Washoe was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language as part of a research experiment on animal language acquisition. She was captured in West Africa for use by the US Air Force for research with the space program. Washoe was named for Washoe County, Nevada, where she was raised. Allen and Beatrix Gardner established a project in 1967 at the University of Nevada in Reno to teach American Sign Language to a then 10 month old Washoe. Previous attempts to teach chimpanzees to imitate human languages had failed because chimps are physically unable to produce the vocalized sounds required for oral language. Their solution was to take advantage of the chimpanzee's ability to create diverse body gestures by starting a language project which was based on American Sign Language. The Gardners raised Washoe like a human child. She wore clothes and sat with them at the dinner table. Washoe had her own trailer with a couch, drawers, a refrigerator, and a bed with sheets and blankets. She had access to clothing, combs, toys, books, and a toothbrush. Washoe participated in a regular routine with chores, outdoor play, and rides in the family car. Washoe learned approximately 350 words of ASL and also taught her adopted son Loulis about 50 American Signs. When Washoe was five, she was moved to the University of Oklahoma's Institute of Primate Studies in Norman. her new caretakers were Roger and Deborah Fouts. After the first few years of the language project, the Gardners and Fouts' had discovered that Washoe could pick up ASL gestures just by observing humans around her who were signing among themselves. Additionally, Washoe and her peers learned to combine the hundreds of signs that they learned into unique new combinations with different meanings. When Washoe was shown an image of herself in the mirror and asked what she saw, she replied, "Me, Washoe." Primate expert Jane Goodall, who has studied and lived with chimpanzees for decades, believes that this might indicate some level of self awareness. Washoe enjoyed playing with her dolls, which she would bathe and talk to and would act out imaginary scenarios. She also spent time brushing her teeth, painting, and having tea parties. One of the most touching stories about Washoe involves a researcher who went on leave for several weeks after having a miscarriage. To explain her absence, the researcher signed to Washoe the words "MY BABY DIED." Washoe looked down for a moment, then looked the researcher in the eyes and slowly ran a finger from her eye down her cheek – the ASL sign for "CRY." Then Washoe signed "PLEASE PERSON HUG." Washoe lost two children of her own to early deaths. She died at age 42 at the Central Washington University where she had lived since 1980. This work with signing primates led to the founding of the Great Ape Project, which hopes to "include the non-human great apes [chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas] within the community of equals by granting them the basic moral and legal protections that only humans currently enjoy," in order to place them in the moral category of "persons" rather than private property.