WWII Files - Pigeon Guided Missiles and Literal Bat Bombs

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In this video:

The man behind Project Pigeon was famed American behaviorist and Harvard professor B.F. Skinner, who teamed with the U.S. Army to develop such a system. Pigeons were trained using operant conditioning, a type of learning pioneered by Skinner in 1937 where behavior is modified by its consequences. In operant conditioning, the initial behavior is spontaneous, but when it is either rewarded or punished, that behavior is either reinforced or inhibited. In this case, Skinner rewarded pigeons for pecking an image on a screen to get them conditioned to do it.

Want the text version?: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/12/pigeon-guided-missiles-bird-brained-ideas/

Sources:

http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Operant_conditioning
http://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/second-world-war/project-orcon-pidgeon-guided-missile/897399315001/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon
http://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/second-world-war/project-orcon-pidgeon-guided-missile/897399315001/
http://www.history.com/news/war-animals-from-horses-to-glowworms-7-incredible-facts
http://nowiknow.com/project-pigeon/
http://historywired.si.edu/object.cfm?ID=353
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2011/08/b-f-skinners-pigeon-guided-rocket/
http://thebrigade.thechive.com/2013/09/12/wtf-was-project-orconthis-is-a-pigeon-guided-missile-10-photos/pigeon-missile-500-0/

Image Credit:

https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-92055464/stock-photo-skeptical%2C-determined-man-healing-bad-emotions
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-184702060/stock-photo-pigeon-head-and-neck-closeup-of-a-beautiful-dove
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-162166463/stock-photo-cancelled-rubber-stamp-grunge-design-with-dust-scratches-effects-can-be-easily-removed-for-a-clean%2C-crisp-look-color-is-easily-changed
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-129738497/stock-photo-the-rock-dove-or-rock-pigeon-is-a-member-of-the-bird-family-columbidae-in-common-usage%2C-this-bird-is-often-simply-referred-to-as-the-pigeon
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-176653183/stock-photo-no-money
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-175470289/stock-photo-common-wood-pigeon-columba-palumbus-wood-pigeon-perching-on-branch-pigeon-on-bright-blue-sky-background-sunny-spring-day-proud-blue-pigeon-strikes-a-pose-beautiful-view-on-bird-and-bare-tree
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-187066390/stock-photo-mexican-free-tailed-bats
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-156418370/stock-vector-illustration-of-approved-stamp-on-white-background
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-198003424/stock-photo-many-bats-hanging-on-the-ceiling-of-the-cave-pura-goa-lawah-in-bali%2C-indonesia
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/ru/image-111760220/stock-photo-group-of-greater-horseshoe-bat-%28rhinolophus-ferrumequinum%29
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bat_Bomb_Canister.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carlsbad_AAF_Fire_after_Bat_Bomb_Accident.jpg
https://www.goodfreephotos.com/japan/tokyo/fire-bombing-of-tokyo-in-wwii.jpg.php
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B-24.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manhattan_Project_emblem.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bandaging_the_leg_of_a_carrier_pigeon_which_returned_wounded_with_a_message_-_Nationaal_Archief_-_158-1644.jpg

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