Anomalocaris Posted September 5, 2015 #1 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Why does an iPhone ringtone make ants run in a circle? A curious video showing a group of ants racing in circles around an iPhone as it rings has gone viral this week, sparking a host of theories as to what could have caused the bizarre phenomenon. Some have suggested that the ant’s weird behaviour is caused by an "electromagnetic wave" from the incoming call. Read more 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblykiss Posted September 5, 2015 #2 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Ants are instinctive confused by why humans would put something so dangerous on the ground near them. So they circle it like planets as it becomes their new god. Mystery solved. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomalocaris Posted September 5, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Ants are instinctive confused by why humans would put something so dangerous on the ground near them. So they circle it like planets as it becomes their new god. Mystery solved. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OverSword Posted September 6, 2015 #4 Share Posted September 6, 2015 That's really weird since they are usually directed by chemical instructions. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHaYap Posted September 6, 2015 #5 Share Posted September 6, 2015 such as is : ~ http://www.google.com/search?q=ant+mills&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 ~ all it takes is one lost ant to start a mill ~ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted September 6, 2015 #6 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Well, there is the distinct possibility there are no real ants in the video. What are suggested to be ants are rather indistinct and do not look particularly "ant-shaped" when one crawls across the phones' display. Until demonstrated otherwise, I have no reason to believe this is anything but a hoax video. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavan Posted September 6, 2015 #7 Share Posted September 6, 2015 If the phone was replaced with the logo, that would be a somewhat decent BBC ONE station ident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted September 6, 2015 #8 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Well, there is the distinct possibility there are no real ants in the video. What are suggested to be ants are rather indistinct and do not look particularly "ant-shaped" when one crawls across the phones' display. Until demonstrated otherwise, I have no reason to believe this is anything but a hoax video. I tend to agree, ants are not tear-drop shaped. Also very few any species just mill about like that and they would also probably be crawling all over the phone as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKoene Posted September 6, 2015 #9 Share Posted September 6, 2015 The Ant Hajj Rituals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted September 6, 2015 #10 Share Posted September 6, 2015 (edited) So they circle it like planets as it becomes their new god. Mystery solved. Same as humans. Edited September 6, 2015 by GreenmansGod 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomalocaris Posted September 6, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Well, there is the distinct possibility there are no real ants in the video. What are suggested to be ants are rather indistinct and do not look particularly "ant-shaped" when one crawls across the phones' display. Until demonstrated otherwise, I have no reason to believe this is anything but a hoax video. I don't know how authentic is this vídeo, but the phenomenon is real, and apparently has been explained. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomalocaris Posted September 6, 2015 Author #12 Share Posted September 6, 2015 they would also probably be crawling all over the phone as well. I must admit that this particular detail is somewhat suspicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted September 6, 2015 #13 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Ants are instinctive confused by why humans would put something so dangerous on the ground near them. So they circle it like planets as it becomes their new god. Mystery solved. And they name their God, Adam... 'cos Adam & the Ants sounds cool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted September 7, 2015 #14 Share Posted September 7, 2015 I don't know how authentic is this vídeo, but the phenomenon is real, and apparently has been explained. This is quite different, the army ants are following a pheromone trail in circles. The video says that the ringing cell phone caused the "ants" to suddenly form into a circle. You can get army ants to follow the rim of a bowl in circles endlessly until they are dead, because as stated they are blind and follow chemical scent trails; they have no idea they are in a loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted September 7, 2015 #15 Share Posted September 7, 2015 I'm going to have to agree that this looks fake. The ants appear to come and go in a almost regular pattern. And they very slightly in size, but not really in speed. And they are all out of focus, yet the phone seems almost in focus. Would seem like a college animation students attempt at a quarterly project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qxcontinuum Posted September 7, 2015 #16 Share Posted September 7, 2015 this reminds me of a very unique and special even with ants I recorded over 7 years ago. One night patrolling in my shift, I saw a square formation of ants. What really attracted my attention was something like a perfect square but in the same time their unusual behaviour. I saw a few coming out the group , breaking the lines, going in the middle then rubbing their antennas with others, then moving back in lines. I shot a video a recording I can still find somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted September 7, 2015 #17 Share Posted September 7, 2015 I don't know how authentic is this vídeo, but the phenomenon is real, and apparently has been explained. I'm not doubting the phenomenon of ants moving in a circular formation, I'm just doubting the particular video in the OP. The transition from 'chaos' to 'order' is just too sudden and smooth and looks artificial (i.e. CGI) rather than natural. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOMBIE Posted September 7, 2015 #18 Share Posted September 7, 2015 I would rather attribute it to the vibration than to the ring tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceVenturaPetDetective Posted September 19, 2015 #19 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Magnetic Field. Mark my words, it's because of the magnetic field around the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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