science

Martian Monkey

Martian Monkey is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Martian Monkey rather than just read about it. In short: The Martian Monkey is the name given to the monkey used by Edward Watters, Tom Wilson and Arnold Payne to perpetrate a hoax in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1953. The hoax In 1953, young Atlanta barbers Edward Watters and Tom Wilson, along with butcher Arnold Payne, took a dead rhesus monkey and removed its tail, applied large doses of hair remover and used green food coloring to make the corpse of the monkey appear abnormal.

Key takeaways

Martian Monkey belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Martian Monkey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Martian Monkey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Martian Monkey is the name given to the monkey used by Edward Watters, Tom Wilson and Arnold Payne to perpetrate a hoax in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1953.

The hoax In 1953, young Atlanta barbers Edward Watters and Tom Wilson, along with butcher Arnold Payne, took a dead rhesus monkey and removed its tail, applied large doses of hair remover and used green food coloring to make the corpse of the monkey appear abnormal. They then used a blow torch to create a burning circle in the pavement. On July 8, 1953, Officer Sherley Brown came across the scene by accident and was told by the hoaxers that they had seen many creatures just like it. They claimed that they had hit the dead one with their truck and the other creatures had left in their flying saucer, which is what caused the scorch marks. The prank was played at the height of UFO hysteria in the United States. As a result, the Atlanta Police Department received constant phone calls after news of the story broke, with multiple residents adamant they had seen the flying saucer that the pranksters described. The situation was propelled further when a veterinarian agreed that the animal was not from Earth. The United States Air Force was also called in to investigate.

Hoax revealed The hoax was discovered hours after the event by Herman Jones and Emory University anatomy professor Marion Hines. They found that the anatomy of the creature was identical to that of a monkey and Hines is quoted as saying "If it came from Mars, they have monkeys on Mars." Wilson, Payne and Watters eventually admitted to the hoax. Watters was made to pay a $40 fine "for obstructing a highway."

Present day

The Martian Monkey is now on display in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation mini-museum, along with other notable items, such as an illegal moonshine still and the fibers that solved the Atlanta child murders. The exhibit is showcased along with the news report that was published at the time.

In the media Nate DiMeo retold this story in "Every Night Ever", episode 67 of his podcast The Memory Palace. The story was featured in season 6, episode 8 of the Travel Channel show Mysteries at the Museum.

References

External links Media related to Martian Monkey at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Martian Monkey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Martian Monkey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Martian Monkey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Martian Monkey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Martian Monkey

In research: Martian Monkey appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Martian Monkey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Martian Monkey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950s hoaxes, 1953 in Georgia (U.S. state), 1953 in science, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Martian Monkey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Martian Monkey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Martian Monkey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Martian Monkey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Martian Monkey in simple terms?

The Martian Monkey is the name given to the monkey used by Edward Watters, Tom Wilson and Arnold Payne to perpetrate a hoax in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1953. The hoax In 1953, young Atlanta barbers Edward Watters and Tom Wilson, along with butcher Arnold Payne, took a dead rhesus monkey and removed its…

Why does Martian Monkey matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Martian Monkey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Martian Monkey.