Unfortunately, as far as I am aware, the actual hundredth monkey case that is cited was false. Nevertheless, the phrase is still with us.
The 100th Monkey case may be an urban myth, shanks, but there is other evidence of this type of 'spontaneous learning' phenomenon, I believe.
I read of this some time ago in connection with a study of a particular species of bird in England which learned how to pry the caps off of milk bottles.* The knack spread rapidly throughout the entire population of this species.
There are other studies of this kind of 'spontaneous learning' phenomenon as well, I believe.
I will go hunting for them.
Cheers.
*Obviously, this was in the days when milkmen in horse-drawn milk trucks delivered bottled milk to doorsteps in every residential neighbourhood. That dates the research back at least 50 years, I fathom.
