A “Parliament” of baboons?
Nice story, except it’s rubbish
Hard on the heels of the fake “Zuma party” email another twisted piece of fake news hit my inbox yesterday. Crafted by a skilled propagandist, it contains just enough truth to appear believable.
The mail starts off innocently, giving descriptions for groups of creatures – a herd of cows, school of fish, pride of lions, gaggle of geese and so on. Then the author claims lesser known terms like a “murder” of crows and an “exaltation” of doves. The first is dodgy as it derives from an Edgar Allan Poe story; the second downright false. Doves can be called a dule, group or flock, but never a exaltation – that’s a description from a book about larks.
But the author’s punchline shows where the intention was always heading. The anonymous correspondent of this widely circulated email writes: “Now consider a group of baboons … the loudest, most obnoxious, least intelligent of all primates…And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Believe it or not … a Parliament.”
Believe it or not . . . a Congress!"
"We are all familiar with a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese," the e-mail begins. "However, less widely known is a pride of lions, a murder of crows (as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens), an exaltation of doves and, presumably because they look so wise, a parliament of owls.
"Now consider a group of baboons. They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Believe it or not ... a Congress! I guess that pretty much explains the things that come out of Washington!"
We at PolitiFact have learned from experience to be skeptical of anything we see in the contagion of e-mails we receive. But we wondered, since we're always skeptical of our own skepticism, could this just be a joke, or could this little tidbit be true?
A congress of baboons?
Hargraves was correct. Baboons apparently behave far better than most humans, especially those in Congress
Yesterday, I received one of those chain e-mails that seem to touch on the truth and strike the funny bone:
- “We are all familiar with a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a school of fish, and a gaggle of geese. However, less widely known are a pride of lions, a murder of crows (as well as their cousins, the rooks and ravens), an exaltation of doves. And, presumably because they look so wise, a parliament of owls.
- Now consider a group of baboons. Baboons are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive, and least intelligent of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Believe it or not, a congress! That pretty much explains the things that come out of Washington! You just can’t make this stuff up.”
I really wanted to believe this. It would make a great lead-in to a story about the latest shenanigans of that esteemed body (occasional trumped by a Supreme Court decision). However, it’s not true. I checked it out on The Providence Journal Politifact website to be sure, and my hopes were crushed. However, Politifact found out a good deal more, which almost makes up for the disappointment. They consulted several experts, and found that the president of the Dictionary Society of North America, Orin Hargraves, could find no evidence that congress is the correct term. “Apparently someone just made it up,” he told Politifact. “It has the ring of truthiness and so people like it. They do behave like the caricature of the baboons, but I think real baboons probably behave a lot better.”
The Term for a Group of Baboons
A popular meme contains a picture with several baboons playing in the snow captioned: "Did you know that a large group of baboons is called a Congress?"
As the meme goes on to explain:
- "We are all familiar with a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese. However, less widely known is a pride of lions, a murder of crows (as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens), an exaltation of doves and, presumably because they look so wise, a parliament of owls.
- "Now consider a group of baboons. They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates. And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Believe it or not ... a Congress! I guess that pretty much explains the things that come out of Washington!"
The meme does explain one thing - The person who posted or sent it does not know what a large group of baboons is called.
What is a group of baboons?
I’m a sucker for trivia questions. My head is full of obscure and useless information, and my friends are always trying to test my knowledge of such. Just recently, a friend said he had a great trivia question for me. “I have a great trivia question for you,” he said. “Do you know what you call a group of baboons?” I didn’t. But I was determined to come up with an answer. I have a reputation to protect, you understand. I couldn’t be that difficult, I thought. I’ve always liked learning the collective nouns that are used to describe a group of a certain kind of animal. So many of the collective nouns are obvious.
