The other day I wore one of several of my CSNW apparel items out in public. This time, a cozy grey sweater with Burrito’s face and name adorning the front. A passerby asked me very logically (in retrospect), “why does your sweater say ‘Burrito’ on it?” It took me a second to answer… In my head I was thinking, of course it says “Burrito” because that is Burrito Chimpanzee, isn’t it obvious? To that innocent bystander, a burrito is more simply a tortilla stuffed with a variety of filling and seems odd to connect to a chimpanzee face. Which I suppose it is.
Burrito was actually given the name Raj when he was born in the laboratory but it was later changed. Somewhere along the way, after all these years of knowing him, his name and face are fully fused in my mind and I literally never think about the food when I talk about him. I also can’t imagine calling him by a different name (apart from his long list of nicknames of course).
Today just so happens to be National Burrito Day. The day might technically have been created to appreciate the food, but I choose to celebrate my goofy chimpanzee friend instead. Here’s to you Mr. B!
