

Stalin's Human-Ape Hybrids - zizee
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4219

======
zizee
I was driving to the beach with my wife and the question of whether it was
possible to create a half-human, half ape hybrid (much like a liger or mule)
popped into my head.

I thought that someone must have tried it out* so a quick google came up with
this fascinating piece of history.

*my theory is that just about anything you think of, someone has probably given it a go.

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gioele
I have rarely seen such a well written and well researched report. As readable
as a tabloid article and as well researched and solidly referenced as a good
academic paper.

This is how all articles that deal with facts should be written.

(The comments kind of ruin this good experience, but that is not the author's
fault.)

~~~
jarek-foksa
Yup, this also reminds me articles that used to be showing up on Damn
Interesting (<http://www.damninteresting.com/category/greatest-hits/>) few
years ago. Too bad they haven't touched this subject.

------
zizee
_By 1929, the plan was to have five women be artificially inseminated, and
then live at Ivanov's institute with a gynecologist for one full year. But
just as the first woman volunteer was secured, known only to history as "G",
Tarzan died._

What a lucky lady!

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majmun
I believe if brainless working force as considerable factor in economy was
possible by cross breading apes and humans then this would already be done.
But it is not done because it is useless. AFAIK mankind successfully cross
bread species more distinct than humans and apes.

~~~
nivertech
This will never happen while we have cheap human workforce (like those working
for Foxconn). And even then, I'll prefer robots to Humanzees.

~~~
troels
Presumably, the benefit of a hybrid would be that it is as resourceful as a
human, but can be treated as bad as an ape.

I don't have a source at hand, but I'm fairly sure that there is good evidence
to support that slavery is a less effective workforce than cheap labour is, by
far.

------
zizee
This raises an interesting question: what sort of rights a Human-Ape hybrid
would have. Is it an animal, or a human?

~~~
wazoox
There's a nice 1952 novel on this subject:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Animaux_d%C3%A9natur%C3%A9s>

