Buzz
State-of-the-art technology enables researchers to push the boundaries of their creativity. Embracing the quirky side of science often leads to extraordinary discoveries. From octopuses under the influence of Ecstasy to mind-reading humans and realities that only exist when observed, scientists are charting new territory.
Yet, as with all experiments, not every result was uplifting. Some outcomes highlighted unsettling human-robot interactions, while others revealed the disturbing fact that even those who believed themselves incapable were prone to inflicting harm on a helpless victim.
10. Goats Can Tell If You’re Happy
Goats are smarter than we think. A 2018 study with 20 goats uncovered their ability to recognize human facial expressions. These clever creatures were trained to approach a specific area of their pen to be rewarded with snacks, showing that they could distinguish between happy and neutral faces.
In the second phase, two pictures were placed on the back. These photos featured men and women the goats had never encountered in person. One photo always showed a smiling face, while the other displayed a frowning expression. The goats were presented with either male or female faces, with the pictures rotated between the left and right sides of the pen.
The goats showed no preference based on gender, instead gravitating towards the happy faces. Interestingly, they consistently chose the positive images when placed on the right side of the pen.
This behavior suggests that a goat’s left hemisphere processes positive cues. While it remains a mystery how goats interpret the facial expressions of another species, this experiment marked the first evidence that they can understand these visual signals.
9. The Four-Day Workweek
Many workers find their job environments draining, especially when companies prioritize profit over employee well-being. In 2018, a bold experiment was carried out by a New Zealand company. Perpetual Guardian, a trust firm, implemented a four-day workweek with full pay for two months, transforming the work-life balance for its employees.
The groundbreaking experiment sought to assess whether reducing office hours would benefit or harm a business. While most business owners might see this as a risky move, the results were astonishing.
The staff's stress levels decreased from 45% to 38%, and their work-life balance soared from 54% to 78%. Surprisingly, productivity showed a slight improvement, despite the shorter workweeks. Additionally, there was an increase in staff commitment and positive relationships, leadership saw improvement, and employees found more joy in their work.
This experiment led to a rare outcome: a team fiercely loyal to a company that genuinely cares for its employees. As a result, Perpetual Guardian now plans to make the four-day workweek a permanent policy.
8. Octopuses on Ecstasy
In 2018, an unusual experiment took place. Researchers introduced two octopuses, two Star Wars action figures, and Ecstasy (MDMA) to the mix. Known for flooding human brains with serotonin and turning them into social, affectionate beings, the drug was tested on these sea creatures.
Octopuses are typically solitary and grumpy. When sober, they shun their fellow octopuses and ignore the toys in their tank. But under the influence of Ecstasy, they acted much like humans—befriending both their fellow octopuses and even Chewbacca and a stormtrooper action figure.
The surprising behavior of the octopuses revealed something remarkable. Although octopus brains and human brains are structured completely differently, with the two species diverging over 500 million years ago, one gene in both species’ genomes matched perfectly.
The gene SLC6A4, the key binding site for Ecstasy, explains why both humans and octopuses develop a warm, affectionate attitude when exposed to MDMA. This discovery was unexpected, as no one anticipated that the genetic and neurological pathways responsible for human social behavior would be found in such an entirely different creature.
7. Rogue Kidneys
Scientists now create organoids—miniature replicas of human organs. In 2018, a lab successfully grew mini kidneys from stem cells. After four weeks of nurturing these growths in a chemical solution, they were ready for inspection.
This solution was specifically designed to promote the growth of specialized kidney cells. Once the organoids had matured, researchers began to examine their internal development. That's when the surprise occurred.
For an unknown reason, the tiny kidneys went off course and began producing brain and muscle cells. These unexpected cells made up as much as 20% of the organoids' composition.
Despite the intrigue of Frankenstein-like organs, this was a setback. Organoids are valuable for studying diseases, but if they don't accurately replicate a real human kidney, the data collected could be misleading.
Another unexpected issue arose when the lab-grown kidneys refused to mature, no matter the methods used. This posed a challenge for disease research, as prolonged exposure to the chemical solution led to an increase in rogue cells.
6. Children Trust Misleading Robots
The Asch conformity experiment, often framed as a vision test, was reimagined in 2018. Researchers gathered 43 children aged seven to nine, tasking them with identifying two equal-length lines on a screen. The solution was clear, and when alone, the children got it right 87% of the time.
Then came the robots. Each time a child was asked to identify the lines, a robot would provide an incorrect answer. Despite the obvious correct answer, the children began second-guessing themselves, looking to the robots for guidance. This led to a decline in accuracy, dropping their success rate to 75%. They followed the robots' cues, sometimes even repeating their responses.
