Weekend Monkey News Update

Finally: a scientific explanation for the fame of Paris Hilton.

Scientists at the Duke University Medical Center recently published the results of an experiment in which they offered adult male rhesus macaque monkeys a choice: their favorite drink, in this case, Juicy Juice brand cherry drink, or the opportunity to look at images of the dominant, "celebrity" monkey of their pack.


Despite their thirst, they chose to look at the pictures. The impulse to look at these "celebrity" monkeys was so strong, it overrode their thirst.

It appears fascination with celebrity may be related to very strong, primal impulses that involve group heirarchies, status, food, power and sexual magnetism.

Personally, I'd give up my Juicy Juice just to watch cute monkeys at play, but that's another story.