Here we go again.
Is the dress blue or white? Is the voice saying “yanny” or “laurel”?
Another question is plaguing mankind.
Scientist Dan Quintana shared an optical illusion video on Twitter last week that went viral while simultaneously sending many users ranting “raven” and down the rabbit hole trying to figure out if what they saw was a cuddly mammal or a common bird known for munching on carcasses.
“Rabbits love getting stroked on their nose,” the researcher said.
Rabbits love getting stroked on their nose pic.twitter.com/aYOZGAY6kP
— Dan Quintana (@dsquintana) August 18, 2019
But is it a rabbit? Or was a “mad scientist” simply throwing out the chum.
Turns out a raven went viral for looking like a rabbit.
This is a bird. Please stop. Where is The whiskers? The nose? I’m not convinced ??♀️ https://t.co/r0cHMHnQI0
— Louise Belcher (@Neome_Alin) August 22, 2019
I really had to look to see a bunny ? but then it’s hard to unsee the bunny
— Monty Netser (@netser_monty) August 22, 2019
Interestingly enough, ravens are known for mimicking other species, but in a different way. In fact, MentalFloss.com wrote: “Ravens can mimic many noises and have been known to imitate wolves or foxes to attract them to carcasses that the raven isn’t capable of breaking open.”
Also, some can talk…
My favourite underreported part of the entire bird or bunny story is that it is actually a talking bird named Mischief. pic.twitter.com/MW5el07baN
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) August 22, 2019
How did the scientist leave that out?
Even the not-so-politically correct crowd got into the discussion.
It looks like a raven but if it identifies itself as a rabbit …., then it’s still a raven
— Save yourself (@3rdTimeUnder) August 23, 2019
Quintana says the footage was not originally from him and he shared from another source.
As a scientist, I understand the importance of attributing other people’s work. I shared this video from an @Imgur tweet in good faith that the person who posted it owned the video. But I’ve now learnt that the original owner is Paige Davis from @WBSSTL—support their great work!
— Dan Quintana (@dsquintana) August 22, 2019
What did you think the animal was when you first saw the video?
