Comments on: The Curious Case of Mr. Holmes and the Mystery Ape

By: red_pill_junkie

red_pill_junkie — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:50:38 +0000

The game is afoot!

By: Artist

Artist — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:16:47 +0000

I’m thinking Swamp Gas.
Or otter.

By: Alligator

Alligator — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 07:35:52 +0000

I’d almost make a friendly wager that if the truth about this incident comes out we will find:
1) The media got their facts out of sequence.
2) The media misquoted the witnesses trying to “gin up” a little more controversy.
3) Someone had an orang, illegally.
4) Points 1 and 2 again.

I’ve seen the media botch reporting on low-key events where prepared statements were read and copies distributed to the press to ensure accuracy. And you still come out looking like a dolt in the next edition of the paper. A cousin who is a journalism teacher told me it is getting harder to teach, students are just sloppier and looking for shortcuts. There are so many media outlets now, everyone is quick in their reports and going for the big scoop before their competitor so stuff gets aired that wouldn’t have 20 years ago.

By: Atticus

Atticus — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:41:44 +0000

If this bear trap was placed after the statement about a well fed fox squirrel, then it would seem that it may have been a wipe after all.

A bear trap is definitely an extreme way to capture a squirrel or even an Orang.Baited with apples and bananas doesnt seem like usual squirrel bait either.

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:39:49 +0000

Nice Eastwood quote there, NightFlight. Not his best movies, but memorable nevertheless.

Doesn’t surprise me about the apparent inconsistencies between Mr. Holmes actual statements and the media interpretation of them. Like some else said in here, the media always wants to maintain the “status quo” and will take any new piece of information that challenges the paradigm and “spin” it so it maintains the status quo. I guess they feel people could “panic.” I guess they think that.

The “Abbey Grange” story is considered one of the best Holmes stories, BTW. (I’m saying this as an English Major and Holmes fan.) It comes after Doyle “resurrected” him after the Reichenbach story due to pressure from the public. Unfortunately, the stories AFTER he “came back” are almost always acknowledged to be of poorer quality than the pre-”death” ones. “Abbey Grange” and a couple of other ones are the exception. After he came back from the dead he became an abetter of crimes and letting-go-of-murderers-because-they-”deserved” it, so to speak. Totally unimportant to the discussion here, but I couldn’t help it. The literature wonk in me was temporarily awakened. Sorry, Loren.
My favorite quote by Sherlock Holmes is—

“When one has eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, is the truth.”

I’m paraphrasing from memory, of course.

Applies neatly to this whole situation. People are always more ready to believe the “impossible” than the “improbable” for some reason.

Anyway, to get back to the subject—

Hope you do reach Ms. Thomas and Mr. Holmes, Loren. They could certainly help clear up this mystery…

The Game Is Afoot, Watson!!!

By: DARHOP

DARHOP — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:34:24 +0000

NightFlight responds:
November 19th, 2007 at 10:41 am
“Right turn, Clyde.” Where’s Mr. Eastwood when you need him?

Thats funny!

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:07:03 +0000

I hadn’t mentioned it earlier, but a possible explanation for the squirrel theory may point to it relating solely to the donuts. Perhaps Holmes was simply saying that the nibbling on the donuts was inconsistent with an Orangutan, but likely to have been from a squirrel. Both are red, so maybe the reporter jumped to a further conclusion. The thought process would be something like this- “Something red up a tree. Something nibbled on the donuts. Those somethings must be the same thing. Guy says squirrel nibbled on donuts. Squirrels are red. Therefore, the red thing up a tree was a squirrel.” Simplistic, but understandable.

By: bill green

bill green — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:01:57 +0000

this is a very informative new article about the curious case of mr. holmes & the mystery ape. im sure there will be more sightings of this mystery ape in weeks to come. thanks bill green

By: old crow

old crow — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:42:55 +0000

Bear trap seems a little extreme for either an Orang. or a fox squirrel. Very interesting indeed.

Oh and I thought that “orangutan” were on the endangered list. Hmmm.

By: NightFlight

NightFlight — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:41:44 +0000

“Right turn, Clyde.” Where’s Mr. Eastwood when you need him?