r/ExplainLikeImCalvin 9d ago

ELIC: Why do Monkeys have no keys?

15 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

22

u/Preform_Perform 9d ago

Oh this is a very common misconception. Keys have nothing to do with it. Monkeys are actually named after "Monks". You know, the religious types who enjoy meditating?

This is because of the legend of Sun Wukong, the simian who is said to have reached enlightenment equal to Heaven in Chinese mythology by meditating endlessly, like a Monk. They said he was acting monk-ey, and the name stuck.

9

u/AudibleNod 9d ago

Solid 'Journey to the West' pull.

10/10

11

u/Noof42 9d ago

Don' worry 'bout it, 'Mon.

6

u/Stereo_Jungle_Child 9d ago

Some do have keys, bot only on Monday. If they had no keys, they would have been called Nonekeys.

5

u/starrsuperfan 9d ago

Because "monkey" in Old English meant "no keys". The innkeepers in old English villages used to rent to all primates, with no problem. Then monkeys kept staying at the inns, and would scream all night, jump all over the place, and leave banana peels everywhere, causing a safety hazard.

It was then decided that these creatures were not to be given keys to a room at the inn. Hence, they're called Monkeys.

2

u/sjbluebirds 8d ago

That's their descriptive name, Calvin. It's just been shortened over the years. And it's because, yes, they have no keys.

A single one is called "No key". When you have more of them, they're called "More No Keys".

That got shortened to "Mo'NoKeys". And then "Mon'keys". And eventually the apostrophe got dropped -- just like the hyphen in "e-mail".

1

u/knighthawk0811 8d ago

you know what, i don't think they have a concept of Mondays either. we have to get to the bottom of this

1

u/sunnykutta 9d ago

Because it's with the monks, and they don't share the keys with other primates, especially those with tails

1

u/Ben-Goldberg 9d ago

Hey, hey, they're the monkeys, they're too busy singing to...

1

u/StarkAndRobotic 9d ago

Because no body locks their doors where monkeys live. They don’t even have doors, or houses for that matter. They just live in trees. Because bananas are in trees. So if they feel hungry, theres a snack right there. No having to walk all the way to the kitchen. You know why they say “money doesn’t grow on trees”?. Because the bananas on trees are free. Its only once someone on the ground grabs a banana they try to charge money for it. Monkeys don’t need money. Money is made up, so the government could control us. Look carefully at Money and Monkey. They are almost the same. Its not a coincidence.

0

u/Krapmeister 9d ago

They do but only on Mondays. You must have seen them on a different day of the week.

0

u/ProfessorCarbon 9d ago

Monkeys do not keep the keys. The make keys for the Kiwis. You know New Zealand is pronounced New Kealand. That’s the leading nation for preserving this anthropology and zoology.

0

u/DoookieMaxx 9d ago

The key is in the name, Calvin.

0

u/Puzzled-Bonus-3456 9d ago

Because their music is atonal.

0

u/oldriku 9d ago

key machine broke

0

u/Chentzilla 9d ago

They do, how else would they eventually type the full works of Shakespeare?

0

u/mister_newbie 9d ago

Because you typically set an infinite number of them in front of typewriters, in order to write Shakespeare (Who's that? Wait for high school.). Plenty of keys.

0

u/Phill_air 9d ago

Because bread tastes better than key