Jack the 'Baboon' Signalman - True Story
Jack was a properly employed first-class signalman in Cape Town in the late 1800s. He earned $0.20 per day and half a bottle of beer per week. And most of all, he never made a mistake.
Read on: [historydaily.org]
15
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7 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.One of my favourite podcasts is Skeptoid, hosted by Brian Dunning. It is an exemplar of investigative journalism and critical thinking. I’ve listened to hundreds of episodes over the years, and as a result am naturally skeptical when I read a story like this, charming as it sounds.
NostraDumbass
Level 7
Nov 15, 2022
2
Ryo1:
Being skeptical is fine. Being investigative is much more important. Have you found any fact that this Jack the Baboon story is false, yet? Let me know. 
[en.wikipedia.org]. Here's the Wikipedia article about him. The way it's written sounds a little more plausible. Maybe true.
@Organist1 The article in Wikipedia is more plausible primarily because of the phrase “under supervision” which (suspiciously) doesn’t appear in the History Daily article. This omission serves to enhance the reader’s amazement: a sign of emotional manipulation by the authors, I would suggest. Overall, the story has a tabloid feel to it, as mentioned below.
@NostraDumbass Sounds like a legend, which may have begun with a disabled guy and his pet. There may be some truth to it, but these things tend to snowball. Someone wrote a children's book about it. I'll look into it some more, just because it's interesting. Animals can be trained to do all kinds of responsible things, like being service animals.
@Ryo1 Short of inventing an HG Wells time machine there is no way to accurately investigate what happened in 19th c. South Africa regarding a story of this nature. Should I just take the news reports of the time at face value? Could they not have been embellished in order to increase sales? Can you confirm their accuracy 140 years after the alleged event? Let me know.
Ryo1:
@NostraDumbass Look, we at least agree that it's a charming story. It's even become a best-selling book. Let millions of people enjoy reading it. Let's leave it at that.
I've heard of Jack before. I think they should have given him more beer.
DenoPenno
Level 9
Nov 14, 2022
4
He was definitely underpaid...
At least!
We share this planet with some remarkable creatures that deserve respect and consideration. This is just one example.
Betty
Level 8
Nov 14, 2022
4
Probably why I like most cats more than most people..
@TomMcGiverin Most? I’d say all!! Only humans are evil.
@CuddyCruiser Many have that capacity but many more are the opposite.
Doesn't surprise me. There are probably lots of jobs that could be done by a trained monkey. And I have worked with some people who probably had no more or maybe less brains and sense than a monkey..
TomMcGiverin
Level 8
Nov 14, 2022
4
The previous POTUS fits the description.
Many jobs can be done by a trained monkey or baboon. One was in the White House for 4 years.
@DenoPenno Actually, I think it was more of a jackass...
@TomMcGiverin That was a stinkbug behind the Resolute desk.
What a wonderful story of a bright and sentient creature. This illustrates how others who share our planet have far more intellectual capacity than we give them credit for.
Organist1
Level 8
Nov 14, 2022
8
It could be just a story. To me this reads like tabloid reporting.
@NostraDumbass It does sound like that. However, I looked it up, and apparently there has been a lot written about this from other sources. Whether it's exaggerated or not, I don't know. Monkees are very intelligent as we know, so who knows how trainable they are to do a certain task?
@Organist1 The Monkees were Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones. The monkeys are macaques, guenons, etc. (Sorry, couldn’t resist that).
@NostraDumbass Sorry.. spell correct aaarrgh! I think that happens because I talk non-stop music and bands usually with people. Of course it would help to proofread. Lol!
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