The Straight Dope 10/06/2006

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

You are subscribed as: [[email protected]]

To unsubscribe CLICK on the URL below this line:
mailto:[email protected]
If you can't "click" above, then send a blank email to:
[email protected]
____________________________________________
THE STRAIGHT DOPE 10/06/2006

Dear Cecil:

I went to lunch with some friends on Sunday. There's one girl who thinks
she knows everything and is always peppering us with stories and
factoids to show off. Sunday she throws this nugget out: In domestic
killings, the number one weapon used is not guns, but frying pans. This
can't be true, can it? It sounds like something Saturday Night Live
would have the NRA saying in a skit.--Hokienautic, via the Straight
Dope Message Board

~~~~~~
Looking for the perfect gift for that wedding, birthday, or
bar mitzvah? Straight Dope books are the very thing! 
See http://www.straightdope.com/store.html
~~~~~~

Cecil replies:

To believe this bogus stat is to give credence to its bogus
implications: Number one, that women commit some huge chunk of domestic
murders since presumably it's women swinging those pans. Number two,
that when women do kill their partners, a frying pan is honest to God
how they do it. We'll start with implication #2. According to U.S.
Justice Department statistics from 1990 to 2004, when American women
decide they've had it with the man in their life, they address the
situation using "blunt objects" only 2 percent of the time. As one might
expect, 69 percent of the time they use a gun. In less gun-happy Canada,
63 percent of women who killed their husbands between 1985 and 1994
stabbed them, 22 percent chose firearms, and 15 percent resorted to
beatings or "other." Death by cookware wasn't broken out as a separate
category, but it's safe to say there wasn't a lot.

As we get into implication #1, let's first concede this much: 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/061006.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

Since moving to Korea a few years ago, I've befriended many of the
Canadians living/working here. Being an American, it's invariable that
Canadians will bring up that they "won" the War of 1812. My
understanding of the war is that America defeated the British, and the
Canadian connection involved a failed attempt by some radical Americans
to invade Canada. This, as I understand, was not an attempt by the
American government to overthrow Canada, but more of a minor footnote to
the war. Am I wrong? And what exactly are Canadians taught about the War
of 1812? From the Canadians I meet here, it seems they must take a
full-year high school course only on this subject. Please enlighten.
--Kris DeVaar, Seoul  

SDSTAFF Gfactor replies:  

I hope you don't have money riding on this, Kris, because I've got bad news
for you. The idea that America won the war of 1812 is a myth, though
commonly believed by Americans. Similarly, the invasion of Canada wasn't
a minor part of the war, it was a crucial part of America's war plan. In fact,
President James Madison thought a successful invasion of Canada would
quickly end the conflict. The botched invasion prevented Madison from
testing his theory ... but once again I'm getting ahead of myself.  

Let's start at the beginning: 

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mwar1812.htm

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 05/31/1991

Dear Cecil: 

What is the origin of the expression "hip hip hurrah"? According to one
book I've read, it derives from an abbreviation of the Latin Hierusylema
Est Perdita, "Jerusalem is destroyed." Apparently, medieval antisemites
yelled "Hep! Hep!" as they exiled or executed innocent Jews. Can this be
true? Can modern expressions such as hip, hipster, hippie, and hip-hop
have such an odious etymology? Say it ain't so. --Name withheld,
Washington, D.C.  

Cecil replies:  

You're not going to believe it, but there may be a germ of truth to this
bizarre story.  

Hip, hippie, hipster, and presumably hip-hop all derive from hep (meaning
hip, of course), which dates from the turn of the century. There are several
theories where hep came from:  

(1) From the marching cadence "hep, two, three, four." If you were
hep, you were in step with what was happening. 

(2) From Joe Hep, who ran a low-life saloon in Chicago in the 1890s.
(You may recall our discussion of another 1890s Chicago
saloonkeeper who allegedly lent his name to the language, Mickey
Finn. 1890s Chicago saloonkeepers were obviously quite a crew.) 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_241b.html

____________________________________________
Here's how you can get your OWN FREE Subscription:
Send a blank mailto:[email protected]
____________________________________________
Copyright 1995 - 2006 Chicago Reader, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
You may forward this document by email ONLY if you
include the entire document INCLUDING the information
at the bottom of this publication
____________________________________________
Visit our good friends at Joke A Day http://www.jokeaday.com
They're kind enough to mail THE STRAIGHT DOPE for us.
Join the World's Largest Daily Humor List and receive daily
laughs in your email by sending mailto:[email protected]