The term utopia refers to an imaginary world or society that is highly desirable and has all the good qualities to live. Several books, television shows, and films have depicted their own versions of utopia.
We all crave to live in that world, but a scientific experiment has bad news for those thinking it’s probable. It has proven why a utopian world would never work in a real-life scenario.
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A Utopia Might Not Be PossibleÂ
The YouTube channel ‘Today I Found Out’ uploaded a nearly eight-minute video on their channel in December 2018. The video titled ‘That Time a Guy Tried To Build a Utopia for Mice and it all went to Hell‘, talks about how a utopia might not be possible for us.
In 1968, animal behavior and population expert John B. Calhoun built a utopian structure for mice to satisfy their every need. It was dubbed Universe 25 Calhoun’s Mouse Utopia and it was built to cater to every need of the mice. It had enough food, water, and initially space, for the mice to live comfortably.
The structure had a tank enclosed by walls and it made sure the mice could climb up. But it prevented them from escaping by having a 17-inch bare wall above. Calhoun had anticipated that it could house up to 3840 mice.
Before this, Calhoun had done a number of experiments in the 1940s with rodents. All of it was a failure where rodents couldn’t grow in numbers despite a conducive environment.
Experiment’s Eventual Failure Taught An Important Lesson
After 35 days of observing mice living in comfort and growing in numbers, Calhoun noticed something. There was a drop in the population despite having ample food, water, and space for the rodents. He also noticed an abrupt change in behavior in both males and females.
Without food or territory to defend, the mice became dejected and started attacking each other randomly. Females abandoned their babies and the mating stopped after a point. They also started eating each other. The last birth took place on day 600 after which the population dwindled.
Two years after the experiment, all of the mice were dead. Calhoun saw the result as a warning bell for humanity, that overpopulation will eventually lead to societal collapse.
Another conclusion that we can draw is that a utopia might not be the best idea for us humans as well. A world with no struggle, accessibility to everything, and nothing to work hard for will eventually lead to collapse.
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