--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In fact there was only one species on the…" description: "\"In fact there was only one species on the planet more intelligent than dolphins, and they spent a lot of their time in behavioural research laboratorie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/douglas-adams-122_creatures_in-fact-there-was-only-one-species-on-th_2381375.png" --- # In fact there was only one species on the planet more… ![“In fact there was only one species on the planet more intelligent than dolphins, and they spent a lot of their time in behavioural research laboratories running around inside wheels and conduction frighteningly elegant and subtle experiments on man. The fact that once again man completely…” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/douglas-adams-122_creatures_in-fact-there-was-only-one-species-on-th_2381375.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/douglas-adams-122_creatures_in-fact-there-was-only-one-species-on-th_2381375.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/douglas-adams-122_creatures_in-fact-there-was-only-one-species-on-th_2381375.png) > “In fact there was only one species on the planet more intelligent than dolphins, and they spent a lot of their time in behavioural research laboratories running around inside wheels and conduction frighteningly elegant and subtle experiments on man. The fact that once again man completely misinterpreted this relationship was entirely according to these creatures’ plans.” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dolphins are portrayed as more intelligent than humans, conducting subtle experiments on us. **In simple terms:** Dolphins outsmart humans and study us. Key Takeaway Respect other species' intelligence. Themes humor science species Mood witty critical Type satire philosophical When to use this quote - environmental policy - animal rights - science communication - philosophical debate Key Concepts intelligence anthropocentrism experiment Questions to Reflect On - What does this satire reveal about human arrogance? - How might we better understand non‑human intelligence? A Different Perspective The claim is satirical and not factual. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dolphins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolphins/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Laboratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratory/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Whale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whale/) ## Related quotes > [Man has always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much...the wheel, New York, wars and so on...while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/man-has-always-assumed-that-he-was-more-intelligent-than-dolphins/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/for-instance-on-the-planet-earth-man-had-always-assumed-that-he-was/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so muchthe wheel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-instance-on-the-planet-earth-man-had-always-assumed-that-he-was-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The last ever dolphin message was misinterpreted as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt to do a double-backwards-somersault through a hoop whilst whistling the 'Star Spangled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-last-ever-dolphin-message-was-misinterpreted-as-a-surprisingly/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/it-is-an-important-and-popular-fact-that-things-are-not-always-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The fact is that camels are far more intelligent than dolphins.\* \* Never trust a species that grins all the time. It's up to something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-fact-is-that-camels-are-far-more-intelligent-than-dolphins-never/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The fact is that camels are far more intelligent than dolphins. They are so much brighter that they soon realised that the most prudent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-fact-is-that-camels-are-far-more-intelligent-than-dolphins-they/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc., and all that dolphins do is swim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/humans-think-they-are-smarter-than-dolphins-because-we-build-cars-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Heresies are experiments in man's unsatisfied search for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/heresies-are-experiments-in-man-s-unsatisfied-search-for-truth/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [How did the dolphins and whales get such big brains? They obviously don't need such big brains to catch fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owsley-stanley/how-did-the-dolphins-and-whales-get-such-big-brains-they-obviously/) [Owsley Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owsley-stanley/) > [As the dolphin becomes just another victim of humanity's utilitarian attitudes towards the earth, it seems as though the ancient friendship between our respective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-sadruddin-aga-khan/as-the-dolphin-becomes-just-another-victim-of-humanity-s-utilitarian/) [Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-sadruddin-aga-khan/) > [I write many essays on whales. I love whales, especially orcas. And dolphins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bobby-brown/i-write-many-essays-on-whales-i-love-whales-especially-orcas-and/) [Millie Bobby Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bobby-brown/) > [Whales and dolphins have extraordinary hearing and the ability to communicate in widely varying voices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/whales-and-dolphins-have-extraordinary-hearing-and-the-ability-to/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Context is to data what water is to a dolphin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/context-is-to-data-what-water-is-to-a-dolphin/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/must-whales-and-dolphins-be-subjected-to-deafening-noise-that-will/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-must-be-thursday-i-never-could-get-the-hang-of-thursdays/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-are-some-oddities-in-the-perspective-with-which-we-see-the-world/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The Universe, the whole infinite Universe. The infinite suns, the infinite distances between them, and yourself an invisible dot on an invisible dot, infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-universe-the-whole-infinite-universe-the-infinite-suns-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/any-man-who-can-hitch-the-length-and-breadth-of-the-galaxy-rough-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [ Does God know he \[exists\]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. Hmmm. So we'll have to tell you something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-come-to-me-for-advice-but-you-can-t-cope-with-anything-you-don-t/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Explore all 1,168 Douglas Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More Creatures quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) Browse all 3,703 Creatures quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In fact there was only one species on the planet more intelligent than dolphins, and they spent a lot of their time in behavioural research laboratories running around inside wheels and conduction frighteningly elegant and subtle experiments on man. 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