Automated Scavenger Training for Fun and Profit

My grandfather reportedly loved all manner of business in which the customers did the work and the businessman merely collected the money–perhaps the regret of a small businessman who missed getting in on the ground floor of coin-operated vending machines.

Imagine the pleasure my grandfather would have had if he’d been able to have crows collecting coins for food. From the description of the experiment:

- THE DEVICE -

The first version of the device consists of a box from which protrudes a perch, a food tray, and a funnel. The whole thing is made out of sealed wood so as to minimize noisy clanging which might result from using metal components while retaining the ability to leave the thing out in the rain.

The goal is to be able to deploy the device wherever corvids are found and to have it designed such that it will train the corvids to deposit coins in exchange for food. The device should do said training on its own without human intervention.

Inspired, I’ve decided to apply the same Skinnerian training principles to squirrels and folding money. Hilarity and early retirement ensues.