# Homer's wish finally comes true

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homers-wish-finally-comes-true/349096>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 20, 2006, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homers-wish-finally-comes-true/349096 "2006-03-20T05:31:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homers-wish-finally-comes-true/349096/1 "2006-03-20T05:31:34Z")

</div>

[Monkeys learn how to help people with simple everyday activities such as opening and setting up a drink of water, providing food, picking up a dropped or out-of-reach object, or turning the pages of a book. Monkeys use their small, dexterous hands to do many kinds of specialized tasks.](http://www.helpinghandsmonkeys.org/pages/helpers.html)

[Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37864)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homers-wish-finally-comes-true/349096/2 "2006-03-20T05:44:59Z")

</div>

Hate to be the wet blanket, but monkey helpers were around long before the Simpsons ever aired:

[

> [@](#):
>
> Dr. Willard discovered she was correct in her hypothesis when the Capuchin monkeys proved to be very well suited to be trained as monkey helpers. The first monkey helper was placed with a man in 1979. This first match was so successful that monkeys were soon placed all over the country, with hundreds of people having every imaginable disability.

]([http://www.cqc.state.ny.us/Danweb/pastissues/oldissues/2002/Monkeying%20Around.htm](http://www.cqc.state.ny.us/Danweb/pastissues/oldissues/2002/Monkeying%20Around.htm))  
Sorry, I’ll go away now…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homers-wish-finally-comes-true/349096/3 "2006-03-20T05:47:05Z")

</div>

And before _that_ **Homer** ’s post, too. :smack:

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homers-wish-finally-comes-true/349096/4 "2006-03-20T07:02:33Z")

</div>

> [@Q.E.D.](#):
>
> Hate to be the wet blanket, but monkey helpers were around long before the Simpsons ever aired:
> 
> [  
> Sorry, I’ll go away now…

I know! I’ve seen [url=“[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091415/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091415/)”]Link]([http://www.cqc.state.ny.us/Danweb/pastissues/oldissues/2002/Monkeying%20Around.htm](http://www.cqc.state.ny.us/Danweb/pastissues/oldissues/2002/Monkeying%20Around.htm)) and [Monkey Shines](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095652/).

Although _Link_ has a young Elisabeth Shue. And _Monkey Shines_ has Stanley Tucci and Stephen Root!

[Johnny Carson]  
I did not know that  
[/JC]

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homers-wish-finally-comes-true/349096/5 "2006-03-20T08:39:12Z")

</div>

Setting out food and picking up dropped objects is all well and good, but what about the _dancing_? What use is a monkey butler that doesn’t _dance_?