Monkey Business

In 1705 Britain was at war with France. One morning on the beach of West Hartlepool, England, the villagers watched in amazement as a hairy stranger climbed out of a rowboat. The odd-looking creature jabbered unintelligibly. The stranger was actually an ape, previously the mascot of a wrecked ship. The villagers were not at all familiar with apes. They court-martialed the beast, found it guilty, and hanged it as a French spy.