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Shrimp on a Treadmill - Turn sound on, play and smile :-)

Submitted by Hermit Barber on Wed, 2011-08-24 05:02

Source: NPR via The Atlantic
Credits: Erik Hayden
Dated: 2011-08-23

Shrimp running on a treadmill, revisited.

[ Emilie says : I wonder if, technically, this "shrimp" isn't a prawn. It looks a lot like Penaus monodon, which is a Dendobranchiata rather than a Caridea to me. Either way, "Yummy funny." ]

Sometimes, researchers get singled out for how they choose to spend their time and funding. And Biologist Lou Burnett and crew may be an infamous example, as NPR recounts: they were testing how shrimp react to water quality and made a video showing one running on a treadmill. The study was flagged by Sen. Tom Coburn, who said that the project was an example of government waste. In a new article, NPR spoke with Burnett, who defended the study and was "irritated" by the waste implication: "The senator's report was misleading, says Burnett, 'and it suggests that much money was spent on seeing how long a shrimp can run on a treadmill, which was totally out of context.'" The offending video is below. Unfortunately the internet had its fun and we found a version with the Benny Hill theme song attached. [NPR]

[ Emilie says : I loved some of the comments ]

  • This video has been up for years, and I see idiots are still joking about money being wasted on this. It doesn't cost that much to put a shrimp on a treadmill, and recording how different animals walk and run is applicable to robotics, medicine, evolutionary science, physics and you name it. If you want money to go into something you consider more "worthy," drop a few dollars into a charity sometime instead of eating out or buying a new video game.

    Scythemantis 2 months ago 63

  • How the hell can anyone complain about taxpayer money going toward this?

    A shrimp running on a treadmill? It is possible to get more awesome?

    Yootoobpoopification 1 month ago 41

  • I think you could set an execution to that music and I'd laugh.  Love it! :)

    Lojikbom 7 hours ago

  • @Scythemantis Yeah! It takes about 5 dollars to buy the shrimp, and another fifty or so for the treadmill!

    PURE AWESOMENESS WAS NEVER SO CHEAP!!

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