Bayard Buzz

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Good morning everyone. Happy December 1st! Anyone have their Christmas shopping done yet?

Please remember to let Barbara know today if wish to participate in the Secret Santa so she can make up the names for drawing. Also, please sign up for the pot luck. The list is by the mail slots.

Judy is flying the friendly skies at this very moment on her way to Walt Disney World Orlando. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Here's some interesting information submitted by Paul. Thanks Paul. This is terrific. Everyone, please feel free to submit such things as long as they are relatively short. Enjoy.

How long is a goldfish’s memory?

Many, including this BBC Goldfish Quiz, believe goldfish have only a three-second memory. Alas, this is incorrect. Nevertheless, we were interested to learn that if you keep a goldfish in a dark room it eventually turns white, and the correct term for a pregnant goldfish is "twit."
The Mad Scientist notes that if you tap on the tank before feeding your goldfish every day, the goldfish will eventually learn to look for food immediately after the tank-tapping. This kind of "classical conditioning" indicates goldfish have some memory.
Dr. Karl seconds that emotion, citing anecdotes of goldfish responding happily to their owner's faces, while hiding in their tiny castles when confronted with strangers. And while goldfish were domesticated in China roughly a thousand years ago, they still swim in schools, and thus have some learned social behavior.
The MythBusters TV show taught some goldfish to swim through a maze, noting that their time got better on each successive run. And an interesting response to the AnswerBag Forum describes goldfish memory as "selective" -- they have a general idea of what happened on a previous occasion, they're just not sure what. We empathize.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home