History Main / MonkeysOnATypewriter

While they are part of the most common descriptions of this idea, versions involving "thousands" or "millions" of monkeys may confuse someone into thinking there is some kind of ''practical'' possibility of producing Shakespeare with monkeys, if we could only wait for a few million years. Some paraphrases of the problem even forget to mention the "eventually" or "infinite" part and say that you just need "a million monkeys for a million years". In fact, even if you replaced every atom in the universe with a monkey and a typewriter, and they all typed a thousand characters per second, the odds of their producing ''{{Hamlet}}'' (as well as the odds of any other specific text of the same length) within an [[SelfDemonstratingArticle dsafljcxzillion ancjlaeladhaclaketlillion years]] are still incomprehensibly ''low''. However, such huge quantities of monkeys and time are no match for '''infinity''', which is where the magic happens.

One common joke is to assume that the number of monkeys required to write something is proportional to its artistic merit, so Shakespeare might take a million monkeys a million years, but three monkeys could write ''AtlantaNights'' in half a day. This isn't actually true (in fact, all that matters is the length of the thing that the monkeys are replicating), but it is [[RuleOfFunny funny]]. When we start throwing infinity in it (which is implied by the "eventually" in the first sentence of this page), then either one monkey is enough given an infinite time, or among infinite monkeys typing (for example) 400 pages each, one will type a particular 400-page text on the first try.

* ''TheColbertReport'' has a segment about how many different monkeys it takes to produce different authors' works. Apparently it's a million monkeys typing for all eternity to get Shakespeare, ten thousand drunk monkeys typing for ten thousand years to get [[Creator/ErnestHemingway Hemingway]], and ten monkeys for three days to get DanBrown.

* The "Infinite Monkeys" arc of ''{{Goats}}''.
* ''UserFriendly'': "[[http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20051201 These Terrans are sharp.]]"
* SchlockMercenary, in the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Big Haunted Battleship]] Arc, eventually leads to Kevin claiming to cite this trope, but with the "Great works of Howard Tayler." [[TakeThatMe The narrator claims this can actually be done with 3 monkeys in 15 minutes]].

* In ''TheSimpsons'', C. Montgomery Burns has a bunch of monkeys at typewriters.
-->This is a thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters. Soon they will have written the greatest novel known to man. ''(takes paper)'' Let's see..." It was the best of times, it was the '''blurst''' of times!?!" You stupid monkey!
** Also from the episode, "Children of a Lesser Clod."

* In the ''FamilyGuy'' episode "The King is Dead", Peter uses a monkeys-on-typewriters reference to belittle the importance of art. This is followed by a scene in which several monkeys argue over which flower would best fit in the "rose by any other name" line from ''RomeoAndJuliet''.
* In ''PhineasAndFerb'', "Cliptastic Countdown" combines this with WhoWritesThisCrap. Major Monogram demands who wrote the lines, to which Carl the intern replies, "Agent M, sir." We then see a monkey in a fedora at a typewriter, causing Dr. Doofenshmirtz to complain how [[WhatAreRecords none of the kids watching will know what a typewriter is]]. Monogram tries to excuse it by say it was cheaper that way, but Doof just continues ranting on the point that they would have to find a typewriter from an antiques dealer.

* In ''{{Dilbert}}'':

Robert Wilensky complemented this with the statement that "Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true." See also The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem Other]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem_in_popular_culture Wiki]].

* BobNewhart had a comedy routine where this experiment was actually being run, and he was one of the monkey handlers. It ended with, "To be, or not to be? That is the gzornnplat."

While they are part of the most common descriptions of this idea, versions involving "thousands" or "millions" of monkeys may confuse someone into thinking there is some kind of ''practical'' possibility of producing Shakespeare with monkeys, if we could only wait for a few million years. Some paraphrases of the problem even forget to mention the "eventually" or "infinite" part and say that you just need "a million monkeys for a million years". In fact, even if you replaced every atom in the universe with a monkey and a typewriter, and they all typed a thousand characters per second, the odds of their producing ''{{Hamlet}}'' (as well as the odds of any other specific text of the same length) within an octillion octillion years are still incomprehensibly ''low''. However, such huge quantities of monkeys and time are no match for '''infinity''', which is where the magic happens.

