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The Hundredth Monkey Effect

The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a

period of over 30 years.

In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists fed monkeys with sweet potatoes

dropped in the dirt first. The monkeys enjoyed eating the raw sweet potatoes,

but what the scientists observed is how unpleasant the monkeys appeared, as

they also tasted the dirt.

An 18-month- old clever female named Imo solved this problem by washing the

potatoes in a nearby stream first. She taught this trick to the other monkeys

including her own mother. In turn these monkeys also taught others in the group

how to clean the potatoes first before eating them.

What was observed between 1952 and 1958 was that all the young monkeys

learned to wash the dirty sweet potatoes to make them more edible. But it was

only the adults, who imitated their children, learned new method. Other adult

monkeys kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

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