Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Keep Away

Here's one of my favorite Forensic Stories. It can be found as we exit the Jungle Cruise.

The joke is obvious: a dangerous animal, who’s strong enough to pry open the bars of its cage, is running loose. To me, what makes this story so special is the rope between the bars. Why is it there?

Here are some clues I’ve noticed. The rope fits the bent bars, which implies it was tied on after the escape.

The rope is also…well…rope, which is even more pliable than the bars that the orangutan was strong enough to bend. If the skippers intend to keep using this as an orangutan cage, then rope isn't the best solution.

Perhaps they can’t afford a new cage, so they figured, hey, this is better than nothing. That said, there’s an explanation I like even better: the skippers tied it on out of spite.

After all, the Jungle Cruise—and Adventureland, in general—explores the absurdity of humankind’s attempts to dominate nature. So imagine the skippers being so hurt that a wild orangutan didn’t wanna suffer the oppressions of domestication that, after it escapes, they rope up its cage.

"Fine! Leave! I just hope you enjoy your natural habitat, because you’re not welcome in our small cage any more! Boy, did you blow it, mister!"

6 comments:

  1. Anaheim's Jungle Cruise has a similar gag in the queue: a wooden crate on an upper shelf, labeled to indicate that its contents are alive and highly dangerous...but we don't know exactly what it's meant to contain, because whatever it was chewed through the part of the box where its name was stenciled when it escaped.

    It's wonderfully subtle--placed not only well above eye level, but in a part of the queue that is only used when the ride's wait time exceeds a certain level. Most people will never spot it, making it all the more rewarding for those who do. And unlike the orangutan cage, nothing indicates that the Jungle Cruise staff is even aware of the escape. This adds to the effect--you, having noticed this situation, are in possession of information that no one else has. What should you do with it? How do you inform the skippers of the breakout when you don't even know what has broken out?

    Great post as usual!

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    Replies
    1. Bahahahaha! Well-deduced!

      I'm seething with envy on behalf of Orlando's Jungle Cruise. That's such a funny story. Is there any chance you have a photo of it?

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    2. I do not, but gray matter willing, I'll get one on my next visit.

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    3. Finally managed to get that photo! What's the best way to get it to you?

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    4. Never mind, I went ahead and posted it on deviantART. Which probably says more about me than anyone needs to know.

      http://karalora.deviantart.com/art/Something-Has-Escaped-538656644

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  2. I have a suspicion that the rope has a more functional purpose. That the cage may originally have been rope-free, but the rope was added to keep guests from climbing into the cage. If that is the case, at least they took the effort to make the rope interesting to look at.

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