Nature
PUBLISHED
World records get broken fairly frequently, from sporting achievements to discovering large new coral colonies, the world is constantly changing. For one goldfish however, holding a world record for driving a car was probably not something he ever imagined.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Blub the goldfish is now the record holder for the "greatest distance covered in a motion-sensing vehicle by a goldfish in one minute", reaching an impressive distance of 12.28 meters (40 feet).
To achieve this frankly niche accomplishment, Thomas de Wolf, a computer engineer from the Netherlands, custom built a unique vehicle for his fish. The car features a water tank and can be controlled by Blub’s movements via a motion-sensing camera. Every time Blub moves to one side of the tank or the other, the car goes in that direction.
De Wolf and Blub attempted the challenge on the Italian TV show Lo Show dei Record. In a statement, de Wolf said of the attempt and car-building process: “Normally my job is quite monotonous, so I wanted to create something that would entertain people, turning my 'serious' job into something fun.”
While the record may seem frivolous, it's possible the technology could one day be applied in other situations, such as helping those with mobility issues. For the time being, however, the camera only works with the bright orange of Blub's scales.
“The objective is to show people what is possible to achieve with this kind of technology, even when it’s not necessarily something 'serious’,” said de Wolf.
To actually achieve the record, Blub had to direct the car over 5 meters (16 feet) within a time limit of just 60 seconds. Fortunately, any direction Blub chose to go was valid, even if he went back the same way twice. Blub knew the pressure was on, and smashed the target with a 12.28 meters (40 feet) distance.
The only issue now is how to tell a goldfish they are a world record holder?
