The Myth: Three second goldfish memory
The Myth: (in Jamie’s own words) "You can put a goldfish in a small bowl and they’re okay with it because they’re so stupid that by the time they make it around the bowl in like three seconds, they’ve just forgotten where they were."
The Experts:
Heather Joseph-Witham says the myth prevails because we want to think keeping the goldfish in the small bowl is not cruel. Professor George Barlow of Univ. of Calif. -Berkley says conditioned behavior does qualify as memory. Any task that can be taught to an animal and tested and completed later qualifies as memory.
Quotable Moments:
Adam: "So, what you are you are talking about is not just a goldfish intelligence test, but a Mythbusters intelligence test as well."
Jamie: "You can look at it that way."
Adam: (looking directly into the camera, in a devious voice) "One that I think I will win"
Adam: "Oh look they’re even growing little Jamie mustaches now. (In a voice like Jamie and his hands under his nose, mocking Jamie’s mustache) ‘Oh thanks for the food.’"
Adam: (not wanting to be outdone by Jamie’s 25 second record,) "Mine are eating there own poo."
Hypothesis:
Jamie’s: (on day 8 of 45) "They seem to know automatically where the food is. I would say that even now, even though we haven’t gotten them to go really through anything, in terms of the maze and such, that the myth is busted because they clearly recognize either me or the location where the food is being delivered. They are clearly capable of some sort of minimal memory."
Action/ Results: To test the memory span of a goldfish they decide to build a maze. The goldfish will be taught to navigate the maze. If they remember how, they may be able to determine how smart they are. Each guy will get 5 goldfish to train in 45 days. Jamie’s idea is to use bright colored openings and food suspended in the openings to entice the fish to swim through the maze. Adam makes his own dividers to put in the tank (as the maze) and tries to understand the motives of the fish. Unfortunately, the dividers may have been a bad idea. Ammonia builds up in the tank after eight days and one fish dies. Adam continues with the survivors. After 43 days of training, one of Jamie’s fish made it through the maze in 25 seconds. Final day : Jamie’s 40 seconds. Myth Busted.
