I heard the story about how one monkey on an island figured out how to wash his food, and then other monkeys starting doing it too. That’s the true story of Imo the macaque monkey! In 1952 on the island of Koshima, a primatologist was leaving sweet potatoes on the shore for the monkeys to eat. One smart monkey, a one and a half year old named Imo, began washing the sand off her potatoes in a brook. You can imagine how much better this insight on her part made the potatoes taste! Next, Imo’s playmate was observed washing potatoes. Then her mother, then another peer. In four years, three more of her relatives and four members of another macaque group were washing their food. The primatologist realized he was watching the way new ideas spread in society!

我听到的故事，一个小岛上的猴子想出如何洗他的食物，然后其它的猴子也开始洗食物。这是Imo真实的故事！ 1952年在Koshima小伤伤，一个灵长类动物学家把一些红薯放在岸边让猴子吃。一只聪明的猴子，一岁半的伊莫，开始在小溪中洗去红薯上的傻子。你能想象如何这回它吃红薯时的感觉更好吃的吃相！接下来，Imo的玩伴也被观察到洗土豆。然后，是她的母亲，然后是其同辈。在四年中，她的3个亲戚和另一猕猴群落的四名成员也开始清洗物。灵长类动物学家意识到他观察到的正是新方法在猴群社会中的传播方式！