To paraphrase a great eight-fingered, three-haired philosopher, there are few things in life that can’t be improved by the addition of a monkey. Such is the case with greyhound racing, an on-the-ropes pastime that briefly experimented with monkey jockeys during the Depression. According to a recent Australian reminiscence, things went awry due to the pint-sized simians’ competitive nature:
Alas, monkey racing was a short-lived phenomenon in Sydney, shut down for the pocket jockey’s own protection. So keen were they to claim a winning purse of peanuts, the monkeys began to gravely injure each other in the quest for victory.
More photos here and here. Some race fans have proposed reviving the monkey jockeys as a way to stimulate interest in the fading greyhound industry. If that actually came to pass, the Humane Society would likely be none too amused.
(Via Ell, one of Microkhan’s beloved readers Down Under.)
Gramsci // Apr 20, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I had no idea Fred Kagan was a greyhound enthusiast.
Brendan Mackie // Apr 20, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I wonder what other common pass-times might be improved by the addition of a monkey. Cooking? (Imagine helpful monkey helpers, gobbling the food, shitting everywhere… okay, maybe not.) What about drinking? You can have your own monkey slave to fetch and pay for drinks, and perhaps to ferry messages to interested looking women. What about blogging? Monkeys could find fun links. But now that I think about it, interns are our society’s version of journalistic monkey helpers. So there you go.
Brendan I. Koerner // Apr 20, 2009 at 9:38 pm
@Brendan: Links of interest:
http://www.monkeyhelpers.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHxOiFxNDzw
Gramsci // Apr 21, 2009 at 9:16 am
In India I guess they could call it the Hanuman Principle.
Brendan I. Koerner // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:03 am
I actually wanted to give my son the middle name of Hanuman, but the missus said “nein.” In retrospect, I’m glad she did.
Matt // Apr 23, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I saw monkey jockeys riding burros at the Florida State Fair in the mid ’90s. Maybe one of my most cherished memories.
Brendan I. Koerner // Apr 24, 2009 at 8:55 am
@Matt: One word–wow. Any chance you have a photo of this? Sounds like prime Microkhan fare.