* The band Chumbawumba were supposedly named after a word typed by a monkey when somebody actually tried to do this in real life.

* From ''TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': After Arthur and Ford are rescued from virtually certain death from asphyxiation in interstellar space, there is a sequence of bizarrely improbable events on board the ship that rescued them-- because the ship is powered by the Infinite Improbability Generator. One of these events is Arthur and Ford being approached by "an infinite number of monkeys who want to talk to us about this script for ''Hamlet'' they've worked out."

--> -- '''TheyMightBeGiants''', ''We Live in a Dump''

* Alluded to in MattRuff's first novel, ''FoolOnTheHill'', which is otherwise chock full o' playing with trope.

* In ''GulliversTravels'', one of the absurd inventions created by the [[CloudCuckoolander Laputan]] [[TVGenius intellectuals]] is a device for randomly combining words so that "the most ignorant person, at a reasonable charge, and with a little bodily labour, might write books in philosophy, poetry, politics, laws, mathematics, and theology, without the least assistance from genius or study".

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* Done by the Goliath Corporation in the ''ThursdayNext'' books, but they considerably improve the odds by using (imperfect) clones of Shakespeare instead of monkeys.

* ''TheColbertReport'' has a segment about how many different monkeys it takes to produce different authors' works. Apparently it's a million monkeys typing for all eternity to get Shakespeare, ten thousand drunk monkeys typing for ten thousand years to get [[Creator/ErnestHemingway Hemingway]], and ten monkeys for three days to get DanBrown.
* In one episode of ''MuppetsTonight'', we learn that the show's scripters are actual Muppet monkeys, mindlessly pounding at typewriters going "Ook-ack-ook!". Once they come up with a satisfactory script, Kermit lets them [[TwoThousandOne go touch the monolith]].
-->'''Kermit:''' I'll never know what they see in that thing.
* ''MockTheWeek'' - ''Unlikely Things to hear on a History Documentary''
--> "On Time Team tonight, we're in Stratford on Avon, where we've uncovered loads of monkey skeletons and some typewriters."

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* Referenced in a ''{{Foxtrot}}'' strip where Peter gets a program to assemble random letters, his logic being that if you put enough monkeys on typewriters to produce Hamlet, then you can surely use a random letter generator to create a Hamlet book report. Paige then asks about one page which is even more nonsensical that turns out to have been Peter's attempt.

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While they are part of the most common descriptions of this idea, versions involving "thousands" or "millions" of monkeys may confuse someone into thinking there is some kind of ''practical'' possibility of producing Shakespeare with monkeys, if we could only wait for a few million years. Some paraphrases of the problem even forget to mention the "eventually" or "infinite" part and say that you just need "a million monkeys for a million years". In fact, even if you replaced every atom in the universe with a monkey and a typewriter, and they all typed a thousand characters per second, the odds of their producing ''{{Hamlet}}'' (as well as the odds of any other specific text of the same length) within an octillion octillion years are still incomprehensibly ''low''. However, such huge quantities of monkeys and time are no match for '''infinity''', which is where the magic happens.

The point is that the monkeys are flailing at the keys without understanding the point of the machine. Given enough time or enough monkeys, or both, one of them will accidently hit the keys in the order "[shift]T-o[space]b-e[comma][space]o-r[space]n-o-t[space]t-o[space]b-e..." There is also some non-infinite yet unimaginably large number of years within which typing ''{{Hamlet}}'' has a probability of 99%, but the chance still doesn't reach 100% until infinity.

* ''{{Paper Towns}}''. Q to Ben: "Getting you a date to prom is so hard that a thousand monkeys typing at a thousand typewriters for a thousand years would never once type ''I will go to prom with Ben.''

* ''TheColbertReport'' has a segment about how many different monkeys it takes to produce different authors' works. Apparently it's a million monkeys typing for all eternity to get Shakespeare, ten thousand drunk monkeys typing for ten thousand years to get [[ErnestHemingway Hemingway]], and ten monkeys for three days to get DanBrown.

^ This was actually tried in the Paignton Zoo in Devon in 2002, where six macaques were given free access to a (protected) computer. Their initial reaction was to pee on it or bash it with a rock; but in time they did start to get the hang of typing. After several months the results were several pages of gibberish, but the letter ''S'' as in ''Shakespeare'' was more prominent than others.

