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The word "monkey" is a common term used to refer to any member of
the order of the Primates, except for apes, gibbons, and humans.
Monkeys live in tropical forests, where they are arboreal and move
around on all four limbs. These limbs are used primarily in the
monkey's never-ending quest to eat bananas.
The Love Monkey hard at work playing cupid.
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Monkeys have large brains. This trait is common to all primates,
including the author. Monkeys probably do not use their brains as
much as humans do, as evidenced by the fact that monkeys are always
engaged in silly antics. For instance, monkeys like to cram
themselves into a large barrel at the circus and then jump out.
This is probably the origin of the phrase "more fun than a barrel
of monkeys."
Brad Pitt isn't a monkey. But he was in the 1995 Oscar-nominated film 12 Monkeys.
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There are two main evolutionary lines of modern monkeys: those
of the Old World tropics and those of the New World tropics. The
Old School monkeys are called the Catarrhines and include such
subgroups as the Cercopithecidae, which means "monkeys with cheek
pouches." The New School monkeys, by contrast, consist of other
subgroups which also have interesting and hard to pronounce names.
Monkeys do not have an opposable thumb. Many scientists believe
this is why they were not able to invent fire the way that humans
did. Without fire, monkeys have been unable to start civilizations
and colonize other planets. This may change in the 21st century, however,
when monkeys are expected to begin harnessing atomic energy.
When walking around on the ground, monkeys exhibit the plantigrade
style of locomotion, in which the entire sole of the foot is pressed
flat against the ground during each step. Monkeys are capable of
sitting upright, and, on occasion, even standing erect on two legs.
This is significant because it frees up their hands to manipulate
objects such as bananas.
A very cute monkey.
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