As a follow-up to the monkey brain meal post, Cecil and SD researchers should get their hands on “Faces of Death” videos. In the late '80s while in college, I remember watching one that showed a monkey served up this way. Truly a gruesome sight. If memory serves me right (don’t bet the website on it), it was in an Indian (as in Asia) restaurant that looked like it was a set for an Indiana Jones movie. The Indian waiter brought over the monkey as if it was a pet. The monkey was place in a box that was in the center and beneath the table. The lid halves where shut with a hole for the monkey’s head to stick out of. I do not remember the monkey’s head being shaved or boiling water poured on it. The diners had hammers and when the first one hit the monkey, s/he did so timidly. This blow didn’t kill the monkey but made it scream and spin itself around violently. Sadly, it took many blows to finally kill or knock unconscious the monkey. The waiter then used some kind of knife and took off the top of the skull. The diners then picked up their spoons and dug in.
The monkey brain sequence, like most of the rest of the Faces of Death series, was faked. Didn’t you ever wonder why the monkey was so quiet, or why its head was rotating at exactly 33 and a third RPM?
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, Twin, glad to have you here. We ask that the Original Poster who starts a new thread in this forum please provide a link to Cecil’s column. In this case: In Asia, do people scoop the brains out of a monkey’s skull and eat them?
This helps keep us all on the same page.
Cecil must get half a dozen letters each week about the monkey brain sequence in “Faces of Death”, to which the reply is (as Chronos says) faked. Heck, they eat monkey brains in “INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM”, too; faked film footage ain’t fact.
Sorry about not putting a link to the column. I’ll remember next time.
As for the fake “Faces of Death” video showing of the monkey brain meal, this might be a good follow-up question to present and address. Naturally, I’d be honored if it was my follow-up question was posted. I know that video is always brought up when someone brings up the topic of monkey brain meals.
Here’s a previous thread on this subject: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62740
If on the off-chance a follow-up hasn’t been suggested before, it might be a good idea. If included with the original column online, it might prevent some people bringing it up again. The column hasn’t appeared in a book yet, has it?