Posted on 08/15/2016 3:35:40 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Study: Apes Could Make Competent Bartenders
An ape in Sweden has demonstrated human-level flavour prediction abilities by memorising cocktail ingredients, according to a recent study.
By providing a captive orangutan with its own personal cocktail bar, a group of researchers found that large primates exhibit a type of taste memory thought to be unique to humans.
In a new study published in the Animal Cognition journal, researchers at Lund University in Sweden offered Naong, a male orangutan at a Swedish Zoo, three distinct tasting juices cherry, rhubarb and lemon as well as cider apple vinegar.
Each in a small bottle on a table adjacent to his cage, Naong accessed the juices using a straw. He learned their flavours, and also the flavour of every possible pairing of the liquids mixed for him by a personal bartender.
The researchers found that Naong not only remembered the flavour of each combination, but could predict whether combinations he had never tasted before would taste pleasant.
Gabriela-Alina Sauciuc of Lund University told New Scientist: It has been considered that only humans can [make predictions in this way], but we challenged this and showed that an orangutan was able to predict whether never-before-experienced mixes would taste good or bad, and that he could do this as well as 10 human control subjects.
To ensure that it wasnt colour he preferred, the researchers repeated the experiment using dyes to alter the natural colour of each juice, but it was still the taste rather than the colour that he chose.
Naong stuck with his favourites 88% of the time when offered them in three further rounds of trials.
The study illustrates that it is not just humans who can use prior experiences to predict what will happen in new situations, a ability called affective forecasting.
In 2014, researchers at Santa Fe College discovered that chimps and gorillas first developed a taste for alcohol more than 10 million years ago.
Just what I need, a drunk monkey hanging around the house.
“By providing a captive orangutan with its own personal cocktail bar . . .”
That’s one lucky monkey.
Hmmmm, maybe we can replace our Congressmen with apes, couldn’t be any worse.
One of my favorite movies...
“Apes Could Make Competent Bartenders”
Unless and until they rip your face off.
The Boehner Special:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/hot-cheeto-tequila?utm_term=.ufvAb8XXG#.aizGLOzz3
Remember that chimpanzee attack in CT? The chimp attacked his owner's friend, known to the chimp, and ripped/bit off not only fingers, but the flesh on the poor woman's face.
Gimme the robot.
I told a chimp bartender my troubles and he flinged feces at me. I think he was trying to tell me to man up and deal with things. I felt a great weight was lifted from my shoulders. You better believe I tipped well that night.
Do you know what your elected officials in DC were doing today?
... neither did they....
Think you have a good memory? Check this chimp. They are presented with a random pattern of numbers from 1 to 9. When they think they can remember where each number is, they touch the 1. All the number are replaced with a square. They need to touch the squares in order from 2 to 9. They get a treat for doing it correctly. The one in the video is the best at this.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chimp+number+memory
“What if the monkey were expert at selling the drinks?”
Only a monkey would try to sell drinks at a $5,000 open bar...
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