Just damn.If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Posted on 08/05/2003 12:43:33 PM PDT by presidio9
Mobile phone users worldwide will soon be able to dial-a-dolphin if a scheme to record their underwater conversations proves a success.
Scientists at a dolphin sanctuary off the west coast of Ireland have teamed up with British mobile telecoms giant Vodaphone to transmit the clicking and whistling sounds of bottlenose dolphins.
"In theory you could phone up and listen to dolphins while sitting in a traffic jam in Dublin," said marine biologist Simon Berrow, of the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation, based in Kilrush, County Clare.
As well as its use as a possible stress reliever, the project could also lead to a greater understanding of the life of dolphins and could prove helpful to dolphin-watchers who will be able to check if the creatures are in the Shannon estuary before starting out from shore.
The aim is to install underwater microphones in the estuary, the only place in Ireland where dolphins are resident all year round.
One difficulty is that dolphins use a wide frequency band when they communicate, of which humans can hear only a fraction.
"The Shannon is also a tough environment in that we have to cope with strong currents and the swell coming in from the Atlantic," Berrow said.
Well, I suppose the frequency of their conversation would tend to increase during a traffic jam. But wouldn't studying their driving habits be more interesting? I mean, how do they press the accelerator with their flipper without putting on the brake at the same time?
Right. And does their ecolocation allow them to drive at night with their lights off?
Just damn.If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
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(Answering machine) "So long and thanks for all the fish!"
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