The Surprising Ways Monkeys React to Magic
fall for something: to be tricked into believing something that is not true
Everyone loves magic, even monkeys. But not all monkeys. Apparently, only monkeys with opposable thumbs fall for misdirection magic tricks.
Elias Garcia-Pelegrin, a researcher and magician, showed a trick to three types of monkeys: capuchins, squirrel monkeys, and marmosets. He hid food in one hand and tricked them into believing it was in a different hand. Monkeys with thumbs like ours were tricked. However, monkeys without thumbs like ours didn’t fall for it. They knew exactly where the food was.
This tells us that monkeys think in different ways. Monkeys with hands like ours expect things to be a certain way, and this can make them easy to fool. This study helps us understand how monkeys see the world.
More interesting than why some monkeys are tricked is to see the expressions on their face. They seem to share the same sense of shock, awe, and delight that we do.
Watch the videos below to see the different ways monkeys react to magic.
Sample sentences
1. When I was a child, I fell for my brother’s story about a ghost in the attic. I was scared to go up there for weeks.
2. He fell for the fake news story online and shared it with all his friends before realizing it wasn’t true.
3. Many people fall for the promise of quick money schemes, only to find out they are scams.
Read More:
Monkeys with human-like hands can be fooled by sleight-of-hand magic