Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[Diane AKA Traska]

Oh so THAT'S why it's called head cheese! I always wondered.

I was actually going to ask that question in the "Stupid Question" thread, but thought it was too stupid  .

You don't want to know how long I thought buffalo wings came from a buffalo (I thought it was a weird bone found only in buffaloes).  I'm going to assume they're from Buffalo, NY?

well, they *originally* came from buffalo--there are vestigial wings in the hump, and the brave with the most kills or the bravest feat during the buffalo hunt was awarded them. But during the World's Fair in (oddly enough) Buffalo, NY, the buffalo had faded so much in population that it wasn't possible to get the wings anymore. So they substituted chicken, and added a lot of extra spice so people wouldn't notice that the "buffalo" wings tasted like, well, chicken.

At least, that's what my husband says. He works Teddy Roosevelt in there somewhere, too--I think he brought them back to NYState after his trip out west following the death of his first wife.

You should throw a j/k on that tall tale. Or tail. Because answering a real question with a joke isn't very nice.  At least I hope you are joking and don't really believe that.

But it's glaringly obvious that it's a joke.  Especially with Toots' line about her husband working Roosevelt in there.

I don't think such a comment is out of line in the slightest, especially in a "fun" thread like this. If anything, I'd find the addition of "j/k" kind of insulting!

I have to agree, I immediately recognized it for what it was.

[Piratelvr1121]

I was going along almost believing it until the comment about Toot's husband working Teddy Roosevelt in (come on, haven't had my coffee yet!) then that's when it clicked and I chuckled.

[Thipu1]

Buffalo Wings are called that because the recipe supposedly originated in Buffalo NY.

[squeakers]

So if I came in and said Head Cheese is made from human Heads. It's something the Mohawks used to make and sell to the settlers. But nowadays it's made from pig meat. That would be ok because this is a humorous thread? 

Not everyone who read the above would take the time to find out the truth.  Throwing in a name like "Well, and I heard that John Smith really liked the taste." wouldn't show it was a joke.

Sorry if I sound cranky but the sheer amount of misinformation and urban legends that get passed around as the truth gets irritating after a while.

[TurtleDove]

So if I came in and said Head Cheese is made from human Heads. It's something the Mohawks used to make and sell to the settlers. But nowadays it's made from pig meat. That would be ok because this is a humorous thread? 

Not everyone who read the above would take the time to find out the truth.  Throwing in a name like "Well, and I heard that John Smith really liked the taste." wouldn't show it was a joke.

Sorry if I sound cranky but the sheer amount of misinformation and urban legends that get passed around as the truth gets irritating after a while.

I would assume people can grasp humor and sarcasm, and if they cannot, that they do not believe absolutely everything they read on the web (or elsewhere). I reads tons of misinformation or spin in my job as a lawyer - of course I don't take everything as absolute truth and this is in legal documents!  I think each person should take ownership of what they believe and not expect other people to not use humor or sarcasm.

[squeakers]

So if I came in and said Head Cheese is made from human Heads. It's something the Mohawks used to make and sell to the settlers. But nowadays it's made from pig meat. That would be ok because this is a humorous thread? 

Not everyone who read the above would take the time to find out the truth.  Throwing in a name like "Well, and I heard that John Smith really liked the taste." wouldn't show it was a joke.

Sorry if I sound cranky but the sheer amount of misinformation and urban legends that get passed around as the truth gets irritating after a while.

I would assume people can grasp humor and sarcasm, and if they cannot, that they do not believe absolutely everything they read on the web (or elsewhere). I reads tons of misinformation or spin in my job as a lawyer - of course I don't take everything as absolute truth and this is in legal documents!  I think each person should take ownership of what they believe and not expect other people to not use humor or sarcasm.

I saw nothing humorous nor sarcastic in what was written. It just makes my head hurt.

[pierrotlunaire0]

Buffalo Wings are called that because the recipe supposedly originated in Buffalo NY.

Specifically, the Anchor Bar in Buffalo.

[Bexx27]

So if I came in and said Head Cheese is made from human Heads. It's something the Mohawks used to make and sell to the settlers. But nowadays it's made from pig meat. That would be ok because this is a humorous thread? 

