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March 19, 2009
Floss your monkey.
This is a post about dental hygiene. But it begins with this New York Times article from 1913:
CHICAGO, May 7. -- Some hard-pressed organ grinder has turned burglar and is using his trained monkey as an accomplice, according to the theory advanced by the police to-day to account for certain mysterious robberies committed recently in the northern part of this city and in Evanston.
The fine lady and I had heard about incidents like this occurring much more recently in Asia; tourists' hotel rooms were being burgled by trained monkeys who entered via small, barely-open windows.
She decided that the best way to thwart this menace would be to leave a small pair of cymbals in one's room, right out in plain view. Imagine the monkey-trainer's despair when, anxious minutes after sending his charge in to steal your valuables, he hears only the distant sound of tiny, crashing cymbals.
That's one of my favorite ideas of hers ever.
Now, seeing this video of monkeys' fascination with dental floss, it occurs to me that protecting your stuff might be even easier—just leave out some of that tasty waxed spearmint.
Video via Andrew Sullivan.