We’ve all heard of a pack of dogs, a herd of cattle, a school of fish and a barrel of monkeys. But a lot of collectives aren’t so obvious, and those are the ones I like the best. Did you know, for instance, that a collection of buzzards is called “a wake?” What about a group of eels? It’s “a seething.” The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the answer couldn’t be an obvious one. Why would my friend think it was such a great trivia question if the answer were “a pack of baboons?” Perhaps, I thought, the answer is alliterative. Many collectives, such as a gaggle of geese, start with the same consonant as the name of the animal. Those are fun, too. I’ve always liked a flamboyance of flamingoes, a prickle of porcupines, a coalition of cheetahs and a pandemonium of parrots. But “band of baboons” didn’t sound exciting enough to be the answer, either, so I turned to another theory. Maybe it has a military tone, I thought – an army of ants, a corps of giraffes, a squadron of pelicans. It made some sense. All the gorillas in the “Planet of the Apes” movies were the military types, and baboons sort of resemble gorillas. Besides, “a battalion of baboons” is both militaristic and alliterative. It kills two birds with one stone, so to speak. But my friend was quick to point out the error of my ways. “Wrong!” he said, almost gleefully.
So I moved on. Some of the most interesting collectives are those that somehow give a visual image of the animal. For instance, a bunch of butterflies is called “a kaleidoscope,” which perfectly describes what it looks like when butterflies are swarming around together. A collection of cockroaches is called “an intrusion.” A large number of gnats is called “a cloud.” A group of hyenas is called “a cackle.” But I couldn’t quite put my finger on a noun that describes a baboon. I knew “an ugly of baboons” wasn’t right. I began to think the answer was something that was completely made up. Despite my best efforts, I was drawing a blank. “Do you give up?” my friend asked. I did. Reluctantly. “It’s a congress,” he said. “A congress of baboons.” At first, I didn’t believe him. So I looked it up. In fact, a collection of baboons can be called either a “flange” or a “troop.” But it is also called a congress of baboons. In retrospect, it certainly makes sense. At the very least, it explains all the monkeying around that’s going on in Washington.
yoyomaa PRO 24 Sep 15
It is a myth that a group of baboons is called a "Congress." There was a political email chain that circulated a few years ago that made this claim. A "congress" can be a meeting or session of any group. However, according to most scientific-related sites, a group of baboons is actually called a Troop.
A Congress of Baboons (and An Ouch of Dentists)
We’ve all heard of A SWARM OF BEES and A HERD OF ELEPHANTS. But how many of us are familiar with A MISCHIEF OF MICE, A MURDER OF CROWS, or A CONGRESS OF BABOONS?
These tribal pluralities aren't just amusing and provocative – they enrich our language. Author Clifford Irving has collected his favorites – and then gone a significant step further by adding his own examples from the species of homo sapiens.
He reasoned this way: if the residents of a pond are called by the herpetologist AN ARMY OF FROGS, why couldn’t a gang of state troopers constitute A PULLOVER? And why not AN OUCH OF DENTISTS?
A Congress of Baboons makes sense
So what do baboons and Congress have to do with each other? Apparently nothing.
That's right, a viral image you may have seen floating around Facebook relating baboons to our government is wrong. In fact, this isn't the first time this false image has made the rounds. Politifact.com, a website dedicated to fact-checking all things politics, took it upon themselves to find out for sure back in 2012.
They turned to a lexicographer and some prominent scientists for answers. Sure enough, a group of baboons is sometimes called a rumpus and most often a troop, but never a congress. Whoever made the meme in the first place was either mistaken or just trying to mess with a lot of gullible people.
A Congress of Baboons
SOMETIMES I WONDER HOW DIFFERENT GROUPS OF ANIMALS GOT THEIR NAMES. THINK ABOUT IT, A GROUP OF QUAIL IS CALLED A COVEY, A GAGGLE OF GEESE, A MOB OF SHEEP, A TRIBE OF GOATS, ALL OF THESE LEAVE ME SCRATCHING MY HEAD. NOW THE ONE GROUP NAME THAT IS MOST FITTING AND UNDERSTANDABLE EVEN TO A SCHOOL CHILD IS A "CONGRESS" OF BABOONS! NOTHING BUT BLOATED A$$HOLES THERE! THERE IS A LESSON TO BE HAD HERE. NEVER ELECT A SITTING GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL TO THE NATION'S HIGHEST OFFICE. THEY ARE ALL INFECTED WITH THAT INCURABLE DISEASE OF ASSHOLEITIS!
David Wolfe July 14, 2016
Wow so this is the real problem for these animals now trying as not corrupt and traying to stay clear of the other Congress Corrupt animals.
What Is A Group Of Baboons Called?
A “Parliament” is indeed used to describe a group of creatures – but for owls. which represent wisdom and knowledge in many cultures.
I love collective nouns.
