Some Chimps Are Putting Grass in Their Ears (2014)(smithsonianmag.com)

61 pointsby suprgeekvor 10 Jahren26 comments

Some Chimps Are Putting Grass in Their Ears (2014)

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/animal-fashion-some-chimps-are-putting-grass-ears-and-nobody-knows-why-180951888

27 comments

jschwartzivor 10 Jahren

When I was at university, I was told a story that some of the chimps that were kept in the primate house at the school started popping the collars on their shirts after they saw humans doing the same thing.

And yes, the chimps had clothes, and toys.

puranjayvor 10 Jahren

I can't upvote this joke enough!

jschwartzivor 10 Jahren

It's not a joke. This is a thing that happened.

rangibabyvor 10 Jahren

mmlbvor 10 Jahren

I think puranjay interpreted the snippet as a joke referring to college students in fraternity as the "primates in a primate house".

Chris2048vor 10 Jahren

"primate house at the school" hmmm....

wiredfoolvor 10 Jahren

The Orcas in Puget sound do something similar with kelp, draped across their dorsal fin. Helpfully enough, it's called 'kelping'. There doesn't seem to be a point, other than style.

mark_integerdsvvor 10 Jahren

So? Some Orcas are fabulous, get used to it.

gulpahumvor 10 Jahren

Some monkeys are also flossing their teeth and teaching it to their children. Smart animals.

http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/2009-10/monkeys-teach-their-...

dharma1vor 10 Jahren

In-ear grass is so 2014. But still beats AirPods

geoooooooooboxvor 10 Jahren

well not surprising, I mean try explaining to any organisms studying humans as to why we(humans) take so many selfies....for no particular reason....

trentmbvor 10 Jahren

I use qtips in my ear canal (even though i shouldnt) because it feels awesome.

Maybe the chimps get a similar feeling?

jobigoudvor 10 Jahren

> because it feels awesome

OK. Is this a studied phenomenon? It just feels normal to me, but my girlfriend is having much stronger reactions to it, like she's pleasuring herself. It's weird. (She has playfully used the term "ear orgasm"). Maybe there's a bundle of nerve ending beneath there.

On my side if I touch a specific spot in the left ear it makes me cough for some reason.

kiddicovor 10 Jahren

I've got the same ear cough phenomenon. It's like my brain lost track of where it left all it's nerves, and when it gets a signal from one it lost track of it just does it's best. For some reason it's decided ear ~= throat.

zhte415vor 10 Jahren

Go to a hospital and find an ENT ward. Ear, nose and throat, very interconnected. Otorhinolaryngology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otorhinolaryngology

lgasvor 10 Jahren

The traditional term is "eargasm".

tomjakubowskivor 10 Jahren

I thought "eargasm" was meant for particularly pleasing sounds or music. Although certainly there could be more than one way to attain "eargasm" :-)

dazcvor 10 Jahren

This an actual thing?

throwanemvor 10 Jahren

It sure is. Back years ago, when 512Kbps DSL was fancy new, I had a roommate who'd go on at length about it, and that was the word he used.

internautvor 10 Jahren

This is my hypothesis.

> (even though i shouldnt)

It seems weirdly taboo.

Using qtips for this purpose is supposed to be off label I've heard. Yet the trade goes on.

sp332vor 10 Jahren

Selfies are good at communicating emotion and context. It's a lot easier than trying to write down where you are, what's happening, and how you feel about it.

reustlevor 10 Jahren

The better the selfie, the better mate you can attract.

spamm0r123vor 10 Jahren

Some chimps are putting grass on top of their head and paint their face orange.

[deleted]vor 10 Jahren

nevstervor 10 Jahren

I immediately thought they may be copying humans who seem to all have these white things trailing from their ears...

yousryvor 10 Jahren

Did a doctor check the ears. Perhaps it is a contagious ear infection and the straw is a primitive replacement for a surgical drain to remove the pus.

ameliusvor 10 Jahren

Or they were just trying to fool the behavioral biologists.