In this episode, researcher Josh Fisher joins the Rabbit Hole of Research to explore the eerie, fascinating world of animal swarms—from locust plagues and angry crows to science, folklore, and cinema.
Have you ever had a run-in with a swarm—whether birds, bees, ants, or even crowds of people?
Not really. Unless you count seeing lots of ants going into my home when it's rainy, especially when it's winter. But that's normal and is part of many households.
Would you count long lines of people at a comic on to be a swarm? I remember being in a line that stretched along a building while trying to get autographs (I believe from Laura Bailey).
What’s your favorite fictional depiction of a swarm from books, movies, or games
I'll copy paste the list I mentioned in my other comment:
Home Alone 2: Pigeon swarm. A woman threw bird seed on the bad guys to save Kevin. A lot of pigeons flew at the bad guys and pecked at them lol.
The TV show: 9-1-1 (an episode from the most recent season): A truck filled with boxes of bees crashed and flipped over from what I remember. The bees went loose. A swarm of bees entered one car and stung a mother and her child (both of whom are allergic to bees). Another swarm somehow went into a small plane and stung the pilot, causing him to crash the plane into a commercial airliner (which was saved thanks to the actions of a cop on board and air traffic control).
Video game: Starcraft - You can swarm opponents with swarms of zerglings in that game. There are also missions where you have to deal with swarms of zerg creatures. I also remember one Protoss mission where you have to deal with Infested Terran that blow up upon contact.
Batman Begins: Where Batman uses sonar to summon a swarm of bats to swarm the cops going after him. This was inspired by a very similar scene in the comic book, "Batman Year One".
The Suicide Squad: Ratcatcher II uses a whole bunch of rats in the battle against Starro. She's really cool and she has a pet rat that stays with her :).
I thought of this too: Naked Gun: The first Naked Gun film had a scene where the bad guy was thrown a roof. Then, a whole bunch of things and beings run him over, like a marching band and a construction vehicle with a big roller LOL. He was flatter than a pancake! lol
Just thought of this too: In the "Kingdom Come" mission of GTA 3, you are betrayed by King Courtney. He sends a bunch of drugged up suicide bombers (who are like zombies, and they are SUPER creepy; they say things like "Hehehehe! Come to daddy!"). I don't get creeped out easily but those guys creeped me out! lol And you can take them out (and there is a swarm of them), but you can get up to two or three stars and that causes the cops to go after you in that game (even though you're defending yourself!). The cops in that game are so corrupt (they will do nothing when gangsters fire at you, but once you fight back in self defense, they go after you).
Did this episode change how you think about animal group behavior?
Yes! I admit that I felt swarms were scary. But, there is a ton more nuance in this episode. I have decided to not be as afraid of them now. I think I'd only be scared if they flew/came directly at me, which would be highly unlikely (since you said that bees only go after new hives and not to hurt people).
Are you afraid of a goose on the loose?
No LOL. I think I'd be amused. I think I'd only be afraid if a Canadian Goose charged at me. I'd probably run LOL. Otherwise, I'd just watch safely from the sidelines lol. I like geese :) :D.
Hey Joe, Nick, and Josh! I hope Georgia is doing well. :)
Hahaha, I love shawarma :) What is your favorite kind of shawarma, guys? I love shawarma dishes.
It's cool that Josh works with Joe. He has a cool background :).
I knew that crows had a great memory. I wasn't aware that jays did too. They're really loud too (jays lol). I wonder if they are the Oscar the Grouch of birds since they are so loud and seemingly grumpy lol :) It's cool how groups of birds have various awesome names. I wonder how these names originated.
I haven't seen "The Birds". That's intriguing that there was an analogy to WWII Germany in it. That's cool that it was inspired by a real-life incident. I need to read up about this.
Wow, that must've been pretty wild to encounter birds dive-bombing you, Joe. Hopefully, you never got bit. Is the best way to deal with this to just avoid them?
Yeah I don't think there were swarms of ants in The Bible, but I could be mistaken. I do remember the locusts though. They were used against the Pharaoh. But, I don't remember if they were in Revelations too.
Could a swarm of cats defeat a swarm of rats? LOL. I saw a big dead rat on the freeway earlier today. I was amazed by how big it was. At least I thought it was a rat. Maybe it was a different kind of rodent.
I know I'd be afraid if I saw a whole bunch of big rats though.
I hadn't seen "The Frogs". Sounds like a scary but good movie. Would you recommend it, Joe?
LOL I too wonder how zombies get so fast after they die. Definitely handwavium. Unless being undead provides magic that allows you to be really fast lol.
Animal swarms can be scary. They're not at the top of my list of fears, but I would be afraid if I saw them. I would follow Josh's advice, however, and just stay out of the way. It makes that swarms of bees aren't out to hurt people but rather are looking for a different place for a hive.
