Rats! Science! Giggles!

Now, some folks might recall that I went to Charleston on vacation a few weeks back. As always with a visit to David, SCIENCE was involved.

Normally I wouldn't find his Rat Science so interesting. Here's an example of what it often looks like:

BUT in this case, it involved RATS and GIGGLING.

David learned through Science that rats giggle when you tickle them. How do you confirm this?

First you, take a Bat Sonar Detector. This is a little device with headphones and an amplifier - when used properly you can hear the high-pitched screeching these little pajaros del noche use to communicate with each other.

When used improperly you can hear rat giggles!

If you start tickling the little buddy (I did it with Subject #5, who was my favorite) while you have the Sonar Device on, you can actually hear screechy giggles.

David pointed out that all the other rats hear the giggling too, and they get more and more excited to come out of their cages for all the fun times.

I had no idea that so much fun could be had with a lab rat.
Thanks David, and Subject #5, for teaching me that Science is Fun!