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Hero RATS are My Heroes

My Certificate from Hero Rats

My Certificate from Hero Rats

Those of you who played #RodentJeopardy with me on twitter probably remember that while the main purpose of the game was to have fun, it was also to benifit my new favorite charity, HeroRATS. HeroRATS is an amazing organization. They train rats to find landmines in Africa and to search through samples faster than a human can blink an eye in order to detect tuberculosis. I’ll be honest with you, they make me proud to be a rodent.

HeroRatsLogo

Here’s a copy of the email they sent to my owner when she made the donation:

Dear Melanie,

I was so suprised to see your creative idea – Rodent Jeopardy – and your wonderful contribution to our team!  I’m writing to thank you for your donation and dedication to our HeroRAT’s work.  Please see the attached certificate we completed in Caplin’s name! We are deeply honored by your interest and support and want to ensure you it will go to good use.

Currently in Mozambique we are one year ahead of schedule on our task to clear the entire Gaza province by 2014.  We have already made major impacts on neighboring villages by opening up farmland, roads, and the land needed for electricity to reach a village of 10,000 Mozambicans.

Here in Tanzania we are working to address the deadliest of diseases. Tuberculosis takes more lives than any other and particularly those of women and people living with HIV.  What’s worse, it kills at a young age, at the height of people’s productivity and family responsibilities.  The work of our HeroRATs has increased detection rates at four hospitals in Tanzania by 31% and our rats can process 40 samples in four minutes – the same number a technician can do in an entire day!

We do hope you will stay in touch!  We always want to hear from you and are happy to answer any questions you might have.  If you’d like monthly updates on our progress and all the exciting advances happening at APOPO, please feel free to sign up for our e-newsletter at www.herorat.org.  If you have any questions, you can always reach me at herorats@herorat.org.

When we first began this project, people laughed at our ‘unique technology’.  Now that we have proven our HeroRATS’ incredible abilities and shown the world what they can do, we enjoy that people laugh along with us!

Thanks again for your support and please say hi to Caplin for us!

Best wishes,

Kara Schnoes on behalf of the HeroRATS team

www.herorat.org

A Hero Rat at work

A Hero Rat at work

They really sound like nice people and they do such great work. And not just for humans! They are also helping to give rats and rodents in general a better public image. So if you have any spare change this holiday season and you’re looking for a good cause, look no further! Be a hero and donate to HeroRATS!

Rodent Jeopardy!

rodentjeopardy_25

Twitter mania! I am sponsoring a game of Rodent Jeopardy! on Twitter starting this Suday night. To join in the fun, use #RodentJeopardy.

If you’re not already following me on Twitter, you should start! Find out when I’m eating, when I’m sleeping, I even tweet from the pool! @CaplinRous

Rodent Jeopardy! rules:

  1. Anyone can play.
  2. Response must be in the form of a question DMed to @CaplinRous.
  3. Whoever gives the first correct response chooses the next block to be uncovered.
  4. I will tweet the time the next answer will be revealed after receiving at least one correct response.
  5. This page will be updated with the revealed blocks as the game progresses so check back often!

Rodent Jeopardy! scoring:

  1. Each of the first five correct responses earn the block value plus extra points. The first correct response earns the block value plus five. The second earns the block value plus four, etc. All correct responses after 5th are awarded 1/2 block value.
  2. No points are deducted for an incorrect response.
  3. After all the blocks have been revealed, prizes will be awarded to the top five contestants.

Rodent Jeopardy! Prizes!!!

  1. 1st place: A signed copy of Celeste and the Giant Hamster and a copy of CapyBoppy by Bill Peet.
  2. 2nd place: A signed copy of Celeste and the Giant Hamster.
  3. 3rd place: A mug featuring my mug from the Capybara Store.
  4. 4th and 5th places: Kapibara-san toys from Japan! (Capybaras are very popular in Japan. It’s because we’re cute.)

I can’t wait to see you all for the very first new and improved episode of Rodent Jeopardy!!

Correct Responses

Caplin’s Blog
  • 10: What is carnies or carnival animals?
  • 20: What is his castle or slide?
  • 30: Where is in front of a mirror?
  • 40: What is controls his owner’s thoughts?
  • 50: When is New Year’s Eve?
Random Rodents
  • 10: What is a beaver?
  • 20: What is a porcupine?
  • 30: What are guinea pigs?
  • 40: What is a hamster?
  • 50: What is a rat or mouse?
Celeste & the Giant Hamster
  • 10: What is a cat?
  • 20: Who is CaplinRous?
  • 30: What is a capybara?
  • 40: Who is Ruby or Tiger?
  • 50: What is amazon.com?
Literary Rodents
  • 10: Who is Capyboppy?
  • 20: Who is Templeton?
  • 30: What are guinea pigs?
  • 40: What is The Princess Bride?
  • 50: Who is Stuart Little
Visual Rodents
  • 10: What is a mouse or @El_Squeako?
  • 20: What is a hamster?
  • 30: What is a guinea pig or @Fuzzypigz
  • 40: What is a rat?
  • 50: What is a capybara?

    Players

  1. ElGuapito
  2. Jemmo
  3. PetieTheCat
  4. AbsoluteRemix
  5. FuzzyPigz
  6. JK_Chinchilla
  7. RosemarieDRE
  8. BrewskieButt
  9. LouPeb
  10. IAmZorro
  11. HotMBC
  12. RutherfordBun
  13. Zoieness
  14. Megumi_n_Seimei
  15. srharris19
  16. GalTheVal
  17. SylvieDog
  18. PawPrintsPet
  19. Animal_Rehab
  20. TimmyPlanetM
  21. GodzillaOfJapan
  22. CosmoHavenese
  23. Wabbits
  24. ChristieSillver
  25. Whskr
  26. BrownieHamster
  27. PapPup
  28. LilYellowJacket
  29. Harvrock
  30. iwapodcaster
  31. LilPecan
  32. Kayhuahua
  33. IamButton
  34. mspixieriot
  35. BigFatLuckyCat
  36. Aresangle
  37. RogerDog
  38. Mulder_Cat
  39. MaryEllen
  40. Flicka47
  41. BarkAveHawaii
  42. Dog_Crazy
  43. LadyFuzz
  44. RatATat

    Points

    674
    605
    528
    492
    481
    477
    415
    397
    344
    305
    255
    175
    166
    154
    135
    120
    100
    78
    70
    55
    50
    50
    48
    45
    40
    39
    30
    28
    27
    25
    25
    25
    25
    25
    23
    23
    20
    15
    15
    15
    15
    15
    10
    5


Congratulations to all players. You guys made the game really fun.

The Winners:

ElGuapito

ElGuapito

Jemmo

Jemmo

PetieTheCat

PetieTheCat

AbsoluteRemix

AbsoluteRemix

WinstonPig

FuzzyPigz