought.

They're Pinky and The Brain

[NetFusion]

They're Pinky and The Brain
Yes, Pinky and The Brain
One is a genius
The other's insane.
They're laboratory mice
Their genes have been spliced
They're dinky
They're Pinky and The Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain.

Before each night is done
Their plan will be unfurled
By the dawning of the sun
They'll take over the world.

They're Pinky and The Brain
Yes, Pinky and The Brain
Their twilight campaign
Is easy to explain.
To prove their mousey worth
They'll overthrow the Earth
They're dinky
They're Pinky and The Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Narf!

Re:They're Pinky and The Brain

[tuxedobob]

Wow. I never thought that would ever be even vaguely on topic.

Reminds me of...

[wowbagger]

Hanging from the top of the cage - you mean, like a pull-up?

Turning backflips...

"Now this one's a strange case. She claim a machine from the future, called a Terminator, came back to kill her."
Hiya Doc. How's the knee.

...causes cancer in laboratory rats.

[Serra]

There was a point in the article when it occured to me that the phrase, "Research causes cancer in laboratory rats." was not a joke.

boo

[lemody]

'boo the space hamster' wasn't nuts. only his (her?) owner was!

Re:I've seen this

[PizzaFace]

People get the same way when they're cooped up and take up all sorts of repetitive psychotic behaviors. It's a self-protection method for the brain I believe, keeping itself occupied in some endless task rather than concentrating on its continuously uninteresting environment and going crazy.

Are you talking about Slashdotters?

Re:I've seen this

[clambake]

hear that if you set up a treadwheel in the woods, normal mice, voles etc will use it!

But if a vole runs on a treadwheel in the woods, and no one is around to see it, is he really crazy?

Re:NO!!!

[clambake]

The mice have gone crazy? Oh rats!

If the mice have gone nuts, what happens to the squirrels? They become cheesy?

Only me?

[Mopatop]

On the other side of the cage, a second mouse performs backflips, one per second, for up to 30 minutes at a time.

Did anyone else think of making a clock with this

Only me? Okay then...

easy fix

[AssFace]

The mice are just bored.

If you want to give them something to do, just put a housecat in there with them.

QED

Staring at this screen...

[jpsst34]

...all day causes repetitive behaviour.

Oooh! New story on /. The article is too long.
Oooh! New story on /. The article is too long.
Oooh! New story on /. The article is too long.
Oooh! New story on /. The article is too long.
...

The surprise is at the bottom of the article...

[RobertB-DC]

This is one of the best articles I've read in a long time, and I'm sure I'll have an intelligent comment later. But for now, here's this summary:

mouse
mice mice mice mice mice
mouse
mice mice mice mice mice
mouse
mice mice mice mice mice
mouse
mice mice mice mice mice
mouse
mice mice mice mice mice
mouse
mice mice mice mice mice
mouse
mice mice mice mice mice
mouse

And at the bottom:
© Copyright 2003 The Walt Disney Company

And I fear that I'

[krysith]

"Don't know the date
Don't know the time
The lab rats are insane
And I fear that I'll be next..."

-The Changelings "Parallax"