This is a partial but not the full answer.
reply to Fretful_Porpentine:
In the studies with the machines, did the machine use the equipment? Was the machine the equipment? The machine is in addition to the thing needed.
In the studies involving humans, was the equipment used by human test subjects? Or only by the researchers? The thing needed was used by the humans.
reply to Fretful_Porpentine:
Hmm – is it common for this type of study to be done by students as part of their classwork? Not in any of my classes alas. Teachers had no fun.
Would a study of this type be relevant to a biology class? Possibly human biology…
Chemistry? nah…
Other natural science? No
Psychology? Possibly. The early testing did capture the imaginiation…
Economics? It might tangentally be of interest as a test case of how something economically worked
Other social science? Nothing comes to mind, but maybe I am not thinking broad enough.
Culinary arts? Sure
Physical education? Maybe with regards to the stamina needed to not cave in to temptation and foul up the testing.
Think about this a bit. What have people wanted to know thanks to some savvy marketing?
reply to SurrenderDorothy:
Is it about eating food? Yes[ Like it takes a human 35 bites to eat a bowl of cereal, but a dog just takes 3?
There were no dogs, fictional or otherwise in these studies. Folks simply wanted to learn the answer to a very specific question. Our researchers used decidely different techniques to find the answer. You can argue merits of the different research, but the fictitious animal research has a following and has inspired many a person to seek the answer
How about an owl?
Is there a song associated with one or more of these studies?
Is it how many licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
DING! DING! DING!
Time for a new one?
We all remember that when Peter Pan lost his shadow, Wendy sewed it back on. But why would anyone paint a shadow on a zebra?
Does ‘zebra’ refer to the animal ? the road crossing ? something else ?
If an animal, was the zebra alive ? dead ? some non-living representation of a zebra ?
Was it used in making a TV show/ movie/ other media?
Was it intended to affect the behaviour of other animals ?
Heh, I think this one is going to go quickly…
Does ‘zebra’ refer to the animal ? No. the road crossing ? Yes. something else ? No.
If an animal, was the zebra alive ? dead ? some non-living representation of a zebra ? N/A.
Was it used in making a TV show/ movie/ other media? No.
Was it intended to affect the behaviour of other animals ? Yes, in a sense.
I suspect this was the lateral thinking part of the puzzle?
Were the animals with the behavior to be altered, humans?
Was it to get them to slow down?
I suspect this was the lateral thinking part of the puzzle? Well, the whole concept is sort of lateral-thinking-ish.
Were the animals with the behavior to be altered, humans? Yes.
Was it to get them to slow down? Yes!
I think I’m going to pretty much consider this one solved. Inspired by this article.
Is this the same question that was asked in the original thread? Then about crossing a zebra with Karl Marx and Beethoven.
Is ‘Shadow’ the pulp hero?
EDIT - No.
No, and no. (Folly got it, pretty much – see link to article in my previous post [which has some very cool photos of the crossing in question.])
BTW, the two classes it might have been for were either Psychology or Statistics.
These days, you’d have to pay me more than a free Tootsie Pop to participate. But it was college and free stuff is something you rarely passed up.