Woman Opening Pistachios Using Discarded Shells Like Chimp Learning To Use Tools

Published Friday, February 5th, 2021
Filed under Off Campus

“When I started, I thought, ‘Wow, that was so clever of me!’” said Sloane while prying open the nuts with old shells in the same way that a chimpanzee uses rocks to break apart hard fruits. “I almost went to the kitchen to grab a butter knife, but I figured out a better way using what I had around me!”

“I can’t imagine that just anybody would think to try what I did,” remarked Sloane, deriving the same pleasure from opening pistachios that a Gombe chimpanzee does after using a twig to dig termites out of the dirt. “When it happened, I was pretty proud of myself for figuring it out. I just randomly tried wedging an old shell into a slit that was too tight, and then, bam!”

At press time, Sloane was seen flailing large sticks to intimidate her rivals.