Malcolm Gladwell

Raccoons had hardly been studied, basically not at all compared to other animals like, say, rats or monkeys. This historian wanted to know why. The midnight raid on his compost bin would set in motion a sequence of events that in my own estimation have come to topple an entire century of psychological theory and restored the raccoon to its proper place.

Raccoons had hardly been studied, basically not at all compared to other animals like, say, rats or monkeys. This historian wanted to know why. The midnight raid on his compost bin would set in motion a sequence of events that in my own estimation have come to topple an entire century of psychological theory and restored the raccoon to its proper place.

the dead center of how we understand human beings.

the dead center of how we understand human beings.

Many historians of science will write about the greats. Einstein, Freud, Oppenheimer, the kind of research project not usually begun while scooping up trash in your bathrobe on your back deck in Toronto. But Michael Pettit's always gotten into things sideways.

Many historians of science will write about the greats. Einstein, Freud, Oppenheimer, the kind of research project not usually begun while scooping up trash in your bathrobe on your back deck in Toronto. But Michael Pettit's always gotten into things sideways.

Pettit is a historian of psychology at York University in Toronto.

Pettit is a historian of psychology at York University in Toronto.

Pettit knew all about scientists putting rats in mazes and puzzly cages, the mainstream stuff. Who cares? But in all his studies, he had never heard of a raccoon in a puzzle box. And yet here on his deck was evidence that they were basically able to outsmart any human system.

Pettit knew all about scientists putting rats in mazes and puzzly cages, the mainstream stuff. Who cares? But in all his studies, he had never heard of a raccoon in a puzzle box. And yet here on his deck was evidence that they were basically able to outsmart any human system.

Michael was curious for good reason, not just because of the locks situation. We've basically never known quite what to make of raccoons.

Michael was curious for good reason, not just because of the locks situation. We've basically never known quite what to make of raccoons.

For a while, there wasn't even consensus on how exactly they evolved. The famous naturalist Carl Linnaeus called them Ursus Loder, or washer bear, because they liked to rinse their food in water and he thought they descended from bears. Now, for any true raccoon fans out there, I should note that, yes, they aren't actually washing their food.

For a while, there wasn't even consensus on how exactly they evolved. The famous naturalist Carl Linnaeus called them Ursus Loder, or washer bear, because they liked to rinse their food in water and he thought they descended from bears. Now, for any true raccoon fans out there, I should note that, yes, they aren't actually washing their food.

They basically see with their paws, and their paws are more sensitive in the water. This, by the way, is the instinct behind that amazing Japanese TV show where they gave a raccoon cotton candy, which the raccoon dutifully washed until it vanished. But no, they're not washing, and they're not bears.

They basically see with their paws, and their paws are more sensitive in the water. This, by the way, is the instinct behind that amazing Japanese TV show where they gave a raccoon cotton candy, which the raccoon dutifully washed until it vanished. But no, they're not washing, and they're not bears.

When Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World, he remarked upon its, quote, clown-like dogs, to which the people of Italy said, Chris... What the hell are you talking about? Until centuries later, another naturalist realized, oh, he's talking about raccoons.

When Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World, he remarked upon its, quote, clown-like dogs, to which the people of Italy said, Chris... What the hell are you talking about? Until centuries later, another naturalist realized, oh, he's talking about raccoons.

Pettit went looking for a history of raccoon science, specifically about people investigating their intelligence, and found basically nothing. A handful of scientists, and one slim volume in particular, from 1907, titled Concerning the Intelligence of Raccoons. It was written by a man named Lawrence Cole, frontier raccoonist.

Pettit went looking for a history of raccoon science, specifically about people investigating their intelligence, and found basically nothing. A handful of scientists, and one slim volume in particular, from 1907, titled Concerning the Intelligence of Raccoons. It was written by a man named Lawrence Cole, frontier raccoonist.