Ken Allen’s Incredible Escapes from the San Diego Zoo

Things I Learned Last Night

Space Tim Media

Comedy, Education, History

4.6 • 673 Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Zoos are places where animals are carefully contained, but sometimes, a star breaks all the rules. In the 1980s, the San Diego Zoo was home to an orangutan like no other. His name was Ken Allen, and he wasn't just any orangutan—he was an escape artist, a folk hero, and a lovable mischief-maker. Through his antics, Ken Allen captured hearts and taught zookeepers the true meaning of resourcefulness. Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning, and laughing a whole lot while you do, then you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode today! Become a Patron and Get Early Access to Ad-Free Episodes: https://tilln.com/support Episode link: https://tilln.com/kenallen Support TILLN & Join The Mailing List: https://linktr.ee/tillnpodcast Watch Travis the Chimpanzee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhAlm1dAhOI&t=4s&ab_channel=ThingsILearnedLastNight Text TILLN to 66866 to become a patron and gain access to ad-free episodes, the exclusive discord, and earn discounts on TILLN Merch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	There's an orangutan in the San Diego Zoo who for years tortured the zookeepers by being
0:05.1	unmanageable, would not say in the cage, got out, ran around the zoo, high-fiving kids,
0:12.3	kissing moms, like, would not stay in the cage. And his name, proper name, Ken Allen. Kenneth.
0:21.5	Kenneth Allen.
0:23.3	Ken Allen was an oregant of the San Diego Zoo.
0:26.0	And this week we're talking about all the efforts the zoo had to do to try to keep this very smart primate enclosed.
0:31.8	Yeah.
0:32.2	He was actually a human in a costume.
0:34.9	Well, that's the whole time.
0:36.4	The whole time from birth.
0:41.7	All right.
0:45.5	This is things on the last night.
0:47.0	It's a comedy podcast where we learn something new every single week.
0:50.6	And this week is no different.
0:52.2	Thanks for checking out the show.
0:53.2	We'll see you at the end of it.
0:56.7	Hey, man. What's up? Have you ever heard of Ken Allen? Ken Allen. Yeah, Ken Allen.
1:03.1	No. Um, take a guess. I'll tell you he was born in 1971. See if that helps you at all.
1:09.9	Ken Allen.
1:11.9	Does you have a brother?
1:15.7	I maybe, I don't know if we know about him.
1:16.6	I mean, he could.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Space Tim Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Space Tim Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.