Malcolm Gladwell

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.

Lawrence Cole had done his graduate work at Harvard and was part of a psychological movement that studied animals to understand humans. In the 19th century, psychology had largely been based on what people said about how they felt, which was not super reliable. So why not instead observe how animals behave and just extrapolate up the chain from there?

Lawrence Cole had done his graduate work at Harvard and was part of a psychological movement that studied animals to understand humans. In the 19th century, psychology had largely been based on what people said about how they felt, which was not super reliable. So why not instead observe how animals behave and just extrapolate up the chain from there?

But which animal was best for the psychologists to study? Any of them theoretically could work. Scientists were comparing species across tests to see how they'd fare. People had studied chickens, dogs. Cole's advisor liked the idea of studying monkeys, but monkeys are super expensive.

But which animal was best for the psychologists to study? Any of them theoretically could work. Scientists were comparing species across tests to see how they'd fare. People had studied chickens, dogs. Cole's advisor liked the idea of studying monkeys, but monkeys are super expensive.

It would be helpful, though, if there were a kind of consensus, a lingua franca animal that people could generalize from.