Question 2 of 21

When did man begin using condiments?

... Way back in 10,000 B.C. early man used salt to flavor his meals.

Question 3 of 21

When was salt used as a form of currency?

... Roman soldiers were paid part of their salary in salt, which was a valuable commodity at the time. The word salary comes from the Latin word "salarium" meaning the quota of salt paid to Roman soldiers.

Question 4 of 21

What challenged the belief that only humans season their food?

... An experiment in the 1950s found that a certain type of monkey dipped its food in salt water.

Question 5 of 21

What are macaques?

... They are a species of Japanese monkeys that were subjects of an experiment in which they displayed a preference for salted food.

Question 6 of 21

What makes the macaques unique?

... They are the northernmost-dwelling primates. They live in the freezing subarctic region.

Question 7 of 21

What are groups of macaques called?

... They are called troops.

Question 8 of 21

Where do the female macaques prefer to hang out?

... The females prefer the high life in the trees.

Question 9 of 21

Why are the macaques considered omnivores?

... Although they usually eat plants, they also eat insects.

Question 10 of 21

How are the macaques prepared for the subarctic climate?

... They grow thick brown or gray fur.

Question 11 of 21

How would you explain behavioral learning through social interaction?

... An everyday example could be while eating at a pizzeria with friends. One person orders pepperoni, something you have never tried. Because of his obvious enjoyment, you try it, enjoy it and order it next time for yourself.

Question 12 of 21

Where was this phenomenon first observed in nature?

... In Japan in 1953, a macaque monkey dipped its food in a stream instead of just brushing off the dirt. After five years, six of the nine members of the troop washed their food.

Question 13 of 21

Twelve years later, what did researchers find?

... Food washing had been passed to new generations of macaques.

Question 14 of 21

What was an additional aspect of their behavior that surprised the researchers?

... The monkeys were not only washing the food before eating, but were repeatedly dipping the food into saltwater, leading the researchers to believe the monkeys enjoyed the salty flavor of the food.

Question 15 of 21

Why was it that not all the monkeys in the troop washed their food?

... Females of the troop adopted the habit more than older males. Bear in mind that monkeys leave the troop when they are old enough to mate, so current male members of the troop had less social integration with the original female troopers.

Question 16 of 21

How does age affect whether monkeys would wash their food?

... Younger monkeys are far more ready to try something new.

Question 17 of 21

How far has the food washing spread?

... It is confined to the macaque troop on the particular Japanese island where the experiment took place.

Question 18 of 21

What purpose does brain plasticity serve?

... The brain's ability to create new neural connections, needed for learning, enables you to acquire new skills.

Question 19 of 21

What happened when researchers tested whether the monkeys would try caramel candy?

... The younger monkeys were the first to try, with the adults following later.

Question 20 of 21

What is the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon?

... According to this theory, 99 monkeys washed their food and only when the 100th monkey did so, was a critical mass reached and the neighboring monkeys also began to wash food.

Question 21 of 21

How many monkeys are there in a macaque troop?

... A troop numbers 30 to 40.