Not everyone who read the above would take the time to find out the truth.  Throwing in a name like "Well, and I heard that John Smith really liked the taste." wouldn't show it was a joke.

Sorry if I sound cranky but the sheer amount of misinformation and urban legends that get passed around as the truth gets irritating after a while.

I would assume people can grasp humor and sarcasm, and if they cannot, that they do not believe absolutely everything they read on the web (or elsewhere). I reads tons of misinformation or spin in my job as a lawyer - of course I don't take everything as absolute truth and this is in legal documents!  I think each person should take ownership of what they believe and not expect other people to not use humor or sarcasm.

I saw nothing humorous nor sarcastic in what was written. It just makes my head hurt.

Would anyone of normal intelligence really believe that buffalo have vestigial wings? It's obviously a joke. I thought it was funny. Just because dry/deadpan humor is not to your taste doesn't mean it's not a good joke.

[Twik]

Buffalo Wings are called that because the recipe supposedly originated in Buffalo NY.

Buffalonians like their spicy stuff. They make a horseradish sauce that will lift your scalp five inches off your skull.

[Amava]

Buffalo Wings are called that because the recipe supposedly originated in Buffalo NY.

Buffalonians like their spicy stuff. They make a horseradish sauce that will lift your scalp five inches off your skull.

Now that you mention it, my friends' grandfather's cousin twice removed told me that ancient tribes used horseradish for this very purpose: scalping their enemies...

*runs out of the thread giggling madly*

Sorry! couldn't resist. J/K, J/K,J/K ! My friends' grandfather doesn't even have a cousin! But the rest is totally true!

[Twik]

[
Now that you mention it, my friends' grandfather's cousin twice removed told me that ancient tribes used horseradish for this very purpose: scalping their enemies...

*runs out of the thread giggling madly*

Sorry! couldn't resist. J/K, J/K,J/K ! My friends' grandfather doesn't even have a cousin! But the rest is totally true!

While they were out hunting buffalo, naturally!

[Amava]

[
Now that you mention it, my friends' grandfather's cousin twice removed told me that ancient tribes used horseradish for this very purpose: scalping their enemies...

*runs out of the thread giggling madly*

Sorry! couldn't resist. J/K, J/K,J/K ! My friends' grandfather doesn't even have a cousin! But the rest is totally true!

While they were out hunting buffalo, naturally!

On horseback. Hence "Horse-"radish.
We should make a faux-etymology thread coming up with the craziest tall tales about how things got their name.

[Moray]

So if I came in and said Head Cheese is made from human Heads. It's something the Mohawks used to make and sell to the settlers. But nowadays it's made from pig meat. That would be ok because this is a humorous thread? 

Not everyone who read the above would take the time to find out the truth.  Throwing in a name like "Well, and I heard that John Smith really liked the taste." wouldn't show it was a joke.

Sorry if I sound cranky but the sheer amount of misinformation and urban legends that get passed around as the truth gets irritating after a while.

Well, yeah. It'd be fine. We're a group of pretty intelligent folks who (with the vast expanse of the interwebs at our disposal) have the option to verify and do our own research. I like to give my fellow posters a bit of credit.

[Twik]

The trouble with expecting online readers to recognize tongue-in-cheek postings is that no matter how over the top they are, there's someone, somewhere, who would say the same thing for real.

I once ran into a clerk in a bookstore who suggested looking for an autobiography under "Fiction". I thought she was being funny. Then I realized she wasn't, as she dragged me through the fiction section for half an hour trying to find it.

[lowspark]

The trouble with expecting online readers to recognize tongue-in-cheek postings is that no matter how over the top they are, there's someone, somewhere, who would say the same thing for real.

I once ran into a clerk in a bookstore who suggested looking for an autobiography under "Fiction". I thought she was being funny. Then I realized she wasn't, as she dragged me through the fiction section for half an hour trying to find it.

I have no idea if the following is true or just a joke but someone told me that a public library in Australia moved all the books about a certain bicycle rider who quite recently admitted to doping from the non-fiction section to fiction.