Toilet training cats

The Litter Kwitter:

Cat taught to eat with chopsticks

from youtube:

Clicker training and the impact of learning a simple concept

from clickertraining.com:

"Clicker training" is an animal training method based on behavioral psychology that relies on marking desirable behavior and rewarding it.  Desirable behavior is usually marked by using a "clicker," a mechanical device that makes a short, distinct "click" sound which tells the animal exactly when they're doing the right thing. This clear form of communication, combined with positive reinforcement, is an effective, safe, and humane way to teach any animal any behavior that it is physically and mentally capable of doing. 
[...]
First widely used by dolphin trainers who needed a way to teach behavior without using physical force, operant conditioning (the scientific term for clicker training) can be and has been successfully employed with animals of all sizes and species, both domesticated and wild, young and old; all breeds of dogs and puppies, cats, birds, leopards, rats, rabbits, chinchillas, fish, and more.
[...]
The same principles have also been applied to training for athletes, dancers, skaters, and other people. Called “TAGteach,” this form of training uses a click as a marker signal to teach precise physical motions quickly, accurately, and positively.

 I have seen scads of videos on various streaming video sites demonstrating this technique, and it seems like a very humane method for teaching non-humans.  One of the things that I think gets lost in the shuffle of educating non-humans is the implications for learning one simple concept with many many uses. One of the best examples of this is how to operate a electrical switch.  There are videos that demonstrate this (most frequently with cats and dogs) and fail to fully extrapolate the potential for application here.  Like a button for calling 911...

This becomes very apparent when one googles "dog calls 911".  I would like to point out the number of times that this has occurred... How much would you like to wager that if every household dog knew how to perform this action there could be thousands more (human) lives saved every year by non-humans.  I would further wager that if you had a seizure and a non-human called 911, unlocked the front door and opened the door to get you the help you needed to survive... you would have a much harder time tolerating the abuse of non-humans or at very least of the same species that saved you.