Let's talk space monkeys.
The world wasn't quite sure what to make of Iran's declaration that it had shot a monkey 75 miles above the earth and successfully brought it back down to safety.
The United States, for example, was mostly concerned with national security issues.
"If they have launched anything using ballistic missile technology, it's of serious concern," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
Meanwhile, the rest of the international community was focused on Iran's rejection of an offer to reconvene stalled negotiations over its nuclear program.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), of course, was worried about the monkey.
"We are appalled by photos of a visibly terrified monkey crudely strapped into a restraint device in which he was allegedly launched into space," said the organization in a statement.
It seems like everyone was so caught up in declarations and images that no one stopped to think if any of it was actually true. Sure, Iran celebrated the event as a remarkable achievement, but did it even happen?
According to the Independent, either the launch might have been faked or the monkey's safe return might have been a lie.
Pictures of the monkey pre-launch show an animal with a large, red birthmark/mole over the animal's right eye. Pictures after its safe journey home, however, show off a monkey whose birthmark is mysteriously missing.
Additionally, Iran took numerous pictures of the monkey and the rocket as it prepared for launch, but news of a successful take-off was only reported through Iranian news media, and there have been no pictures of the spacecraft since its "successful" landing. If it truly did arrive back on earth without incident, wouldn't the government want to brag about it/instigate the Great Satan (America, obviously) some more by showering us with imagery?
This has led people to speculate a few potential answers. Maybe the monkey died during the trip and didn't actually make it back to earth safely. Or maybe the rocket malfunctioned at launch and never took off, killing the monkey during a calamitous blastoff. Or maybe there was no attempt to launch a rocket at all. Or maybe Iranians removed the red birthmark/mole to celebrate the monkey's return!
The real answer to the question of what happened seems to be this: We don't really know anything and Iran could have possibly made a monkey out of everyone.
