# Do You Find Chimpanzees Creepy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458 "2020-04-09T20:38:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/21 "2020-04-10T20:33:26Z")
I like them on B&W teevee shows when they’re smoking cigars, wearing pinstriped suits and derby hats, and scooting around on those adorable little bicycles while they honk the horn furiously at Steve Allen. …what? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/22 "2020-04-10T21:25:56Z")
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YsFOdd6CaPw](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YsFOdd6CaPw) Watch this videos of a hairless chimp and tell me this thing isn’t creepy. Chimps are pretty terrifying to me though I love reading about chimp attacks. I guess it’s because they are so intelligent compared to most animals but also their aggression is so unpredictable. Plus they eat faces, fingers, and rip genitals off, they know what all your weaknesses are and how to maim you. That and they’re freakishly strong compared to humans. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/23 "2020-04-10T21:54:38Z")
> [@pool](#): > > I guess it’s because they are so intelligent compared to most animals but also their aggression is so unpredictable. Their aggression is unpredictable to idiots that think chimps are little people or cute pets. Jane Goodall probably could have told those people a thing or two before the woman’s face got eaten. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/24 "2020-04-10T23:58:48Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > What I find creepy are the zillions of movies and internet memes where they’re dressed up like babies or little children or trained to behave in cutesey clownlike ways. I _don’t_ find them cute. There are also zillions of You Tube videos, some promoting this behavior and most of them not, of infant primates wearing clothing AND being trained to walk on two legs, which is not what they do in nature. Some of them are also trying to feed them with human-milk bottles, with nipples that are as big as the poor thing’s mouth, and then wonder why they can’t eat properly, or they give them candy and other junk food. I’ve heard that monkeys as pets was a brief fad in the 50s and 60s. I have seen ads for them for sale, in old magazines. Here’s a podcast from somebody who did this, with rather unpleasant results. > **[Monkey Madness](https://www.npr.org/2014/04/25/306868280/monkey-madness)** > > In the spring of 1968, two young brothers ordered a live monkey from a comic book ad. What could possibly go wrong? Tim Tate originally performed this for the live storytelling event Speakeasy DC. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/25 "2020-04-11T06:32:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Their aggression is unpredictable to idiots that think chimps are little people or cute pets. Jane Goodall probably could have told those people a thing or two before the woman’s face got eaten. Perhaps you’re thinking of Travis, the chimp that ate his keeper’s friend’s face off and hands. That was a major story world-wide. It may also be a bit unfair to chimps in general. Post-mortem toxicology tests on Travis showed that he had been given Xanax. Xanax is a benzodiazepine, and potentially one of the nastier ones. Possibly worse, if Travis was having withdrawal, any horrible thing could have happened. I’ve done a benzo withdrawal, and I was ready to eat my own face off. ETA: Almost forgot: [Wikipedia link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_(chimpanzee)) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/26 "2020-04-11T12:58:32Z")
Know this; while mankind is dealing with COVID19, climate change, TikTok and its ilk, the chimps are sitting back, scheming, constantly scheming. Damn dirty apes. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/27 "2020-04-11T14:08:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Know this; while mankind is dealing with COVID19, climate change, TikTok and its ilk, the chimps are sitting back, scheming, constantly scheming. > > Damn dirty apes. I hate every ape I see, from chimpan-a to chimpanzee. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/28 "2020-04-11T14:17:43Z")
I admit the concept of chimps being “creepy” is one I have never encountered prior to this thread. I’ve never even heard of chimps being made to look and act human “Creepy.” It’s STUPID, I’ll give you that. Yes, they are dangerous and can seriously fuck your shit up if you piss them off. So can tigers, lions, hippos, Cape buffalo, diamondbacks, Mako sharks, and lots of other animals. Give strong animals a wide berth. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/29 "2020-04-11T14:26:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I admit the concept of chimps being “creepy” is one I have never encountered prior to this thread. I’ve never even heard of chimps being made to look and act human “Creepy.” It’s STUPID, I’ll give you that. > > Yes, they are dangerous and can seriously fuck your shit up if you piss them off. So can tigers, lions, hippos, Cape buffalo, diamondbacks, Mako sharks, and lots of other animals. Give strong animals a wide berth. Chimpanzees can _use tools_ ferchristsake. Imagine coming home and finding chimps messing with your angle grinder and lathe! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/30 "2020-04-11T14:54:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Chimpanzees can _use tools_ ferchristsake. Imagine coming home and finding chimps messing with your angle grinder and lathe! Are they in the Millwright Union? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/31 "2020-04-11T15:16:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Chimpanzees can _use tools_ ferchristsake. Imagine coming home and finding chimps messing with your angle grinder and lathe! You come home and find a chimp holding two of your chainsaws and your hornet shotgun… ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/32 "2020-04-11T15:34:56Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > What I find creepy are the zillions of movies and internet memes where they’re dressed up like babies or little children or trained to behave in cutesey clownlike ways. I _don’t_ find them cute. Yeah, I don’t know if creepy is the word I’d use, but baby chimps in the wild are much cuter than when humans try to “make” them cute. Give me a lil guy clinging to his mama and looking very skeptically at the camera over one cavorting around in a diaper any day. Someone mentioned this already, but I wonder if people who find chimps creepy are experiencing the uncanny valley effect. For me, chimps are similar enough to be fascinating–more so than most other animals–but different enough not to be off-putting. But I never got the thing some people have with clowns, either. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/33 "2020-04-12T22:08:43Z")
I like chimps and don’t find them creepy at all, whether they’re naked or dressed up.Baby ones are way cuter than human babies. Gorillas and orang-outans too. The good part of being human is how cool some of our cousins are. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/34 "2020-04-12T22:41:30Z")
Creepy, no. But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near one beyond infancy. Chimp society seems to be like West Side Story on steroids. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/35 "2020-04-12T23:08:32Z")
Monkeys and clowns and mimes, eek! Or rather, Ook! Dan ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/36 "2020-04-13T03:08:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > You come home and find a chimp holding two of your chainsaws and your hornet shotgun… Three arms? Or is he juggling? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/37 "2020-04-13T03:13:28Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > You come home and find a chimp holding two of your chainsaws and your hornet shotgun… > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Three arms? Or is he juggling? Silly. He holds the chainsaw with one of his feet. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/38 "2020-04-13T03:56:29Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Silly. He holds the chainsaw with one of his feet. Right. Have you seen a chimp? Everything is a hand. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/39 "2020-04-13T04:47:04Z")
Not clown creepy, but something’s just not right. Definitely not cute. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458/40 "2020-04-13T04:58:48Z")
I think chimpanzees are absolutely scary!! As a kid I remember reading [Zippy the Chimp books](http://https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/zippy-goes-school-real-live/author/ecuyer-lee/) and I used to think “gee those chimps are cute and just like us”. Heck, on television there was a show [The Hathaways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hathaways) and it portrayed a suburban couple that had to care of the “Marquis Chimps”. Of course, that was back in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s when chimps were portrayed as lovable little mischief-makers. As I matured I realized that chimps 1) are incredibly strong and 2) have a _very_ nasty disposition! A _very_ dangerous combination. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-chimpanzees-creepy/851458.md?page=3)