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Thanks for the great laugh, fortunately I don't have any relatives who are white, or any color, mice, an uncle is suspected of being somewhat of a rat...but we just call him the black sheep of the family..none of us were ever very good at biology! happy New Year! [OO] LOOKING FOR RADIOS! Ken Becker [log in to unmask] On Sun, 29 Dec 1996, Margaret Hayon wrote: > >P.S. KEN, The mouse that could make a map of his brain.....well, he > >died...Seems that he went the wrong way on a one way street and was run > >over by a crazed Mass. Driver across the street from his pethouse at > >M.I.T.. Flushed down the toilet this afternoon at 4:38pm, The moral of this > >event? Never,never be envious of a mouse. > > > >[log in to unmask] "OH, What A Beautiful Morning" > > > Thought you'd like to know - before his unfortunate demise, that mouse had > published an article on his life-experiences in the "New Scientist": I have > copied extracts below > (full text can be found at <http://www.reutershealth.com/jir/jir19.html>) > ***************** > > Advice To Mice: > A Commentary On The Reward and Punishment Game > Dominic Recaldin > > There are alI manner of opportunities for white > mice today. > When I was young, it was either straight into a > petshop, or try to scratch a living off the > corporation rubbish dump. Neither was exactly a > bed of roses. > > [part omitted] And then > science came, and life changed almost overnight. > After generations of persecution, white mice were > suddenly "in." Scientific research changed us from > being the most untouchable into the most hutchable > animals in the history of Man. > > The boom began, I suppose, with medical research. > Scientific This is still a tremendous career outlet these > research days, but it is not without its attendant risks, > changed us from of course. You pay your penny and take your > being the most chance. You could be lucky and be part of a > untouchable skin-grafting team. Apart from finishing up like a > into the most harlequin quilt you come to no real harm. On the > hutchable other hand, you may end up in toxicology tests at > animals in the Porton Down. Even so, by following the age-old > history of Man. rule "Never Volunteer," you could stay there all > your life and never have a day off sick. When they > start to fumble around for test animals just fade > quietly away into a corner of the cage. The ones > they can't catch they invariably leave as > controls. Never rush or panic, as this will draw > their attention. And above all, don't attack them > -- a cornered scientist can be vicious. If all > else fails and they grab you anyway, pee on their > hand. > > I would like to say a word here about > accommodation in research labs. By and large it is > very good. The meals are regular and the food is > excellent. There is room for improvement in other > directions, however. I wish they wouldn't persist > in putting down sawdust. It gets all over your > fur. You keep thinking you've got systemic > dandruff. Newspaper would be better. None of your > Daily Sketch rubbish though. Most of us prefer a > heavy daily -- the Times is a favourite, > especially if the crossword is on view. But for > God's sake change the paper every day. Never mind > the hygiene: what were the answers to yesterday's > clues? > > I found my own metier in psychology. I run mazes > and things. Psychologists are pleasant, > simple-mind souls, and life is pretty good. Mind > you, you need be a cut above the average with the > old gray matter. They don't like dim animals doing > intelligence work: it takes them far too long to > get any results, you see. They'd never use > rabbits, for example. They're as thick as two > planks. NaturalIy, it doesn't do to be too smart > either. Most mazes are ineptly easy. It's all you > can do sometimes not to nod off in the middle of a > run, paralyzed with boredom. But you must appear > to play the game and act as though the entire > thing is straining the frontiers of your > intelligence. You scratch their back and they'll > scratch yours. > Reward-punishment games present a bit of a > problem. You'd think psychologists would know > better. I am not altogether unknown in the trade > as a cheese gourmet. I like nothing better than a > rich, ripe wedge of Stilton. And what do I get? > That same old indestructible cube of New Zealand > Cheddar, day after day. The first time I saw it I > nearly had a blue fit. If that's the reward, I > thought, what's the punishment? Quite > frankly, some mornings I prefer to press the wrong > button on purpose. Anything is preferable to that > pig's breakfast, even twelve volts up the hooter. > > > Reprinted with permission from The New Scientist. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >