Koko, the Western Lowland Gorilla who is able to understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language and 2,000 words of spoken English, has met some celebrities over the years.
In 1988, William Shatner had a memorable visit with Koko, as
seen in part in this edited clip, and
re-told on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in 2009.
Mister Rogers visited in 1998 (
YouTube clip), as part of series of shows addressing children's fears of meeting someone new or unusual. In 2004,
Koko met Betty White and
Robin Williams. (
Koko and other non-human primates using and learning sign language previously)
posted by filthy light thief
on Nov 11, 2011 -
12 comments
In the late Sixties and early Seventies several experiments were begun to test whether or not a non-human primate could construct a sentence. Several species were involved in these various experiments including the chimpanzees
Washoe and
Nim, a gorilla named
Koko, and later in the Eighties work began with a bonobo named
Kanzi. While great progress was made in teaching these primates a vocabulary, it would be difficult to see any of these experiments as a success. And all of these projects raised important questions about the
ethics of such experiments.
[more inside]
posted by Toekneesan
on Aug 20, 2011 -
39 comments
A Horror Film that will Stiffen You with Laughter! The jungle is jumping, with gals, gags, and goofs! And a gorilla! It's not the set-up for an awkward joke, but an
honest to
goodness motion picture, starring Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist, and nightclub comedians Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo as themselves, though in roles approximating
Martin and Lewis. It was the comedy duo's only movie (possibly due to the
cease and desist request to
Sammy Petrillo from Jerry Lewis), and was one of Bela Lugosi's last movies. Some classify this movie as a
z-grade budget film, while others claim it to be
staggeringly unfunny. But don't take their word for it. You can
watch it all online, or download it from the
Internet Archive.
posted by filthy light thief
on Jun 12, 2009 -
17 comments
The invisible hand of the Free Market guides insurance payments to hospitals "Call it the best-kept secret in Massachusetts medicine: Health insurance companies pay a handful of hospitals far more for the same work even when there is no evidence that the higher-priced care produces healthier patients. In fact, sometimes the opposite is true: Massachusetts General Hospital, for example, earns 15 percent more than Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for treating heart-failure patients even though government figures show that Beth Israel has for years reported lower patient death rates."
posted by Kirth Gerson
on Nov 19, 2008 -
29 comments
It's an
advert for chocolate. It's a
man in a gorilla suit drumming to a
track by
Philip Collins Ltd.
It's been very popular. It's
won awards. It's
been spoofed. And it's been mashed-up... some bad (
Metalica (sic),
ACDC,
Guns and Roses), some good (
Bonnie Tyler,
Subsource,
A Skillz,
Bon Jovi,
Deep Purple,
Nirvana) and some utterly sublime (
'Enders,
Bodyrockers,
Cameo). But
great adverts don't always equal
great sales. Bonus:
Monkey Drummer. (
Previously)
posted by fearfulsymmetry
on Dec 23, 2007 -
38 comments
Four endangered gorillas
were found shot dead in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a conservation group announced today.
For all the evil bastards that do this, there are many, many more
good people fighting the good fight to help keep gorillas healthy.
One, even has a
blog.
posted by james_cpi
on Jul 26, 2007 -
41 comments
Truly mind blowing! First, you must follow the rules.
Watch this short video. You are only allowed to watch it once. Seriously, do not cheat! In the video you will see a group of basketball players, some in white and some in black passing two balls around. Your goal is to
count how many times the ball is passed by those wearing white shirts. It’s that simple. Remember, count just the passes of the ball by those wearing white.
Once the movie is over, write down the number of passes you have counted, Do not watch the video again--
proceed to step two. (
via)
posted by limitedpie
on Nov 14, 2004 -
131 comments
There has been a
sharp rise in interest in exotic pets nationwide. Some people get exotic animals because they think it will be cool or because they saw one on Animal Planet. "I think there's more
tigers in the U.S than there are in India or Russia."
posted by stbalbach
on Oct 6, 2003 -
10 comments
