# Who Spiked the Monkey Punch?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 14, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660 "2011-10-14T18:56:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/1 "2011-10-14T18:56:55Z")
Other than humans, do any primates ever strike with a closed fist?
Either punching as a form of attack, or striking with a closed fist in a functional way for, say, breaking open a piece of fruit or something?
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/2 "2011-10-14T18:58:24Z")
Lacking opposable thumbs makes a closed fist impossible.
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### Author:  [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/3 "2011-10-14T19:07:51Z")
The OP did specify “primates”, which would make opposable thumbs _de rigueur_.
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/4 "2011-10-14T19:47:19Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> Lacking opposable thumbs makes a closed fist impossible.
😕 You could amputate my thumb, and I’m pretty sure I could curl my remaining digits to form a fist with pretty much the same functionality it had prior to the amputation.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/5 "2011-10-14T19:53:07Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> 😕 You could amputate my thumb, and I’m pretty sure I could curl my remaining digits to form a fist with pretty much the same functionality it had prior to the amputation.
But what sound would that make?
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/6 "2011-10-14T20:02:57Z")
chimp video [here.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS68mBhktaA) Caption mentions the chimp striking the police car’s window with its fist, although this is not shown on camera.
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### Author:  [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/7 "2011-10-14T20:07:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> Lacking opposable thumbs makes a closed fist impossible.
Why? You don’t need an opposable thumb to be able to curl up your fingers tightly, do you?
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/8 "2011-10-14T20:59:15Z")
Considering I specifically limited the scope of the question to [animals who have opposable thumbs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb#Other_animals_with_opposable_digits) can we get past the discussion of whether opposable thumbs are needed to form a fist?
Thanks, **Machine Elf** for the video. Indeed, though a fist is mentioned in the description of the video it is not visible. We do see the chimp’s right hand hit the windshield (I think that’s what we’re seeing) and that hand seems to be open. He may also have been striking with his left hand- which may have been closed in a fist- but you are correct that, other than the written description of the video- there is no evidence of this.
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> Lacking opposable thumbs makes a closed fist impossible.
> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> 😕 You could amputate my thumb, and I’m pretty sure I could curl my remaining digits to form a fist with pretty much the same functionality it had prior to the amputation.
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#):
>
> But what sound would that make?
> [@Canadjun](#):
>
> Why? You don’t need an opposable thumb to be able to curl up your fingers tightly, do you?
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### Author:  [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)
#### Post date: [October 15, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-spiked-the-monkey-punch/599660/9 "2011-10-15T06:27:35Z")
Primates knuckle walk:
> **[Knuckle-walking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuckle-walking)**
>
> Knuckle-walking is a form of quadrupedal walking in which the forelimbs hold the fingers in a partially flexed posture that allows body weight to press down on the ground through the knuckles. Gorillas and chimpanzees use this style of locomotion, as do anteaters and platypuses.
> Knuckle-walking helps with actions other than locomotion on the ground. For the gorilla, the fingers are used for the manipulation of food, and in chimpanzees, for the manipulation of food and climbing. In anteaters and ...
Orangitangs use their fists to walk: “Gorillas and chimpanzees are habitual knuckle-walkers, whereas orangutans usually move quadrupedally with the hand made into a fist.”
[http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~bramblet/ant301/seven.html](http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/%7Ebramblet/ant301/seven.html)
According to this unsubstantiated claim at ehow:
"Hitting
A chimpanzee will use a balled-up fist at the end of the very muscular arm to punch its enemy. This isn’t often the chimpanzee’s first choice in defense, but if the enemy is within range the chimpanzee will have no problem letting one fly.
Read more: How a Chimpanzee Defends Itself | [eHow.com](http://eHow.com) [http://www.ehow.com/about\_6536427\_chimpanzee-defends-itself.html#ixzz1apRzTFxV](http://www.ehow.com/about_6536427_chimpanzee-defends-itself.html#ixzz1apRzTFxV)
Chimpanzees will shake their fists on occasion: [5 Amazing Ways Chimps Are Just Like Us - Jane Goodall : Jane Goodall](http://www.janegoodall.ca/about-chimp-so-like-us.php)
All that said, when I read about primate fights, they generally involve biting.