Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/05/08/scientists-taught-a-spider-to.html
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I can only presume Kim is related to Lucas.
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Next up is getting humans to use their signal devise while driving.
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Great. Now we’re doomed.
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Dream on.
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“I have a dream”…
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now they just have to teach it to bite on command and fill it full of radioactive mutagenetic drugs.
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This would require taking one of two occupied hands off the cellphone. Then again, long ago I did observe one young lady doing up her makeup in the rearview mirror while using both hands as she made the right turn at a corner (likely using her knees to steer). Lucas the Spider (see above) would have been proud.
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I would like to welcome our new Spider overlords.
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Those jumping spiders will look a person right in the eyes.
You go ahead, I’ll stand at the back.
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i’m still trying to comprehend how they managed to get her to jump on command. it’s not like she can learn words, or understand cues, and they didn’t want to use food as an incentive. anyway, jumping spiders are my favorite kind of spider – and now i’m sad to get to the end of the article only to read that she is now dead : (
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Meanwhile the spiders in my house have learned to make my wife jump.
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I can confirm that spider wrangling is a pain, and they don’t like to move on cue. I once had to film some walking around in order to create a visual effect for a ride (knock-off of Disneyland’s Indiana Jones ride) and I could never get them to take more than about 4 steps in a straight line. In the end I just used software to create walk-cycles from the few seconds of useable footage to get the result I needed.
Fun fact: I purchased the spiders at an insect fair and gave @Brainspore’s wife a serious case of the willies when she had to share a car ride with us home.
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What’s Next?
- Train a spider army and rule the world!
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Whose silky smooth takeover will quickly enable them to take control of the world-wide web and spin it all as being for our own good.
(I’ll get my coat.)
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I was hoping that spider training could eventually spread, leading them all to jump far away from humans and their dwellings.
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Spiders eat insects that can carry disease such as mosquitoes, and themselves generally try to avoid humans. They’re basically arthropod turncoats. We let them live in reasonable numbers in our home. Free pest control.
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I only find large spider webs with insects outside. Inside, there’s usually just a spider walking along a wall, loitering. Also, my cat’s very good at pointing out pests. Then she stares at me as if to say, “Well, do something about it!”
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