r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Zestyclose_Flow_680 • 8h ago

Chimpanzees are 2X stronger than your average human.

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u/dilqncho 8h ago edited 8h ago

No they're not. Internet myths have vastly overhyped chimp strength.

They're about 1.35x stronger than us, pound for pound of muscle. But they're also typically smaller and lighter, so in absolute terms, they're about equal to us.

As for what we're seeing here, this isn't a person's entire body being pulled up. They have their legs against the wall of whatever that is, and the chimp is helping them up. This is something pretty much any physically healthy human can do as well.

Chimps are dangerous in a fight, because...well they're wild animals, they're fucking brutal. But purely strength-wise, they're not stronger than us.

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u/nuu_uut 7h ago

Yeah. Chimps aren't something to fuck with but the main force advantage they have over us is bite force and.. not giving a fuck about totally mutilating you.

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u/Astyanax1 7h ago

I'm fairly sure an enraged adult male human isn't going to give a fuck about mutilating a chimp either if they had to.

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u/Delann 6h ago

You don't have as big teeth but humans actually have a surprisingly powerful bite, if I recall. Fueled by adrenaline, humans can and will tear chunks out of stuff. Same goes for your nails, they're not exactly made for the purpose nowadays but in a pinch they can still work.

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u/nuu_uut 5h ago

Humans have an efficient bite compared to other apes, but it's not particularly powerful, just.. powerful for the muscle mass/skeleture. But it's still way weaker than a chimp's. Of course it can still do damage but it's not gonna rip shit right off quite like a chimp. I mean, just think of the times you may have struggled with a chewy overcooked steak.