7 – An Ad For ‘Thigmo-Taxis’ Is Seen In ‘Zootopia’ In Little Rodentia; Thigmotaxis Is A Form Of Anxious Movement Studied In Mice

In Zootopia (2016), Judy Hopps starts out as a parking enforcement officer, then becomes the first rabbit to join the police force. In a certain part of the movie, she walks past an advertisement for ”Thigmo-Taxis” in Little Rodentia. It’s a pun on a real-life scientific term. Thigmotaxis is defined as ”movement of an organism toward or away from any object that provides a mechanical stimulus”. Researchers use it to measure anxiety in mice.

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