The Universe 25 Mouse Experiment

In 1972, John B. Calhoun built an utopia for mice. Every aspect of Universe 25, as this particular model was called, was designed to cater for the well-being of its rodent residents, increase their lifespan, and allow them to mate. It was not the first time the ethologist had built a world for rodents. Colhoun had been creating utopian environments for rats and mice since the 1940s, with consistent results: overpopulation leads to explosive violence and hypersexual activity, followed by asexuality, self-destruction, and extinction. READ THE PAPER “Escaping the Laboratory: The Rodent Experiments of John B. Calhoun & Their Cultural Influence,” from Edmund Ramsden & Jon Adams : or SUPPORT us to understand human beings more! 🐦: DOWNLOAD video without ads and background music 🤫: SIGN UP to our mailing list and never miss a new video from us 🔔: SOURCES and teaching resources 🎓: VISIT our website 🌐: CONTRIBUTE by upvoting your favorite topic or suggesting new ones☑️ : THANKS to our patrons This video was made with the support of our Patrons: Adam Berry, Alex Rodriguez, Andrea Basillio Rava, Angela, ArkiTechy, Artur, azad bel, Badrah, Bernd Gaertner, , Daniele Diniz, David Markham, Delandric Webb, Digital INnov8ors, Dr. Matthias Müller-Mellin, Duane Bemister, Eva Marie Koblin, Fatenah G Issa, Floris Devreese, Frari63, Gerry Labelle, Ginger, Harmoniac Design, ICH KANN DEUTSCH UND ES WAR EINFACH!, Izzy, Jannes Kroon, Jeffrey Cassianna, Jim Pilgrim, Joanne Doyle, John Burghardt, Jonathan Schwarz, Jorge Luis Mejia Velazquez, jun omar ebdane, Khadijah Sellers, Leonel, Linda Kinkead, Linus Linderoth, Lucia Simone Winston, Marcel, María, martin, Mathis Nu, , Michael Paradis, Mindozone, Natalie O’Brien, Nick Valerio, Nicki, Okan Elibol, Oweeda Newton, Peter Bishop, Povilas Ambrasas, Raymond Fujioka, Roel Vermeulen, Scott Gregory, scripz, Sebastian Huaytan Meder, Si, Stefan Gros, Stephen Clark, Stuart Bishop, Takashi HIROSE, Thomas Aschan, Tristan Scifo, Victor Paweletz, Yassine Hamza, Yvonne Clapham and all the you! To join them visit COLLABORATORS Script: Edmund Ramsden & Jon Adams Editor: Will Wiles, a London-based author and journalist Screenplay: Jonas Koblin Artist: Pascal Gaggelli Voice: Matt Abbott Coloring: Nalin Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda Fact Checking: Ludovico Saint Amour di Chanaz Production: Selina Bador SOUNDTRACKS Toys Are Alive - Studio Le Bus Terror Avenue - Jack Pierce Divine Masquerade - Jack Pierce DIG DEEPER with these top videos, games and resources: Watch Soylent Green, 1973. The film depicts a futuristic society in which overpopulation is so catastrophic and food in such short supply that the populace survives on rations of the titular food product, which turns out to be made from processed human flesh. Watch Snowpiercer (Netflix, 2020) depicting a society in a train where population has to be controlled and the ecosystem rests on a very thin equilibrium. Read about Behavioral Sink on Longreads Read about the life and work of John B Calhoun SOURCES Edmund Ramsden & Jon Adams, “Escaping the Laboratory: The Rodent Experiments of John B. Calhoun & Their Cultural Influence,” The Journal of Social History, vol. 42, no. 3 (2009). Available as a working paper at or The Behavioral Sink, the mouse universes of John B. Calhoun by Will Wiles Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Population John B. Calhoun, “Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Mouse Population,” in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 66 (January 1973), pp. 80–88. Available at John B. Calhoun, “Population Density and Social Pathology,” Scientific American, vol. 206, no. 2 (February 1962), pp. 139–150. Available at CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES Visit our website to learn more on suggested activity for a classroom on this topic! CHAPTER 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Universe 25 experiment 00:51 Beginning of experiment 01:18 Population growth 02:25 Population peaks 02:59 The last conception 04:10 Behavioral sink 04:56 What do you think? 05:26 Patrons credits 05:35 Ending #sproutsschools, #universe25, #behavior, #utopia