Monkeys Pluck Human Hair To Floss Teeth

One of the greatest things about the Internet, and there are many great things, is the constant source of new information.  On days when I am bored I can count on one of my newsfeeders to come up with some new topic related to hair, beauty, fashion or celebrities, my favorite topics, that is new and even over the top.

This time it's not a celebrity pulling some crazy antic that deals with beauty.  Its monkey.  As reported by The National Geographic they have discovered monkeys that floss with human hair.

(Image of monkey from Wikipeida.com. Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata) seen in Nelliampathi mountains in Kerala, south India.  For more information refer to Wikipedia).

How do they get the human hair to begin with?  They pluck it from humans that just happen to be wandering by.  What do they do with the human hair once they have it?  They learn to floss their teeth through detailed mom instructions.

The monkeys are Macaques who are living near a Buddhist shrine in Lopburi, Thailand.  They are known to pull out hair from the visitors to the shrine.

Worshipers who visit the Buddhist holy place see the monkeys as divine servants, the researchers said, which helps explain why people let the macaques pull out their hair.  Afterall, there would have to be a reason that people would not object to a monkey yanking out their hair.  Right?

Hmmm.  I think if I knew the monkeys wanted my hair, I would pull it out myself and hand them a bundle as I walked by.  Although maybe part of the fun is having the monkey target you and then yank out your strands.

To find out how the macaques learned to floss, primatologist Nobuo Masataka at Kyoto University and his colleagues scattered 8-inch-long (20-centimeter-long) hairs from a wig throughout the shrine and videotaped the primates in action.  What they found was quite interesting with regards to the learning process.

(Image of Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) at Ngarai Sianok, Bukittinggi, West Sumatra).

To read more about this fascinating story or to figure out how to use your own hair as an instrument of flossing refer to: