Thrill at the Monkey Speedway!

My brother sent along some information today. He's researching a Chicago mystery involving a submarine, and that submarine ended up making the rounds at a carnival. What caught his eye is that it was replaced by a Monkey Speedway. That's right, a Monkey Speedway.

I did some research of my own and, yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. They would basically strap monkeys into little cars and drive them around a racetrack. Fantastic.

There's a really big part of me that feels awful for the poor little monkeys. They didn't actually control the cars (obviously), they were just being sped around against their will. And carnie life isn't great for humans; it can't have been better for a monkey. While maybe not on par with dog fighting, this was still fairly cruel treatment. And still...

There's also a part of me that thinks this sounds like the best thing ever. I would totally pay to watch monkeys drive cars around a track. I absolutely abhor NASCAR, but put a monkey behind the wheel (see Jocko Flocko) and I would be first in line. Monkeys acting like people- is there anything more entertaining? I feel like I should be ashamed for wanting to see this so badly...but I'm not.

Cheers.
Eli