Ravens are smart but PALCOHOL

Ravens have social abilities previously only seen in humans:

Being intelligent helps the ravens play the politics of their social group and gain dominance. For example, understanding the rank of members of their group would help ravens know which birds to pick on, which ones to team up with, and which ones to steer clear of during their quest for dominance

Also Crows are smart enough to recognize great invention like Palcohol.

Wouldn't it be great to have alcohol in powder form so all one had to do is add water? Since powder is light and compact, it wouldn't be a burden to carry. Mark searched for powdered alcohol and it wasn't available. So he began his quest to create it. After years of research, experimentation and consultation with scientists around the world, he finally came up with powdered alcohol and called it Palcohol

Even better:

Let's talk about the elephant in the room … snorting Palcohol. Yes, you can snort it. And you'll get drunk almost instantly. ... Good idea? No. It will mess you up.

No, actually that is a GREAT idea.

What Can Crows and Ravens Teach People About Resisting Temptation?

Great article about what humans have found out about What Can Crows and Ravens Teach People About Resisting Temptation?.

Each bird was given one bit of food and after a delay that lasted between two seconds and ten minutes, they could trade up: either for a snack they liked better or for more of the original snack. In a second type of test, four food items were visible to the birds but out of reach. The experimenter provided the birds with each bit of food in order, with a fixed delay between each item. If the birds were willing to wait, they could wind up with all four bits of food, but if they ate anything before it was all dispensed, they'd miss out on what was left over.

In this video, a crow named Resa participates in two trials in the 40s delay condition. First, she eats the initial item, so the trial is ended. In the second trial she waits the 40 seconds to exchange bread for corn. Watching her struggle with the impulse to just gobble up the bread is absolutely charming.

Impressively, the birds were willing to avoid eating the original snack, but only if they could trade for something they liked better. If given sausage, they wouldn't trade for beans, but if given beans, they'd happily resist temptation to wait out the sausage.

Cola Flavored Soy Milk

Humans are resourceful creatures. Some cannot digest the milk of cows and must consume a noxious brew made from beans. Luckily scientists have created Cola Flavored Soy Milk which allows this liquid to be consumed with happiness.

Humans (and Crows) can eat Pizza every day and be healthy

Dan Janssen has eaten pizza for almost every meal for a quarter of a century.

"Nothing to me tastes as good as pizza" he said. "Why should I eat a carrot when I can eat pizza?"

Janssen [...] said he usually eats two 14-inch pizzas a day. In college, he worked at Domino's to ensure a steady supply.

Crows using traffic to crack walnut (+playlist)

Crow attacks peace doves released by Pope

A perfect crow moment.

Crows playing on snowy cars

Jimmy Dean Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick - Chocolate Chip Flavor

Another great food discovery. Click below to see the quite funny human Jon Stewart talking about this great find.

We have transformed North America into an Eden for Crows

Wow! This front page article at the Merc has everything. It has Larry Ellison (who is admired by all crows). The online version of the article has great pictures. And it has great quotes:

The intelligent, opportunistic birds are in the midst of a decades-long population surge and territorial expansion.

We have transformed North America into an Eden for crows with a nearly perfect arrangement of nesting and feeding habitat

People who are bothered by crows may need to look in the mirror, for it is human behavior -- wastefulness, in particular -- that enables them to thrive

Finally we Crows are getting the attention we deserve.

Researchers say crows use their beaks to gesture and communicate

Researchers say crows (OK ravens but we all know they are practically the same thing) use their beaks to gesture and communicate. Well doh!

Previously, so-called deictic gestures – such as pointing to signify "look" and holding something out to someone to signify "take" – were considered solely the province of human beings and our nearest relatives, the great apes.

Apparently the researchers looked at thirty-eight social interactions between seven ravens. Wow, what a pathetically sized data set! If there was a bird like me there then that would certainly skew the data.

A town where they fire fireworks at Crows

In Terre Haute they have a Crow Patrol which fires fireworks at crows. But Crows are resilient...

Humans have tried to keep crows away since forever. They have used scarecrows to feign human presence. They have hung sulfur-dipped rags to remind crows of gunpowder. They have mounted dead crows on sticks. They have sent out hawks, banged pots, laid out strychnine, shot off guns, paid bounties. Still the crows come, as if to peck away at our sense of superiority.

Crows are too intelligent to fall twice for most tricks. They care for their young and sick. They communicate through a vocabulary that goes well beyond “caw.” They use tools. They take note of our behavioral patterns and, even, our faces.

Researchers say crows have the same numerical cognition ability as human beings

Are these guys idiots?

The research by Shoei Sugita, professor of animal morphology at Utsunomiya University, and others has confirmed for the first time in the world crows can distinguish quantities of items, suggesting the birds have the same numerical cognition ability as human beings.

Yes crows can tell which symbol means food, but does that mean they can count?

Angry crows atack Police

Crows have been attacking police in the parking lot of an Everett Police Department precinct station. They've been swooping down and dive-bombing the officers as they walk to and from their cars.

Lt. Bob Johns said he recently was flanked by the aggressive birds and "got zinged."

"They're like velociraptors," Johns said.

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Royal Wedding Souvenir Condoms

To celebrate the engagement of Prince William of Wales to Ms. Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, Crown Jewels Condoms of Distinction has commissioned a unique heritage edition Royal Wedding Souvenir Condoms.

Frozen, uncooked pepperoni pizza, and frozen, uncooked chocolate chip cookie dough in the same package

When will human scientists find a way to put beer and pizza in the same package?

These birds look a lot like crows to me

They drank themselves to death.

Spéculoos spread

Speculaas or spéculoos is a type of caramalised (caramelized) shortcrust biscuit. You have probably eaten them on a plane if unlike me you cannot fly.

Now super French company Lotus Bakeries has produced a spread made of spéculoos that you can put on your toast like peanut butter. I cannot wait to try this.

Crows in Japan

Read about my cousins in Japan at the New York Times. Here are a few quotes:

The crows here look and act the part. With wing spans up to a yard and intimidating black beaks and sharp claws, Japan’s crows are bigger, more aggressive and downright scarier than those usually seen in North America.

In Kagoshima, they are even trying to outsmart the Crow Patrol. The birds have begun building dummy nests as decoys to draw patrol members away from their real nests.

The birds seem to be winning.

Tsuruoka installed traps last year after about 7,000 crows took over a central park and the playground of a nearby high school

Kraft Guacamole

Kraft guacamole is essentially a whipped paste made from partially hydrogenated soybean and coconut oils, corn syrup, whey, and food starch. Yellow and blue dyes give it the guacamole green color.

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