The chimpanzees' tea party was a form of public entertainment in which
chimpanzees were dressed in human clothes and provided with a table of food and drink.
The first such tea party was held at the
London Zoo in 1926, two years after the opening of
Monkey Hill. They were put on almost daily during the summer until they were discontinued in 1972.
[''Monsters of our own making: the peculiar pleasures of fear'' By Marina Warner. University Press of Kentucky, 2007. Page 335.] They were the inspiration for the
PG Tips television advertisements which began in 1956.
Notes
Chimpanzees
London Zoo
Animals in entertainment
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