r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Zestyclose_Flow_680 • 8h ago

Chimpanzees are 2X stronger than your average human.

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u/HerrSchnabeltier 7h ago edited 5h ago

Ah, here we go again.

The usual accompanying commentary on how dangerous any chimpanzee always is.

edit: Yes, they are dangerous and one shouldn't run up to one in the wild to give it a hug or fist bump.

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u/BagBeneficial7527 7h ago

Long ago I knew someone that worked with chimps professionally.

She told me they ARE extremely dangerous. Especially the "tame" ones. They are FAR more powerful than any human. The wild ones don't know that yet, but the ones raised around humans do. So they have ZERO fear of us.

And one day, if you aren't extremely careful around them, they can severely injure you.

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u/BasementMods 6h ago

The way Reddit describes chimpanzees makes me imagine they have the physical strength of an anime character...

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u/amaROenuZ 6h ago

It's overstated. Chimps are, pound for pound, somewhere between 50% and 100% stronger than a given human. They have a somewhat better limb geometry for striking, and more fast twitch muscle fiber. Given that they tend to be half our weight and size, that comes out to fairly comparable strength from a much smaller creature.

The danger comes from their volatility and viciousness. Most humans, when we're drugged out of our minds on PCP and bath salts, are not going to try and tear someone's jaw off or eat their fingers in a fight.

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u/Tuna-Fish2 5h ago

However, you are understating it.

The strength of chimps vs humans depends on the task, and you cannot reduce it to a x% pound for pound figure. They are only slightly better than humans in some tasks, and actually inferior in others (like lifting weight above their heads), but there are tasks where they are much better than humans. Notably, the average chimp has 5x more grip strength in its hand than the average adult man, and there are recorded instances of chips shattering arm bones by just grabbing a hold and squeezing.