The caption for this photograph in Macfadden Fiction-lovers Magazine (1905) read: “THE NOVELTY OF THE TYPEWRITER KEPT POLLY QUIET FOR A FEW SECONDS.”
As noted in a previous post, the infinite monkey theorem — that, given enough time, a monkey will be able to type the complete works of Shakespeare — is just not possible for a simple reason: not enough time (and certainly there would be an attention issue as well). Reports the BBC, “[A] new peer-reviewed study led by Sydney-based researchers Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta has found that the time it would take for a typing monkey to replicate Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets and poems would be longer than the lifespan of our universe.”
In the 1940s, Captain G.B. Rimington “trained” a chimpanzee to type, coaxing the animal (Lucy or Mabel, depending on accounts) with bananas and limiting the typewriter’s functionality to the keys “he wanted Lucy to use.” The chimp was apparently able to type short words, but nothing close to a line of Shakespeare.
Probably the earliest primate to adopt the typewriter was Miss Tony, who, upon her death in 1909, was noted for playing the piano and operating a typewriter.
You looking at me? Hey, I’m typing here.
Explanation of blog title –
- Rimington = Captain Rimington not Remington Typewriter Company
- Typewriter = typist (anachronistic in the 1940s).
Another “Rimington,” connected to typewriters, can be found here.
The Start Independent (Pennsylvania), February 9, 1909 –
The Crown Colonist (London), August 1946 –
Captain G.B. Rimington a retired Kenya District Commissioner and a well known amateur wild animal trainer has been broadcasting to Kenya listeners about his famous chimpanzee the late Lucy. He told them how by tying down all keys on a typewriter keyboard except the ones he wanted Lucy to use and then bribing her with bananas he succeeded in making her the only typing chimpanzee in the world Captain Rimington’s other animal pupils have included an ostrich and a giraffe also a zebra which he trained for polo.
© 2026, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.
I think the mathematical concept of “enough time” in the infinite monkey theorem means a finite time span, no matter how long. It is assumed that time is infinite, so there is no limit on how long a finite time span may be. That’s a questionable assumption, but if we accept it, then it’s irrelevant that the time required would be longer than the lifespan of our universe. If it takes a googleplex of millennia, so be it!
The possibility of things is staggering!