My favorite real life swarm was seeing a ton of bats flying out in Austin. They were at the Congress Bridge in the city. It's super cool. I highly recommend seeing it if you visit Austin, Texas :) :).
I didn't witness this, but I was told that one of my neighbors used a hose to spray away birds. I heard that they took revenge by pooping on his roof (and/or damaging it in other ways).
That reminds me - what if there was a swarm of seagulls with digestive issues? And what if they all pooped at once? Wouldn't that be quite a "snow" storm? =P
Some of my favorite swarms in fiction:
Home Alone 2: Pigeon swarm. A woman threw bird seed on the bad guys to save Kevin. A lot of pigeons flew at the bad guys and pecked at them lol.
The TV show: 9-1-1 (an episode from the most recent season): A truck filled with boxes of bees crashed and flipped over from what I remember. The bees went loose. A swarm of bees entered one car and stung a mother and her child (both of whom are allergic to bees). Another swarm somehow went into a small plane and stung the pilot, causing him to crash the plane into a commercial airliner (which was saved thanks to the actions of a cop on board and air traffic control).
Video game: Starcraft - You can swarm opponents with swarms of zerglings in that game. There are also missions where you have to deal with swarms of zerg creatures. I also remember one Protoss mission where you have to deal with Infested Terran that blow up upon contact.
Batman Begins: Where Batman uses sonar to summon a swarm of bats to swarm the cops going after him. This was inspired by a very similar scene in the comic book, "Batman Year One".
The Suicide Squad: Ratcatcher II uses a whole bunch of rats in the battle against Starro. She's really cool and she has a pet rat that stays with her :).
Edited to add this:
**In the "Kingdom Come" mission of GTA 3, you are betrayed by King Courtney. He sends a bunch of drugged up suicide bombers (who are like zombies, and they are SUPER creepy; they say things like "Hehehehe! Come to daddy!"). I don't get creeped out easily but those guys creeped me out! lol And you can take them out (and there is a swarm of them), but you can get up to two or three stars and that causes the cops to go after you in that game (even though you're defending yourself!). The cops in that game are so corrupt (they will do nothing when gangsters fire at you, but once you fight back in self defense, they go after you).**
Responses to your questions:
Have you ever had a run-in with a swarm—whether birds, bees, ants, or even crowds of people?
Not really. Unless you count seeing lots of ants going into my home when it's rainy, especially when it's winter. But that's normal and is part of many households.
Would you count long lines of people at a comic on to be a swarm? I remember being in a line that stretched along a building while trying to get autographs (I believe from Laura Bailey).
What’s your favorite fictional depiction of a swarm from books, movies, or games
I'll copy paste the list I mentioned in my other comment:
Home Alone 2: Pigeon swarm. A woman threw bird seed on the bad guys to save Kevin. A lot of pigeons flew at the bad guys and pecked at them lol.
The TV show: 9-1-1 (an episode from the most recent season): A truck filled with boxes of bees crashed and flipped over from what I remember. The bees went loose. A swarm of bees entered one car and stung a mother and her child (both of whom are allergic to bees). Another swarm somehow went into a small plane and stung the pilot, causing him to crash the plane into a commercial airliner (which was saved thanks to the actions of a cop on board and air traffic control).
Video game: Starcraft - You can swarm opponents with swarms of zerglings in that game. There are also missions where you have to deal with swarms of zerg creatures. I also remember one Protoss mission where you have to deal with Infested Terran that blow up upon contact.
Batman Begins: Where Batman uses sonar to summon a swarm of bats to swarm the cops going after him. This was inspired by a very similar scene in the comic book, "Batman Year One".
The Suicide Squad: Ratcatcher II uses a whole bunch of rats in the battle against Starro. She's really cool and she has a pet rat that stays with her :).
I thought of this too: Naked Gun: The first Naked Gun film had a scene where the bad guy was thrown a roof. Then, a whole bunch of things and beings run him over, like a marching band and a construction vehicle with a big roller LOL. He was flatter than a pancake! lol
Just thought of this too: In the "Kingdom Come" mission of GTA 3, you are betrayed by King Courtney. He sends a bunch of drugged up suicide bombers (who are like zombies, and they are SUPER creepy; they say things like "Hehehehe! Come to daddy!"). I don't get creeped out easily but those guys creeped me out! lol And you can take them out (and there is a swarm of them), but you can get up to two or three stars and that causes the cops to go after you in that game (even though you're defending yourself!). The cops in that game are so corrupt (they will do nothing when gangsters fire at you, but once you fight back in self defense, they go after you).
Did this episode change how you think about animal group behavior?
