Jul 10 2008Gerbil's Personal LEGO Elevator, Penthouse

Come on Dopey, you can make it...
PS: First

I don't normally feel like things are a waste of my time, but that sort of seems cruel and too long. It just doesn't seem like it was built to actually get him up there, just to trick him into thinking he could.

Wait till PETA gets ahold of this video.
"Tormenting a poor little hamster for YouTube fun and enjoyment."

I never post on here. With that said, I didnt like this. Makes me want to punch the guy in the face that made this vid.

That is all.

So, now Dopey has to freefall jump from his Penthouse whenever he wants to get some water or food.

The hamster Elevator design was cool but the engineer turned out to be a moron.

that's sick. poor little guy!

That video should be called "I'm only halfway competent but I balance it out by being a total cunt."

I think if it is Lego Mindstorms it probably uses sensors so it know when the gerbil is in the elevator. Also... BUILD A FRIGGIN BRIGDE, can you imagine if you had to attempt that many times to get in to your apartment; you might as well just sleep in the urine soaked corridor.

Shows how smart hamsters really are.

First time he got on and fell off he went over and messed with the food on a string...second time he fell off he went right to the spot where the elevator you be and looked for it.

Took him a very short time to figure out that the elevator gets him to the "pent house".

like previous comment, i never normally write on here, although i do read on here, this is just pointlessly cruel.

That's a pretty tight elevator, but like #3, when PETA gets a hold of this, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy who made this gets anonymously LACED by some PETA member.

I don't know about you guys, but if that is a male hamster (or a female one bulked up on creatine), I think he'd be pretty stoked to have that elevator/jump platform.

But I do question the placement...

If I were that hamster... I'd notice that the little gate of the cage was open, crawl out of it, go to my owners bed and have a dump in it in retaliation to his cruelness.

deberian cortarle las bolas al creador de este video.

i wouldnt call a 5 inch fall into wood shavings cruel. sounds like a party.

Tom Frost is correct.

This is in no way cruel, faggots. If the animal were actually being harmed or some such shit, it would not do it again (let alone 5000 times in a row).

oh come on people. The hamster obviously enjoyed the challenge or it wouldn't have kept attempting it. It's clearly not a permanent fixture, because lego and wire are not suitable for long-term usage in a cage, and the dang door was open. The pet's owner was there the whole time, there are a good two to three inches of spongy wood shavings, and the animal was clearly not hurt.

I was waiting for the critter to climb on top of the elevator and go through the round window, which is what the creator might've intended... the little guy stuck with the harder way and eventually got it, though.

I think Dopey was having fun, I have a hamster and he does this kind of thing all the time. He will climb up to a platform and then when he wants to get down he will fall off it instead of climbing down. I was thinking my hamster would like this especially because he is getting old (although I would position it so he wouldn't fall - since he is geriatric).

he looks so delicious!

It's true if the animal wasn't enjoying the challenge it wouldn't have continued, this is hardly the psychological test of the century. The hamster's not being tricked into trying it over again. Apt name though x

Hmmm... Dopey seems to be living up to his name. My hamster was subjected to my Legos when I was a kid too, although my legos were the traditional spaceship with too many red bricks variety. There was no freefall involved, at least not intentionally.

I laughed so hard I cried. It was freaking awesome the way the hamster couldn't wait for the elevator to land so he started pulling at it with his paws before it hit the ground and was trying to climb in before it got to the first floor. Then he made out like "I'm really going to do it this time" only to tumble and start over. Put an Oscar in that cage right next to the elevator!!

And all you douche tree huggers above: the fucking cage door was open - Dopey could check out any time he wanted.

OMG OMG the piece of straw on his nose as he looks out over the landscape (2:44 mark) -

what to choose? Door #1 to home but requiring a leap of faith and strong gymnastic skills or Door #2 with solid ground and an endless vacation?

And he chooses Door#1! (again)

Maybe he wouldn't be so fat if he used the stairs

honestly people! really, you didn't care for this vid?

I'm all about advocating for animals but seriously, this vid was so cute. The little guy wasn't exactly hurting himself. He purposely went back on the elevator over and over again. You can tell he is intelligent and was learning. His curiousity was heightened and he wanted to achieve his goal. What's wrong with that?

Don't you feel bad that most hamsters only get to spin in a wheel and never, ever get anywhere? That's cruel. Kudo's to this hamster owner for creating a stimulating environment that helps build on the interests and needs of his furry friend.

As previous people have mentioned, if the hamster was hurt, or if he wasn't having fun (or found it challenging) he wouldn't have continued. And infact, it shows how smart the hamster is by figuring out what the elevator was for.
And for those of you who found this "cruel", then you shouldn't watch a hamster on a wheel. They sometimes get going so fast that they're spun out of the wheel and they smack into the side of their cage. And what do the hamsters do? Go right back in the wheel.
Rodents like challenges. They enjoy things that entertain them. Obviously, the elevator is both. So some of you need to just chill.

Interesting idea, poor execution. There should have been a platform in front of the elevator to step onto. Then to get down... maybe a piece of stretched fabric, placed at an angle, creating a slide down one side. Meh...

Oh, and it's totally screwed up that he didn't have at least a break fall on the bottom. The gerbil owner is a POS.

Oh man I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes.

OK so the owner puts the food on a string just far enough away that the hamster can't get it from the ground. He figures out that the elevator will take him higher but finds out (the hard way) that its still just barely out of his reach - just as the owner intended in both cases. I know hamsters - they're tough, bulky little rodents and its obvious the owner was there the whole time since he was controlling the elevator. Its all been setup purely for our entertainment and it may startle the hamster but trust me, these resilient little guys are mostly muscle and don't get hurt easily at all.

What an awesome vid - reminds me of the dramatic chipmunk!

i think the soundtrack along with Dopey's repeated efforts and dramatic failures at mastering this Lego elevator made it the most hilarious thing I have seen yet this year. Thank you geekologie writer, thank you.

That's a smart hamster.

Seriously, it might not realize how hard it is to get the food, but that... That's amazing that it looked around and solved how to get it (but couldn't make the jump, lulz).

Just under two minutes in it dawns on me:

I'm just watching a hamster do belly flops onto hay.

Why do I enjoy this?! Whats wrong with me???

:P

This reminds me of many a platforming/puzzle game (particularly Portal). It also reminds me of those enrichment toy things zoo keepers put in the animals' habitats. Like brightly colored balls and hiding food so they have to forage. I bet that was pretty enjoyable for both owner and gerbil alike.

The fact that people think this is mean is even more hilarious than watching the hamster try again and again to get to the pent house.

If it hurt him do you REALLY think he would do it so many times? He's a little guy, he can take a fall like that, he isn't a human. It gives him a good workout and gets his blood pumping. Get over itttttt.

I like the impact crater in the wood shavings.
I still feel sorry for the guy... looks like it would drive me mad if i were a gerbil.

But then again... this isn't the worst thing I have heard of people using gerbils for.

my two and three year old sons would watch this all day if i would let them. every time the hamster fell they'd squeal "oh no!" and crack up. so it's good entertainment to some, i guess. i think they identify with the hamster. if they could ride the elevator up and fall, they'd do it too and love it.