How to keep monkeys from taking your coffee cups

Bachmann's Store prides itself in being the place where you can find exactly what you need, especially after you've looked around the world with no luck. We like to say, "If we don't have it, you don't need it!"

On a recent busy Saturday, a customer asked if we have carabiners--you know, those little clips that people use for keychains and mountain climbing. OF COURSE, we have both kinds. She tested both and selected the lighter-weight model.

After she purchased five, we had to ask. Turns out, the lady lives in Zimbabwe and is desperate to find a way to keep pesky monkeys from stealing her coffee cups.

Her ingenious solution is to hang a clotheline in her kitchen, then suspend the cups using carabiners. It kind of reminds me of how so many of our customers develop diabolical schemes to keep squirrels out of their birdfeeders or ducks off their docks. And we know how that usually goes...

So right now I'm imagining carabiners from Bachmann's Store under the bright African sun, holding coffee cups hostage. I'm picturing monkeys enjoying the challenge, just like our squirrels and ducks do. After investigating the situation one monkey uses his handy-dandy opposable thumb to squeeze the carabiner. HEY!

Onto Plan B?

(The photograph is a dramatic re-enactment of a possible scenario involving monkeys, carabiners, and coffee cups. Many thanks to Logan for his assistance and his willingness to be the fourth monkey.)