People aren’t the only ones who can play rock-paper-scissors. Scientists in Japan recently taught seven chimpanzees how to play the game!

The scientists wanted to compare the way chimpanzees learn with the way humans do. They used a computer to teach the chimps the rules of the game. The computer showed two images of chimp hands making rock, paper, or scissors signals. When the chimps touched the winning hand, they got pieces of apple as a prize. 

Over time, the apes began to understand the circular relationship: Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. They learned the game about as well as a 4-year-old child can!