Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, Merlin, has been awarded a Guinness World Record for his online popularity and use of 26 sound buttons to communicate with humans. His owner, Mina Alali, began training him after he was adopted in 2022 and he learned to associate each button with specific routines, emotions, and reactions. His videos of him "talking" using these buttons went viral and he is recognized every time he is out. Alali credits her efforts to shift perceptions about pigs' cognitive abilities, noting that pigs are often underestimated.