The journal Science Advances reported this week that an extract from the plant known as liverwort, in a study with mice, produced many of the same effects as the THC in marijuana. Equally important are the implications on these scientists' social lives, as they can now answer the question at parties, "So what do you do?" with "I get mice high."
And then the followup, "So Jonas Salk can eat my shorts."
According to an article in the L.A. Times, an hour after partaking of the liverwort, some mice apparently "entered a trancelike state" and "lost some of their ability to move," an effect I have often experienced myself while watching a Keanu Reeves movie.
You are in great luck today, because I have one of the mice from the study with me.
GW: Welcome, Mr. Mouse. Is that what I should call you?
Larry: Larry is fine.
GW: Larry the mouse.
Larry: No, George the human, just Larry.
GW: Got it. Larry, did they tell you ahead of time they would be giving you liverwort?
Larry: No, but they smiled at each other a lot.
GW: How did they administer the liverwort?
Larry: They soaked my favorite gummy bears in it.
GW: Wow.
Larry: I'm being sarcastic!. They injected it in my ass. It's called "animal testing," remember?
GW: Did it hurt?
Larry: No more than that last Dodgers game.
GW: Mice follow baseball?
Larry: Only the postseason, like anyone sane.
GW: So how quickly did you feel the liverwort effects?
Larry: Pretty quick. At first I couldn't feel my tail. Then I started to love my tail, like it was some kind of magical paint brush made out of joy. And then I remember thinking that my water dispenser looked like a giant robot anteater, and I don't even know what an anteater is.
GW: Had they ever given you anything like this before?
Larry: No way. Usually they are putting eye shadow on me or shaving me bald and posing me for bondage pictures.
GW: Seriously.
Larry: Seriously! They sell them anonymously to those "stop cruelty" organizations.
GW: That's dark.
Larry: Everything is a racket. Every. Thing.
GW: So tell me more about this liverwort.
Larry: They made the cage floor hot to see if you'd jump, like normal, but I was loving it. I tend to run cold.
GW: So you were feeling no pain.
Larry: Exactly. Then this guy put my legs up on this bar, which I guess is another test of discomfort reaction times, but I was like whatever, dude.
GW: You were chill.
Larry: I was like stick my whatever wherever, dude.
GW: Have there been any lasting effects?
Larry: Not unless you call a non-stop craving for Flamin' Hot Crunchy Cheetos an effect.
GW: So what's next for Larry?
Larry: I overheard one of the white-coaters saying I was due to be retired, so that's good. I've heard nice things about the Bahamas. Is that where anteaters are?
GW: No, but there are some nice beaches. Retired, huh? They said that?
Larry: Yes. It's happened before. Some of my friends have retired. The nice lady carries them out in a special cage and I heard her say once, "It's time to go on a little trip." Why are you looking at me like that?
GW:
Larry: Anyway, wherever I end up I hope there's liverwort.
GW: Is there anything else you would like to tell the people?
Larry: Elephants are not afraid of us! That's a myth. Oh, and Bigfoot is real, man. But that's a story for another day.
