Monkey Business!!

 I continued to learn about the United Kingdom today! I learned that there is a village called Hartlepool elects a monkey mascot as its mayor! In 2002, there was a man actually inside a monkey costume, who won the actual mayoral race! This practice goes back to the Napoleonic wars. I learned that there was a shipwrecked monkey that locals mistook for a French spy!  This story has passed down for generations and became a part of the local history. This is what initially inspired the mascot. When the man in a monkey suit ran for mayor, locals embraced the story and he won by a landslide! To learn more about this quirky practice, watch the YouTube video or click the image below!


 




 

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