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Singing Dolphins Do Batman

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the bam-pow-whack dept.

The results of two scientific studies have shown that dolphins are capable of recognizing rhythms and pitch and are able to reproduce them. In order to best demonstrate this ability the scientists chose the epic, Batman theme song and were able to teach a shortened version to the dolphins who reproduced it in response to certain stimuli.

3 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Incorrect headline by XorNand · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ugh... the blurb is woefully incorrect. The dolphins didn't sing, and they certaintly didn't sing the Batman themesong. They were trained to respond to the rhythm of one long beat, followed by one short beat. It's quite a stretch to equate this to the old "Batmaaaannn!" catchphrase, much less the song. Perhaps the dolphins are instead brushing up on Morse code in preparation for a DX contest?

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    1. Re:Incorrect headline by mr_matticus · · Score: 4, Informative

      To its credit, the summary does say "shortened version" and the headline says they do 'Batman' and not the 'Batman theme song.' As for TFA, they looked at more than the simple short-long sequence--dolphins were tested to recognize rhythmic sequences more complex than this at various pitches and tempos.

    2. Re:Incorrect headline by The_mad_linguist · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not to mention this isn't really news. The article is from october of last year.

      Here's a more recent article about the same thing. They've moved past just Batman.
      http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney dolphin3106may31,0,890126.story