Question from Dylan T.:

Dear Geek,
Did Charles Moncky really invent the Monkey wrench?
Thanks,
Dylan

Hi Dylan,

I had to do some digging to find the answer to this question. Thanks for making me look.

There is a popular legend that a Baltimore mechanic, Charles Moncky invented the Monkey wrench in 1858. The story says that he patented the invention and then eventually sold the rights for $2,000 dollars. He, then, bought a house in upstate New York to live in later in life.

I had heard the story and believed it to be true. I loved the idea that the Monkey wrench was accidentally called that instead of the Moncky wrench. But now, I think I was wrong. A patent search proved unsuccessful when searching for patents for a Charles Moncky. No concrete evidence has ever been found that can trace the Monkey wrench to any single person. The wrench it seems is actually just a improvement of a 18th century carriage wrench.

If Moncky did not invent the wrench, the origins of the name are a complete mystery. It may have been named Monkey wrench because the jaws look slightly like the face of a monkey.

– TG

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