Chimps on Treadmills: The Thing We Do in the Name of Science

What you get for putting a chimp on a treadmill in the name of science:

1. Scientific findings that energy savings played a role the evolution of bipedalism (walking on two legs):

Chimpanzees scampering on a treadmill have provided support for the notion that ancient human ancestors began walking on two legs because it used less energy than quadrupedal knuckle-walking, scientists said.

Writing on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers said people walking on a treadmill used just a quarter of the energy relative to their size compared to chimpanzees knuckle-walking on four legs.

2. Tired and pissed off chimps, who learned how to turn the darned thing off.

The chimpanzees were taught to walk on the treadmill both quadrupedally and bipedally, the scientists said.

"These guys are smart enough that they would hit the stop button on the treadmill when they were done. If they didn’t want to walk on the treadmill, they’d just hit the stop button or they’d jump off," Raichlen said.

Link - Thanks Tiffany!