# Why a Monkey? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334 "2001-11-26T18:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/1 "2001-11-26T18:48:21Z")
Hey, who put the “monkey” in “monkey wrench”? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/2 "2001-11-26T18:50:42Z")
Nature did. Who put the butter in the butterfly? Nature did. Who put the hum in the humming bird? Nature did. Who put the freak in french fry? There ain’t no freakin’ french fries!! 🙂 Thank-you for visiting Jack-in-the-box. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/3 "2001-11-26T18:55:53Z")
Who put the “hot” in “Hottentot”? Who put the “ape” in “Apricot”? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/4 "2001-11-26T18:58:08Z")
Who put the bomp in the bomp ba bomp ba bomp? Who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a ding-dong? Who put the bop in the bop sh-bop, sh-bop? Who put the dip in the dip, da-dip, da-dip? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/5 "2001-11-26T19:02:03Z")
**Jinx** , I’d say it has to do with a loose resemblence of a monkey wrench’s grip to that of a monkey’s paw. As to who may have first marketed their wrenches as “monkey wrenches”, or what mechanic may have first used the slang term “monkey wrench”, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/6 "2001-11-26T19:09:25Z")
Oops. Sorry. Must’ve misheard. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/7 "2001-11-26T19:39:28Z")
Hey Keeve, who pitched the tent in Hottentot? Who pulled the ham out of hamburger? Who uses aint in restraint? ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/8 "2001-11-26T19:41:57Z")
There is actually a book on this subject. “Did Monkeys Invent the Monkey Wrench?: Hardware Stores and Hardware Stories” by Vince Staten. It seeks to answer, as well as the title question, such other stumpers as “Are Swiss Army Knives really Swiss?” and “What do ducks have to do with Duck Tape?” Get it for the hardware fan in your life. It makes great bathroom reading. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/9 "2001-11-26T19:52:33Z")
As I heard the story, the monkey wrench was originally called the Spanner wrench. In a certain machine shop, one of the workers modified his spanner wrench, improving it. His coworkers liked to borrow the wrench all the time. The guy had the nickname “Monkey”. The guys in the shop were always asking to borrow Monkey’s Wrench. And so it goes… Sounds like crap, but I heard it on TV, so it MUST be true, right? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/10 "2001-11-26T20:13:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferrous \* > **"What do ducks have to do with Duck Tape?"** Aaaargghhhh!!! **DUCT** tape !!! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/11 "2001-11-26T20:16:18Z")
The OED has a questionable citation to “monkey-wrench” as far back as 1807 and a certain one in 1858 in a dictionary of tools. Some scholars think that “monkey-wrench” is a corruption of various proper names, according to the OED. ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/12 "2001-11-26T20:24:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Keeve \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Ferrous \* > > **"What do ducks have to do with Duck Tape?"** > > Aaaargghhhh!!! **DUCT** tape !!! \*\* There’s a brand of duct tape marketed as “Duck Tape”, so you can reference duck tape in the same way you reference scotch tape. Don’t you hate it when _they_ validate ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/13 "2001-11-26T21:22:40Z")
Sheesh! **Keeve** , I was quoting from the book jacket. I know it is DUCT tape. But that wouldn’t have made nearly as interesting a chapter title, now would it? ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/14 "2001-11-26T23:58:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Keeve \* > \*\*Who put the bomp in the bomp ba bomp ba bomp? > > Who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a ding-dong? > > Who put the bop in the bop sh-bop, sh-bop? > > Who put the dip in the dip, da-dip, da-dip? \*\* Who was that man? I’d like to shake his hand. He made my baby fall in love with me. ---
**Author:** ![Linear\_Crack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Linear\_Crack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linear_Crack)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-monkey/95334/15 "2001-11-27T00:07:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jinx \* > \*\*Hey, who put the “monkey” in “monkey wrench”? > > - Jinx \*\* There are some good explanations [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=80195) 🙂