14 DAY TRIAL // A new documentary film scheduled to air on BBC4 this coming June 17 tells the story of how, back in the 1960s, a woman lived with a dolphin for 10 weeks and tried to teach it how to speak.
This peculiar experiment was carried out on the Virgin Islands in North America in the year 1965, and it was the brainchild of neuroscientist Dr. John C. Lilly, media reports say.
Apparently, Dr. John C. Lilly was firmly convinced that a dolphin's brain is about 40 larger than that of the average human, and that these marine mammals are able to experience feelings such as anger and pain.
Hence, he assumed that, given the right incentives and environmental conditions, teaching a dolphin how to speak English should not be that a very difficult thing to do, Daily Mail informs.
Looking to prove his theory, the neuroscientist had Margaret Howe, who at that time was working as his assistant, spend 10 weeks in complete isolation together with a 6-year-old bottlenose dolphin by the name Peter.
The 23-year-old woman and the marine mammal lived together in a villa that Dr. John C. Lilly was allowed to flood with sea water so as to ensure that Margaret and Peter would not have any trouble interacting with one another.
To avoid any accidents, the water was just 22 inches (nearly 56 centimeters) deep. This meant that Margaret Howe was not in danger of drowning, and Peter had plenty of water to splash around in and could feel at home.
As detailed in the documentary, the neuroscientist's assistant and the dolphin ate, bathed, slept, and played together throughout the duration of the experiment. To be able to carry out her work, Margaret was provided with a desk suspended from the ceiling.
The woman says that, although it took a while, Peter eventually learned to emit sounds similar to the words “one,” “we,” “triangle,” and “hello.” Whether or not the marine mammal was also aware of the meaning of these words is debatable.
The most striking aspect of this experiment is the fact that, while sharing a life together, Margaret and Peter eventually came to be romantically involved with each other, so to speak. Simply put, the woman found herself taking care of the dolphin's urges.
“That relationship of having to be together sort of turned into really enjoying being together, and wanting to be together, and missing him when he wasn’t there. I did have a very close encounter with – I can’t even say a dolphin again – Peter,” Margaret told the press in a recent interview.
Due to lack of funding, the experiment was eventually put an end to, and Peter was sent to another laboratory and passed away just a few weeks later. Margaret Howe, on the other hand, went on to marry the project's photographer.
Despite the fact that the experiment ended decades ago, it was only recently that Margaret Howe agreed to open up about the experience and share her and Peter's story with the world.
Check out the video below to see footage from the documentary, and tune to BBC4 on June 17 if you feel like watching “The Girl Who Talked To Dolphins” in its entirety.
