Nim Chimpsky Quotes

“Lucy preferred gin and tonics during the summer and switched over to whiskey sours in the winter. At dinner, a sit-down affair with the family, Lucy drank whatever the Temerlins drank, including expensive French wines. "She never gets obnoxious, even when smashed to the brink of unconsciousness," wrote Maurice, revealing more about the chimp's alcoholism than perhaps he intended. At one point, he tried to wean Lucy off the good stuff and onto Boone's Farm apple wine. Assuming she would delight in the fruity swill, he purchased a case and filled her glass one night at dinner. Lucy took a sip of the apple wine, noticed her parents were drinking something else, and put her glass down. She then graabbed Maurice's glass of Chablis and polished it off. She finished Jane's next. Not another sip of Boone's farm ever touched her lips.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

“In despair, she gave up on coercion and tried to manipulate him psychologically. When he behaved badly, she turned her back to him and began walking out of the room. The threat of abandonment made him panic. He stopped whatever he was doing and ran after Stephanie for a hug and reassurance. Nim learned to sign “sorry,” and did so often.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

“One afternoon Washoe used ASL to ask him his name. Then she made up a sign for Bob: the index and middle fingers rubbed along the right eyebrow. Ingersoll liked it and taught the younger chimps to sign his name the same way.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

“Byrne had an inspiration. He called Nim over, put the ointment on Nim's hand, and asked him, in plain English, to put it on Midge's wound. Nim promptly walked over to Midge, slathered the ointment on his ankle, and in doing so broke the ice between them.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

“Falitz began running seminars for the group, but she never understood why Terrace was hiring people who did not know ASL for an ASL project. Wambach's criticism went further. She thought that Nim should have been raised in a deaf family from infancy. Giving him to the LaFarges was like putting a child in an Italian family to learn German.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

“Wambach's concerns raised questions about the impact that deaf signers could have on Project Nim, and perhaps inadvertently about how Terrace's study might compare with the work done by the Gardners in Nevada, who had expressly designed their experiments to include deaf signers. Simply having Falitz sign at the weekly meetings and interpret for Wambach in the discussions brought a new dimension to their work. Wambach was not particularly critical of Terrace, who was older and far more established than she, but she wanted the staff to have a better understanding of the world of deaf speakers—those who used ASL because they needed a language.
Thanks to Wambach, the chimp project began attracting deaf volunteers (including one who is remembered for having love and hate tattooed on his knuckles), who formed a small subculture within Terrace's staff. In an attempt to bridge these two worlds, one night the deaf volunteers arranged to plug up the ears of the hearing staff and take them out to a restaurant for dinner. They were instructed to communicate exclusively in ASL from the moment the plugs were placed in their ears on the way to the restaurant, during the meal, and all the way back to Delafield. The hearing group found the experience to be a terrible struggle. But what made an indelible impression on Johnson was the way that everybody in the restaurant spoke really slowly and loudly to them, treating them as if they were all mentally incapacitated.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

“When visitors toured through IPS, Lemmon encouraged the chimps to perform. The most common trick among them was a cigarette gag. The chimps all liked to smoke, but a few put the lit end of the cigarette into their mouths as if they were making a dumb mistake, and then proceeded to take a long deep drag. First-time visitors always gasped, a response that all the chimps found highly amusing.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human

“[...] the chimps had many empty hours to fill. Time can seem endless and often cruel for caged animals.
Nim and Sally did have some diversions in their enclosure: a small television set, rarely watched; a tire swing; a basketball set; and a variety of allegedly indestructible toys. But the chimps mainly passed the time interacting with each other—grooming, cuddling, playing, chasing. When occasional squabbles erupted, their high-pitched screeches could be heard from a distance. Minutes later the couple would make up and hug. Nim was frequently seen signing “sorry” to Sally, who always forgave her close friend.
On his own, Nim spent hours flipping through the pages of old magazines, seeming particularly diverted by images of people. The magazines, which Nim tore to shreds, were swept away at the end of each day and replaced by new ones in the morning. But he did manage to keep two children's books intact—no small accomplishment. His prize possessions, they were carefully tucked away in the loft area of his cage. (WER would have appreciated Nim's affection for books.) During the day, Nim brought the books down from the loft and pored over them intently, as if studying for an exam. One was a Sesame Street book with an illustrated section on how to learn ASL. The other was in essence his personal photo album from his New York years, a battered copy of The Story of Nim: The Chimp Who Learned Language, published in 1980. In it, dozens of black-and-white photographs of Nim— with Terrace, LaFarge, Petitto, Butler, and a handful of others—tell the story of his childhood (or an idealized version of it) from his infancy to his return to Oklahoma. Nim appears dressed in little-boy clothes, doing household chores, and learning his first signs. The book ends with a photo of Nim and Mac playing together, cage-free, in Oklahoma. The accompanying text explains that Nim is a chimpanzee, not a human, which was why he had been sent back to IPS.”
― Elizabeth Hess, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human