Yes! I admit that I felt swarms were scary. But, there is a ton more nuance in this episode. I have decided to not be as afraid of them now. I think I'd only be scared if they flew/came directly at me, which would be highly unlikely (since you said that bees only go after new hives and not to hurt people).
Are you afraid of a goose on the loose?
No LOL. I think I'd be amused. I think I'd only be afraid if a Canadian Goose charged at me. I'd probably run LOL. Otherwise, I'd just watch safely from the sidelines lol. I like geese :) :D.
Thanks for listening. I forgot about the swarm of pigeons in Home Alone 2😂😂😂
You're very welcome! Lol no worries. It's a fun and neat scene.
Hey Joe, Nick, and Josh! I hope Georgia is doing well. :)
Hahaha, I love shawarma :) What is your favorite kind of shawarma, guys? I love shawarma dishes.
It's cool that Josh works with Joe. He has a cool background :).
I knew that crows had a great memory. I wasn't aware that jays did too. They're really loud too (jays lol). I wonder if they are the Oscar the Grouch of birds since they are so loud and seemingly grumpy lol :) It's cool how groups of birds have various awesome names. I wonder how these names originated.
I haven't seen "The Birds". That's intriguing that there was an analogy to WWII Germany in it. That's cool that it was inspired by a real-life incident. I need to read up about this.
Wow, that must've been pretty wild to encounter birds dive-bombing you, Joe. Hopefully, you never got bit. Is the best way to deal with this to just avoid them?
Yeah I don't think there were swarms of ants in The Bible, but I could be mistaken. I do remember the locusts though. They were used against the Pharaoh. But, I don't remember if they were in Revelations too.
Could a swarm of cats defeat a swarm of rats? LOL. I saw a big dead rat on the freeway earlier today. I was amazed by how big it was. At least I thought it was a rat. Maybe it was a different kind of rodent.
I know I'd be afraid if I saw a whole bunch of big rats though.
I hadn't seen "The Frogs". Sounds like a scary but good movie. Would you recommend it, Joe?
LOL I too wonder how zombies get so fast after they die. Definitely handwavium. Unless being undead provides magic that allows you to be really fast lol.
Animal swarms can be scary. They're not at the top of my list of fears, but I would be afraid if I saw them. I would follow Josh's advice, however, and just stay out of the way. It makes that swarms of bees aren't out to hurt people but rather are looking for a different place for a hive.
My favorite real life swarm was seeing a ton of bats flying out in Austin. They were at the Congress Bridge in the city. It's super cool. I highly recommend seeing it if you visit Austin, Texas :) :).
I didn't witness this, but I was told that one of my neighbors used a hose to spray away birds. I heard that they took revenge by pooping on his roof (and/or damaging it in other ways).
That reminds me - what if there was a swarm of seagulls with digestive issues? And what if they all pooped at once? Wouldn't that be quite a "snow" storm? =P
Some of my favorite swarms in fiction:
Home Alone 2: Pigeon swarm. A woman threw bird seed on the bad guys to save Kevin. A lot of pigeons flew at the bad guys and pecked at them lol.
The TV show: 9-1-1 (an episode from the most recent season): A truck filled with boxes of bees crashed and flipped over from what I remember. The bees went loose. A swarm of bees entered one car and stung a mother and her child (both of whom are allergic to bees). Another swarm somehow went into a small plane and stung the pilot, causing him to crash the plane into a commercial airliner (which was saved thanks to the actions of a cop on board and air traffic control).
Video game: Starcraft - You can swarm opponents with swarms of zerglings in that game. There are also missions where you have to deal with swarms of zerg creatures. I also remember one Protoss mission where you have to deal with Infested Terran that blow up upon contact.
Batman Begins: Where Batman uses sonar to summon a swarm of bats to swarm the cops going after him. This was inspired by a very similar scene in the comic book, "Batman Year One".
The Suicide Squad: Ratcatcher II uses a whole bunch of rats in the battle against Starro. She's really cool and she has a pet rat that stays with her :).
Edited to add this:
**In the "Kingdom Come" mission of GTA 3, you are betrayed by King Courtney. He sends a bunch of drugged up suicide bombers (who are like zombies, and they are SUPER creepy; they say things like "Hehehehe! Come to daddy!"). I don't get creeped out easily but those guys creeped me out! lol And you can take them out (and there is a swarm of them), but you can get up to two or three stars and that causes the cops to go after you in that game (even though you're defending yourself!). The cops in that game are so corrupt (they will do nothing when gangsters fire at you, but once you fight back in self defense, they go after you).**
LOL a forlorn goose. Quite a silly phone call.
Awesome episode, guys! It is fun :)
Chicken shawarma!
Chicken shawarma is awesome!