In a similar test with 60 adults, the robots' incorrect answers were ignored. The children were likely influenced by 'automation bias'—the tendency to believe machines are more accurate than they are. Researchers speculated that adults might have been swayed if the robots had been more imposing rather than toy-like.
5. The Tokyo Explosion
For decades, scientists have strived to create larger magnetic fields. While they’ve succeeded in generating massive ones, their strength has been too overwhelming for indoor use. However, attempts to measure these fields outdoors have lacked accuracy.
In 2018, physicists in Tokyo built an armored room designed to contain the strongest controlled magnetic field ever generated in a lab. Magnetic fields are measured in teslas. The most powerful MRI machine produces three teslas, but the Tokyo team aimed for 700.
Instead, their electromagnetic experiment resulted in a field of 1,200 teslas. This unanticipated outcome made it the strongest controlled field ever, though 'controlled' merely meant that its strength was measurable. The force of the field blew apart the laboratory’s armored doors after crushing the iron box it was housed in.
Despite the explosion and property damage, the achievement of 1,200 teslas marked a significant step toward limitless, clean energy. Nuclear fusion reactors require a 1,000-tesla magnetic field to potentially solve the world’s energy crisis. Scientists now have a strong enough field—they just need to figure out how to prevent future explosions.
4. Measurement Creates Reality
In 1978, physicists proposed a groundbreaking theory—that reality doesn't exist until it's observed. It sounded strange at the time, but by 2015, technology caught up to confirm its truth. Australian scientists modified a classic 1970s experiment to demonstrate how the quantum world adheres to this odd principle.
The experiment involved sending a single helium atom through laser barriers—points of measurement—to determine if it behaved like a wave or a particle. Common sense suggested that its inherent nature should already exist and that measurement could not alter it.
But in a mind-boggling twist, the results revealed that the atom didn’t choose whether it was a wave or particle until it encountered the lasers. To initiate the experiment, the helium atom passed through a pair of beams designed to alter its trajectory.
Later, additional lasers were introduced to merge its paths again. This second round of measurement somehow forced the atom to pick whether it would act like a wave or a particle.
3. The Milgram Experiment
Stanley Milgram uncovered a disturbing aspect of human behavior. In the 1960s, this social psychologist conducted an experiment to determine how far individuals would go when instructed by an authority figure to electrocute someone else. The results were unsettling—most participants complied. Milgram's experiment became a landmark in the study of obedience and social psychology.
In 2017, researchers sought to test if modern individuals would still prioritize authority over empathy. Most would assume they couldn't be swayed by such commands.
A Polish study recruited 80 participants for a “memory test.” Their task was to administer shocks to learners who failed to memorize word associations. The shocks were fake, but the participants were unaware of this, nor did they know that the “learners” were actors.
Participants were asked to press 10 levers, each increasing the voltage of the shocks delivered. When learners failed to memorize something, participants were instructed to shock them, with an authority figure urging those who hesitated as the voltage and screams intensified. Despite participants being three times less likely to apply stronger shocks to female learners, a shocking 90 percent still went all the way.
2. BrainNet
In 2018, neuroscientists successfully connected the brains of three individuals, enabling them to play a Tetris-like game by simply sharing thoughts. This “network” was named BrainNet.
The participants didn’t directly read each other’s thoughts. However, using electroencephalograms (EEGs) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), they were able to communicate. Two participants acted as “senders,” wearing EEG electrodes, while the third participant, the “receiver,” wore a TMS cap.
In the experiment, the senders played the game, but it was only the third person who could move the blocks. When a player wanted to rotate a block, they focused on one of two LEDs on the screen. The flashing lights triggered signals in the brain, which the EEG detected and transmitted to the TMS cap. The magnetic field from the TMS cap created phantom flashes in the receiver’s mind, signaling them to rotate the block.
With a success rate of over 80 percent, researchers are optimistic that, in the future, they could build a social network of interconnected brains, potentially using the internet as a medium.
1. The Murdered Robot
Once upon a time, in 2015, there was a robot named hitchBOT. His goal was simple: to travel as far as he could by hitchhiking with strangers. For two weeks, this sociable robot enjoyed the generosity of drivers and set a record for the longest journey ever made by its kind.
Having traveled more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) across Canada and taken in the sights of several German cities, hitchBOT set its sights on exploring the entirety of the United States. If only the curious robot had parents, they might have warned him about the perils of hitchhiking.
Rather than being a simple traveler, hitchBOT was designed as an experiment to observe how far human kindness could carry him and how people would interact with an unsupervised robot. At the start of his American adventure, he made his way to San Francisco—but mysteriously vanished.
His dismembered body was found in Philadelphia, discarded in a ditch. To make matters worse, the culprit appeared to have had fun with the act—removing the robot’s arms and rearranging them around its lifeless body.
