I had recently watched this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tdiKTSdE9Y video on how scientists were using microwaves to revive hamsters after they've been frozen. Now Tom Scott mentions this doesn't work on humans as we are too big, however, say we are sending a spaceship to some distant place. What would be the best animal small enough, but smart enough to be able to complete some relevant goals? Maybe just push some buttons or react to warning signs. Or just have it genetically modified to be super intelligent. Anyway, thought this would be an interesting idea. Any info is appreciated.
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1$\begingroup$ 🤔 Perhaps a little more detail on the relevant goals? might be helpful in narrowing down 'smart enough'? $\endgroup$– PelinoreJun 22, 2022 at 11:35
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1$\begingroup$ Also, why do you need animals? It seems like if you can build the spaceship, you can build robots...? $\endgroup$– G. Ann - SonarSource TeamJun 22, 2022 at 18:56
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$\begingroup$ What's your own idea? $\endgroup$– Robbie GoodwinJun 22, 2022 at 22:40
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3 Answers
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Frog Icicle
Some frogs freeze solid in the winter. Then when it warms up they thaw out and get back to eating bugs. See here.
tap tap tap
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There are primates barely bigger than hamsters -- the pygmy marmoset, for instance, grows to only 4 1/2 to 6 inches (11 - 15 cm) length and a few tens of grams. And yet, this is an actual monkey. It should be well possible to train it to react to different colored lights (almost all primates have color vision much like ours, instead of being dichromats -- "color blind" like most mammals) or particular sounds.
Like most very small mammals, they don't live very long, but if you can keep them frozen, they might well "keep" for decades.
answered Jun 22, 2022 at 11:09
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1$\begingroup$ At that size crows probably outperform any primates of comparable body wieght? $\endgroup$– PelinoreJun 22, 2022 at 17:19
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$\begingroup$ Maybe so, but we know this works on small mammals. Birds?? Dunno... $\endgroup$ Jun 22, 2022 at 17:44
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Border collie puppy.
Here is puppy 654958. She is not the only puppy on this ship. 654959, 654960 and 654963 are her crewmates. 654961 had a freezer malfunction and did not get thawed - she is still in there, sleeping, waiting for season 2. 654962 is on board but he does not pay attention in puppy school and so pretty much just hangs out with them. He is good company though. He may or may not be a border collie; some suspect he is a black lab / pug mix.
The space pups are thawed and then raised by a fluffy robot dog mom. They have a puppy school led by human and dog robots and they learn their jobs on the ship.
The puppies are crazy cute and are voiced by wonderful voice actors, as is Robot Dog Mom. Each pup has its own role in their team of 4 (or team of 5 if you count 654962) and they solve problems and have adventures in their ship far from earth.