* The ''{{Histeria}}'' episode "Super Writers" has a short sketch about this.

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->Hanging out while the monkeys type away...
--> -- TheyMightBeGiants, ''We Live in a Dump''

While they are part of the most common descriptions of this idea, versions involving "thousands" or "millions" of monkeys may confuse someone into thinking there is some kind of ''practical'' possibility of producing Shakespeare with monkeys, if we could only wait for a few million years. Some paraphrases of the problem even forget to mention the "eventually" or "infinite" part and say that you just need "a million monkeys for a million years". In fact, even if you replaced every atom in the universe with a monkey and a typewriter, and they all typed a thousand characters per second, the odds of their producing ''{{Hamlet}}'' (as well as the odds of any other specific text of the same length) within an octillion octillion years are still incomprehensibly ''low''. However, such huge quantities of monkeys and time are no match for '''infinity''', which is where the magic happens. (There is also some non-infinite yet unimaginably large number of years within which typing Hamlet has a probability of 99%, but the chance still doesn't reach 100% until infinity.)

* SchlockMercenary, in the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Big Haunted Battleship]] Arc, eventaully leads to Kevin claiming to cite this trope, but with the "Great works of Howard Tayler." [[TakeThatMe The narrator claims this can actually be done with 3 monkeys in 15 minutes]].

* In ''PhineasAndFerb'', "Cliptastic Countdown" combines this with WhoWritesThisCrap. Major Monogram demands who wrote the lines, to which Carlthe intern replies, "Agent M, sir." We then see a monkey in a fedora at a typewriter, causing Dr. Doofenshmirtz to complain how none of the kids watching will know what a typewriter is.

-->'''Krusty''': Now, every year we find one good Samaritan so deserving that not recognizing him would make Santa Claus himself vomit with rage...mmm... [[WhoWritesThisCrap who writes this stuff?]]
-->''(Cut to Mr. Teeny on a typewriter.)''
-->'''Mr. Teeny''': ''(subtitles)'' [[DancingBear I think it's remarkable I wrote anything.]]

* In ''GulliversTravels'', one of the absurd inventions created by the [[CloudCuckoolander Laputan]] [[TVGenius intellecutals]] is a device for randomly combining words so that "the most ignorant person, at a reasonable charge, and with a little bodily labour, might write books in philosophy, poetry, politics, laws, mathematics, and theology, without the least assistance from genius or study".

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-->This is a thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters. Soon they will have written the greatest novel known to man. ''(takes paper)'' Lets see..." It was the best of times, it was the '''blurst''' of times!?!" You stupid monkey!

-->This is a thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters. Soon they will have written the greatest novel known to man. ''takes paper'' Lets see..."It was the best of times, it was the '''blurst''' of times!?!" You stupid monkey!

--> -- TheyMightBeGiants, ''We Live in a Dump''

Robert Wilensky complemented this with the statement that "Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true." See also The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem Other]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem_in_popular_culture Wiki]].

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* From ''TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': After Arthur and Ford are rescued from virtually certain death from asphyxiation in interstellar space, there is a sequence of bizarrely improbable events on board the ship that rescued them-- because the ship is powered by the Infinite Improbability Generator. One of these events is Arthur and Ford being approached by "an infinite number of monkeys who want to talk to us about this script for ''Hamlet'' they've worked out."

* RALafferty once wrote a story referencing this idea. At the end of a vast span of time it seems that the monkeys have finally got it right, until someone notices a tiny error...

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* Referenced in a ''{{Foxtrot}}'' strip where Peter gets a program to assemble random letters, his logic being that if you put enough monkeys on typewriters to produce Hamlet, then you can surely use a random letter generator to create a Hamlet book report. Paige then asks about one page which is even more nonsensical that turns out to have been Peter's attempt.

** The title character writes a poem, and Dogbert says something along the lines of "You know, an infinite number of monkeys in an infinite amount of time could type out the complete works of Shakespeare. Your poem? Three monkeys, ten minutes."

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-->This is a thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters. Soon they will have written the greatest novel known to man. ''takes paper'' Lets see..."It was the best of times, it was the '''blurst''' of times!?!" You stupid monkey!

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