This isn’t a typical blog post for me, at least on this site. Usually, I write about books or other educational issues. However, I think this video IS very educational…not necessarily about literature, but maybe about life. Plus, most of my students this year are animal lovers, so I thought they would enjoy a version of a hero’s journey played out by wildlife.
The video poses the question: Who is smarter, a former NASA engineer or a squirrel? Entrepreneur and YouTube favorite Mark Rober, stuck sheltering at home during the coronavirus like the rest of us, decided to take up birdwatching. And, like the rest of us, he quickly found that his bird feeder, hung to attract feathered friends, was instead being raided by those ubiquitous backyard rodents–squirrels…despite the bird feeder’s claims to be “squirrel-proof.”
But unlike the rest of us, Rober has a mechanical engineering degree from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, and used to design equipment for NASA. So instead of birdwatching, Rober spent a month designing what he calls a “ninja warrior obstacle course” to prevent the squirrels from eating from his bird feeder.
So, can a man who worked on the Curiosity rover, which is currently investigating the surface of Mars, outsmart the common squirrel? Check out the video to find out: