# What were you THINKING? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 201
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4300 "2025-03-20T19:10:51Z")
I just try to avoid supporting them in any way, including channel views. Is that over the top? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4301 "2025-03-20T20:49:55Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > major money laundering I misread that as “monkey laundering” which led me down a rabbit hole involving some nasty smuggling of primates. What a world . . . ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4302 "2025-03-20T21:08:57Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > “monkey laundering” [![](https://preview.redd.it/things-that-happen-in-the-theme-song-we-saw-in-a-episode-v0-n051lgtlygfe1.png?width=1374&format=png&auto=webp&s=d5b683e90a7d392ddd7edb63a5c7d7651460a598) ](https://preview.redd.it/things-that-happen-in-the-theme-song-we-saw-in-a-episode-v0-n051lgtlygfe1.png?width=1374&format=png&auto=webp&s=d5b683e90a7d392ddd7edb63a5c7d7651460a598) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4303 "2025-03-20T21:20:38Z")
Those unintentional rabbit holes that we end up in because of others … well … there should be recompense for the lost time, no? TL;DR - I want my silver back. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4304 "2025-03-20T21:30:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I misread that as “monkey laundering” which led me down a rabbit hole involving some nasty smuggling of primates. What a world . . . Funny you mention that - Israeli police has been tracking a wildlife smuggling ring that apparently got (so far) a Nile crocodile, four lion cubs, and sixteen monkeys across the border using drones. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4305 "2025-03-20T21:36:31Z")
[![](https://i.imgur.com/k313rIy.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/k313rIy.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4306 "2025-03-20T21:38:44Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Funny you mention that - Israeli police has been tracking a wildlife smuggling ring that apparently got (so far) a Nile crocodile, four lion cubs, and sixteen monkeys across the border using drones. The way that sentence is written I am imagining people smuggling a crocodile with drones. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4307 "2025-03-20T21:58:42Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The way that sentence is written I am imagining people smuggling a crocodile with drones. …that’s what the sentence was supposed to mean. Bedouins along the Israel-Egypt border have been using drones for smuggling, including by carrying animals across the border. > **[Monkey rescued in Negev brings total to 12 as police continue wildlife crackdown](https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-846473)** > > Israeli police have discovered another monkey in a Bedouin village, part of a larger wildlife smuggling operation that used drones from Egypt and Jordan to transport animals, weapons, and drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4308 "2025-03-20T22:32:13Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The way that sentence is written I am imagining people smuggling a crocodile with drones. Well, now I feel dumb. > [@Alessan](#): > > …that’s what the sentence was supposed to mean. Now I don’t feel dumb anymore! ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4309 "2025-03-20T22:33:42Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The way that sentence is written I am imagining people smuggling a crocodile with drones Well, it was still a little crocodile. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4310 "2025-03-20T22:34:42Z")
I believe this article is outdated, it’s up to 16 grivets ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4311 "2025-03-20T23:19:24Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Well, it was still a little crocodile. Okay, that makes sense. Now I’m picturing a tiny crocodile surfing on a drone and having the time of its life. (Yes, I know the reality is a lot darker, let me live in my fantasy world.) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4312 "2025-03-20T23:29:09Z")
That’s not dark and depressing (tiny crocodile surfing on a drone), but [THIS](https://youtu.be/pKesdLhMTcM) is mind obliterating! > A teen-age girl tries to help a small, purple, jive-talking alligator escape the clutches of a greedy carnival owner as well as as an assortment of characters so he can be reunited with his owner. So whatever you do, don’t mention your mental image to the ghost or heirs of Donald G. Jackson or we’ll have more brain-melting-drivel to damage ourselves with. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4313 "2025-03-20T23:29:12Z")
So…_why_ are they smuggling lions and monkeys and crocodiles? I wouldn’t have thought there was much of a market for live crocodiles in Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4314 "2025-03-20T23:31:28Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I wouldn’t have thought there was much of a market for live crocodiles in Israel. Maybe people with moats? A good moat needs crocodiles. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4315 "2025-03-20T23:50:07Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Maybe people with moats? A good moat needs crocodiles. And put the baby lions between the moat and the entrance and feed them well to get big and strong, and the monkeys on top of the walls and teach them to fling poo at potential attackers. No one will intrude this building. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4316 "2025-03-20T23:54:16Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > A good moat needs crocodiles. Crap. I _know_ that’s a really common mnemonic for _something._ Is it for tuning a ukulele??? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4317 "2025-03-20T23:59:09Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Crap. I _know_ that’s a really common mnemonic for _something_ “A Good Moat Takes Crocodiles” is almost a mnemonic for the 4 proteins in DNA, that’s all I could come up with. (Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, Cytosine.) Maybe the “M” for “moat” stands for “mnemonic”. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4318 "2025-03-20T23:59:11Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > So…_why_ are they smuggling lions and monkeys and crocodiles? I wouldn’t have thought there was much of a market for live crocodiles in Israel. Pet trade. About half the monkeys and 2 or 3 of the lion cubs were found in Bedouin camps in the Negev - maybe they thought they were “off the grid” enough that they wouldn’t get caught. On the other hand, a guy in a much more central town was the one busted with the croc, as well as an anaconda, poison dart frogs, and a bunch more reptiles he wasn’t supposed to have. The various animal rescue groups are pretty frustrated because no one involved has gotten a very harsh sentence yet. They’re arguing that this is what makes animal smuggling attractive to criminals - if you make tens of thousands of dollars running drugs or weapons, you might spend your life in prison if you’re caught. But if you’re caught running monkeys, that can go for quite a bit of money, you don’t get nearly as serious a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4319 "2025-03-21T00:00:53Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > On the other hand, a guy in a much more central town was the one busted with the croc, as well as an anaconda, poison dart frogs, and a bunch more reptiles he wasn’t supposed to have. Dammit, there goes Spider-Man’s next nemesis, the Rep-Tamer. 😞 🕸 (Cue the web-slinger quipping, "You really skink!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=200) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=202)