For generations, humans have searched for answers to many of the universe’s most puzzling questions. We’ve been able to figure out that the earth is spherical (though recent events suggest not everyone is convinced), calculate the speed of light, and figure out a way to fly. Pretty amazing! But we have never once been able to get bees to play soccer.
UNTIL NOW.
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Look at this fucking bee playing soccer like a tiny, winged Chicharito. Destined for the MLS. No longer will bees waste away pollinating crap and making honey. Thanks to science, they will form loosely tied amateur leagues of soccer-playing bees that eventually get super popular only to get bought out by wealthier bees, and exploited for other bees’ entertainment. The circle of life.
As with most scientific advancements, soccer-playing bees are the result of a happy accident. Researchers at the Queen Mary University of London were curious if bees were capable of learning complex tasks and—bam!—they played soccer:
To learn the technique, the bees were trained under one of three conditions: some observed a previously trained bee move the furthest ball to the centre to gain reward, others received a “ghost” demonstration, where a magnet hidden underneath the platform was used to move the ball, and a third group received no demonstration, where they found the ball already at the centre of the platform with reward.
Science, man. It’s undefeated.
