Y’all are not going to believe this.
This morning, as I was eating cereal and waiting for the coffee to clear the dregs of sleep from my brain, the kids were watching TV. (Don’t judge; I’m a terrible person, let alone mother, before I’m sufficiently caffeinated.)
Anyway, they were watching Curious George. We’ve seen every episode a thousand times by now, but somehow, I never quite noticed…
THAT CURIOUS GEORGE HAS NO TAIL.
See?!? I am so not making this up.
Now, every Curious George book I’ve seen starts with the phrase “This is George. George is a monkey,” or some such. All the PBS disclaimers at the end of the episodes say, “George is a monkey. He can do things you can’t do.” You know, so that if your children try to swing from tree branches by their nonexistent tails and fall and break their legs, you can’t sue the network.
Ahem.
Anyway, according to Wikipedia, this means George is not a monkey, but an ape (perhaps a chimp), or a gorilla (um, no).
I mentioned The Great Monkey Deception to Mark as he was on his way out the door, and he said, “Well, maybe he’s a macack.” At least, that’s what I thought he said, because frankly, I assumed he made the word up.
So I said, “Yeah, right, George the curious macack. Very funny.”
But you know how we established in the predator urine post that Mark knows everything?
This, from the Wikipedia entry on Curious George: “…though it should be noted that some species of monkeys, such as the Barbary macaque, have little or no tail.”
Somebody please sign my husband up for Jeopardy. And order me a large slice of humble pie.
Paulette says
I never noticed George was tailless either. As for the type of monkey, kudos to your hubby. Let us know when he's appearing on Jeopardy. ;He sounds a bit like that Ken guy…You know the one who won so many Jeopardy! shows that most all believe he simply got tired of playing. ; )
Angie says
Crazy how you can see something your whole life and assume it looks a certain way. Some of my earliest memories are of my parents reading me the Curious George books, and I would have sworn that, like all good little monkeys, he had a tail.
And yes, Mark is a bit like that Ken guy from Jeopardy. Don't get me started on his geographic knowledge. It's insane!!!! It's wonderful to be able to learn things from your spouse, though.
lifeatbzoo says
I hate when my husband does that, which is like ALL of the time. Like he know what hybotchery is: snatching a tail feather off of a low flying goose, and its against the law. Ummm who the heck knows that?
Maytal says
Wow, I wouldn't have noticed that in a million years. Nice observation. I agree, It is wonderful to be able to learn things from your husband.