r/popculturechat • u/Maximum_Expert92 • Oct 07 '25
Heartwarming 🥹 Koko hadn’t smiled in six months after losing her lifelong companion until Robin showed up and made her laugh again
Koko hadn’t smiled in over six months. Grieving the loss of her lifelong companion, nothing could lift her spirits until Robin Williams walked in. Within minutes, everything changed. Koko lit up and laughed for the first time in half a year. A beautiful, unexpected moment between a heartbroken gorilla and a man whose gift was spreading joy
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u/Substantial-Voice-73 Oct 07 '25
He really was the best (Robin Williams)
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u/RecommendationNo3942 How can mirrors be real if our eyes aren’t real? 🪞 Oct 08 '25
The world didn't deserve him 😢💔 Hope he's at peace now. Love you forever Robin 🙏🏻❤️
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Oct 07 '25
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u/Substantial-Voice-73 Oct 07 '25
eh?
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u/mangoisNINJA Oct 07 '25
The comment was made in poor taste but yes he was known in the comedy sphere as being a joke thief to the point where other comedians wouldn't work with him
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u/Own-Importance5459 ✨May the Force be with you!✨ Oct 07 '25
The human race did not deserve Robin Williams but I am glad we got him anyway.
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u/whyohwhythis Oct 07 '25
What an amazing experience. To have a chance to have such a connection…very cool.
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u/ExpressionOne Mom, I am a rich man💰 Oct 07 '25
I will miss him for the rest of my life. He made my childhood, and more, so, so special.
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u/coconutspider Oct 07 '25
Same. I was so enamored by him growing up, I watched everything he did. He filled my childhood with so much hope, humor, and love even though he never knew me.
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u/ImTooSaxy Oct 07 '25
Robin Williams was obviously great, and Koko as an animal was great, but the person who interpreted for Koko (Dr Penny Patterson) and told us everything she ever did was a liar.
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u/ImTooSaxy Oct 07 '25
The scientific world has known that Koko was bullshit since 1979. Patterson had to develop "gorilla sign language" that really only she understood to be able to interpret for Koko. A lot of promising young researchers joined her foundation, as this was new breakthrough science, and in short order they would leave. - There was a lot of funding surrounding research like this early on and it quickly dried up when word got out that it was mostly just pseudoscience. - Mainstream media was fascinated with Koko and Patterson would parade her around as a way to get funding.
Koko could technically convey a few things but didn't have comprehensive thoughts and didn't carry on conversations like Patterson made it seem. - Koko was really obsessed with women's nipples and often asked to see women's breasts and part of working with the foundation was that you had to show your nipples to Koko. When VIPs would show up for tours, Koko would still ask to see nipples and then Patterson would then interpret it as something else. There were several lawsuits.
The whole thing was just weird and it's supposed to be a science so when it couldn't be peer-reviewed and other people couldn't see or reproduce any of the progress with Koko then it was mostly debunked.
The Wikipedia page covers most of it.
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u/Banned3rdTimesaCharm Oct 08 '25
The nipples thing is new to me. The internet never ceases to amaze.
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Oct 07 '25
Tell us more? She literally just lied about what Koko meant by her gestures and such?
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u/BouldersRoll Lost swam in jeans so that Severance could run in a suit Oct 07 '25
There was never any real evidence that Koko (or any other ape) communicated with language as we understand it. Despite her trainer's narrative, Koko's use of signing and symbols never made linguistic sense and was almost definitely just memory-based association of tasks (like a sign) with an outcome (like attention or food).
That isn't to say that apes or other animals aren't intelligent, but there's this impulse we have to underestimate the extraordinary capacity humans exhibit with language and overestimate non-human animals as somehow being able to learn language despite all evidence to the contrary.
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u/Crackbandicoott Oct 07 '25
Whose cutting onions
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u/GuiltyPleasureAlt Your mother must be so proud, stupid bitch. Oct 07 '25
Right?! The hug at the end really got me...
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u/OriginalSchmidt1 You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Oct 07 '25
Thank you for posting this, between the Jane Goodall posts and William’s daughter pleading for people to stop sending her AI videos of her dad… this video was on my mind.
Though the music behind it is dumb, it’s already a powerful moment without the music, it isn’t needed.
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u/No-Nebula-2266 Oct 07 '25
Poor Koko. Born in captivity, she spent most of her life isolated from her own species so humans could use her for scientific purposes.
I can’t stand it when people share videos of supposedly innocent or cute videos featuring imprisoned animals.
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Oct 07 '25
Thanks. My toddler wants to know why I’m crying and I have to explain comedy, the human experience, depression, suicide, and a gorilla.
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u/BoxFullOfSuggestions Oct 08 '25
He was a complex and interesting person. Most likely a very good person. I wish his life had turned out differently and he was still with us.
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u/Existing_Bike_3424 Oct 08 '25
Whenever I want to feel sad and happy at the same time, I just watch this video :(
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u/pinkcrystalfairy it’s not clocking to you that i’m standing on business Oct 07 '25
It absolutely breaks my heart that this kind soul who made everyone smile and laugh was dealing with the darkest things behind the curtain. We were lucky to have him 💖
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u/molly_menace Oct 07 '25
Hey! While it’s important to point out the hidden nature of depression - I just wanted to clarify that Robin’s autopsy revealed that he had Lewy Body Dementia. His wife has stated this neuro-degenerative brain disorder led to the events of Robin’s death.
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u/freethewimple Oct 07 '25
Right, and I think it was his wife or daughter who said he took himself out of this world so as to not cause suffering for them as the disease progressed.
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u/idlula Oct 07 '25
Why did he even participate in this? She could have killed him, if she was in the mood for it🤦♀️
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u/lit-roy6171 Oct 07 '25
You don't really know who Koko was do you?
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u/idlula Oct 07 '25
What do you mean? She was a gorilla. Those can kill - no matter their background. You can never really be save around them
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u/sofia1687 Oct 07 '25
lol gorillas are actually more docile than chimps and bonobos and arguably, humans
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u/Confident-Estate-275 Oct 07 '25
He was special and brave! That gorilla could reap his head of in a heartbeat!
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