Birthdays are important to
us when we are young, and when we’re old and seeing each one as a target. These
days, our Facebook page keeps our friends aware of that upcoming date. I had
missed one important one this year. Nico hit his half-century in mid-August
(1).
Who’s Nico? I hear a chorus
asking. He is Europe’s oldest gorilla. He lives in a brick outhouse in the
country park attached to Longleat house not very far from Stonehenge. He
migrated there from Switzerland in 1966, so is a long-term resident.
Fifty years old is a good
age for a gorilla. Being a large silverback is a stressful occupation back in
Africa compared to living in a centrally heated jail with television privileges
from 7 till 11 P.M. Even the large grassy exercise yard can’t compensate for
the quality of the current television programs and he’s become a grumpy old
gorilla.
His grumpiness is featured
in both the British and Canadian papers (2,3). According to his jailor, he gets
up grumpy in the mornings. For his fiftieth birthday he was presented with a
bunch of roses and expected to perform for a photo-op. He was not amused.
What’s a guy going to do with roses? He reportedly perked up a little when
presented with a fruity birthday cake.
One look at his expression
with his left eyebrow raised when given the roses immediately brings to mind
the human edition of the primate group. This point was picked up in yesterday’s
Toronto Globe and Mail where they point out that men start getting grumpy at 52
(not clear why 52 and not 53 or 51, but never mind) and get grumpier and
grumpier. Apparently, by the time that the get to 60+, they have become four
times as grumpy as women.
This was the reported
result of a psychological study on laughing frequency by Harbridge at Glamorgan
U last year. What we need now is a study that reveals why this is the case,
perhaps we’ve heard all the jokes before? These data are in conflict with an
earlier report in the Scotsman from work at Middlesex U that women are
grumpier than men who mellow with age (4). Like a good wine, perhaps?
- https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7299758885
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026574
- http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/social-studies/grumpy-old-gorilla-apes-aging-human-males/article2271460/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Life&utm_content=2271460
- http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/mellow_old_men_leave_the_anger_to_grumpy_women_1_705660
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