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Military dolphins, medical maggots, pest-control falcons, and more

The Best Tool for the Job Baarbarian

After DARPA announced, somewhat sheepishly, that after $19 billion and six years of research, they had concluded that the best bomb-detecting device is a dog, we got to thinking: what other instances are there in which you'd reach not for a traditional tool, but for an animal? These eight examples range from the medical to the military to the culinary fields, but all have one thing in common: there's no better tool for the job than an animal.


Click to launch a tour of some amazing, and amazingly useful, animals.

6 Comments

This is animal cruelty.

Nope, this is animal entertainment for the Taliban's watching dogs sniffing IED's.

" Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." Albert Einstein

ive tried stuffing my 90 pound pitbull in my pocket before. he ended up ripping my pants.

_________________
The people of the world only divide into two kinds, One sort with brains who hold no religion, The other with religion and no brain.

- Abu-al-Ala al-Marri

$19 billion?! This has got to be the largest sum of money ever spent on fixing that which was not broken.

why does DARPA always spend so much money on things that aren't broken?

Yeah, I saw that Japanese Robot Monstrosity, that's supposed to replace a seeing-eye dog. Well, it's slow, it's big, it's noisy, and shows no affection!



July 2013: The Future Of Flight

The incredible innovations, like drone swarms and perpetual flight, bringing aviation into the world of tomorrow. Plus: today's greatest sci-fi writers predict the future, the science behind the summer's biggest blockbusters, a Doctor Who-themed DIY 'bot, the organs you can do without, and much more.


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