Two possible meanings of the word “scrump:”
1. Screwing and humping
2. Stealing apples
I first heard this word from a coworker who said she wanted to get a tattoo on her hip that said “scrump me.” She then explained the first possible definition. Then I read it in a book referring to Adam and Eve and their “scrumping” escapade. The book (The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins) then explains the word to mean stealing apples. My brain nearly exploded.
Turns out that “scrump” is one of those weird British words. According to MSN Encarta, it means stealing fruit, particularly apples, from an orchard. But, the ever-reliable Urbandictionary.com provided the definition my coworker mentioned.
The only explanation I can come up with is that Adam and Eve, after scrumping, realized they were naked and decided to scrump. It’s a very versatile word.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
There are atheists in foxholes!
And that is a fact. Yet, the myth persists that “there are no atheists in foxholes.” This statement implies that during times of extreme fear or stress, particularly in wartime, all people (without exception) will believe in or hope for a higher power.
The origin of this phrase isn’t clear cut, but there are many possibilities. Some sources credit Lieutenant-Colonel William J. Clear or Lieutenant-Colonel William Casey. Most often, though, the journalist Ernie Pyle is cited. In 1942, the line was used in the film “Wake Island.” The phrase “there are no atheists in foxholes” was used at least as early as World War I.
Logically, any statement using absolute terms (such as “always” or “never” or in this case “no”) can easily be proved false. If you find even one atheist in a foxhole, the statement is false. A funny thing about this statement is that it doesn’t even specify a when or where, so if there are any atheists in any foxholes at any time in any place, the statement is false. In other words, there are atheists in foxholes.
To use a more statistical method, however, I can note that the religious conviction of current US military personnel tends to be less than that of the general population. And we can’t deny that there are a definite percentage of atheists within the general population itself. In fact, the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers has adopted the catchphrase “Atheists in Foxholes” to point out that the original statement is far from a statistical fact.
Why, then, does it persist as a cliché phrase used by religious and even media representatives? Perhaps it is because many theists believe atheists are in denial. That they actually do believe in a higher power but refuse to acknowledge the deity. From an atheists’ point of view, that logic doesn’t make sense because how can you deny something that doesn’t exist in the first place?
Quick joke (from Digital Bits Skeptic) to lighten things up a little:
In many institutions, as well as the military, the religious questionnaire only allows atheist respondents to declare their religious affiliation as “other” or “no religious preference.” More recently, other options have been made available, including “atheist” and “agnostic,” but in many cases the choices remain limited.
So there might even be more atheists in foxholes than we know about.
Related Links
Neutral
Wikipedia
About.com
Belief.net
Science Blogs
Atheist
Digital Bits Skeptic
Free Thought Forum
Theist
Believer's Journey
The origin of this phrase isn’t clear cut, but there are many possibilities. Some sources credit Lieutenant-Colonel William J. Clear or Lieutenant-Colonel William Casey. Most often, though, the journalist Ernie Pyle is cited. In 1942, the line was used in the film “Wake Island.” The phrase “there are no atheists in foxholes” was used at least as early as World War I.
Logically, any statement using absolute terms (such as “always” or “never” or in this case “no”) can easily be proved false. If you find even one atheist in a foxhole, the statement is false. A funny thing about this statement is that it doesn’t even specify a when or where, so if there are any atheists in any foxholes at any time in any place, the statement is false. In other words, there are atheists in foxholes.
To use a more statistical method, however, I can note that the religious conviction of current US military personnel tends to be less than that of the general population. And we can’t deny that there are a definite percentage of atheists within the general population itself. In fact, the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers has adopted the catchphrase “Atheists in Foxholes” to point out that the original statement is far from a statistical fact.
Why, then, does it persist as a cliché phrase used by religious and even media representatives? Perhaps it is because many theists believe atheists are in denial. That they actually do believe in a higher power but refuse to acknowledge the deity. From an atheists’ point of view, that logic doesn’t make sense because how can you deny something that doesn’t exist in the first place?
Quick joke (from Digital Bits Skeptic) to lighten things up a little:
While in your foxhole, did you ever have a moment when you decided that God exists?
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I was too busy trying not to get decapitated to think about it.
In many institutions, as well as the military, the religious questionnaire only allows atheist respondents to declare their religious affiliation as “other” or “no religious preference.” More recently, other options have been made available, including “atheist” and “agnostic,” but in many cases the choices remain limited.
So there might even be more atheists in foxholes than we know about.
Related Links
Neutral
Wikipedia
About.com
Belief.net
Science Blogs
Atheist
Digital Bits Skeptic
Free Thought Forum
Theist
Believer's Journey
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Cotton swabs, tissues and shortening - Part III
As promised, I looked into the origins of Crisco also. Lately, I’ve become completely obsessed with eponyms (can’t you tell by the last four posts?) but I pledge to post about something entirely different soon. But I did want to know about Crisco…
The name Crisco is actually a sort of acronym for what it contains, which is CRYStallized Cottonseed Oil. Other names that the substance went by include Krispo, and Cryst. The latter was abandoned because of connotations related to Jesus Christ (you can’t really spread Him on your food, now can you?)
Crisco is unique from other forms of cooking fats (such as butter, oil, or lard) because it is oil that has been reformulated through a process called hydrogenation to create a shortening that remains solid at room temperature. The original purpose of Crisco shortening was to be used for candle making as a cheap substitute for more expensive animal fats.
With the advent of readily-available electricity, the candle business wasn’t making the profits Proctor & Gamble had intended, and Crisco needed a new customer. Because of the fat content of the product, and its resemblance to lard, they decided to market it as an ingredient used in cooking. Offering free cookbooks with recipes using Crisco sped the change along.
Now owned by Smuckers, Crisco is widely used in recipes and is still hailed as the first shortening product made entirely of vegetable oil. But, like many products on the market, it has also been found useful in other situations, as well. For example, it can be used for seasoning cast iron cookware and as a moisturizer for afro-textured hair. Crisco has also been used by historical battle re-enactors, who lubricate musket balls to reduce the effects of black powder residue.
Related Links
Crisco.com
Wikipedia
Mother Linda's
The name Crisco is actually a sort of acronym for what it contains, which is CRYStallized Cottonseed Oil. Other names that the substance went by include Krispo, and Cryst. The latter was abandoned because of connotations related to Jesus Christ (you can’t really spread Him on your food, now can you?)
Crisco is unique from other forms of cooking fats (such as butter, oil, or lard) because it is oil that has been reformulated through a process called hydrogenation to create a shortening that remains solid at room temperature. The original purpose of Crisco shortening was to be used for candle making as a cheap substitute for more expensive animal fats.
With the advent of readily-available electricity, the candle business wasn’t making the profits Proctor & Gamble had intended, and Crisco needed a new customer. Because of the fat content of the product, and its resemblance to lard, they decided to market it as an ingredient used in cooking. Offering free cookbooks with recipes using Crisco sped the change along.
Now owned by Smuckers, Crisco is widely used in recipes and is still hailed as the first shortening product made entirely of vegetable oil. But, like many products on the market, it has also been found useful in other situations, as well. For example, it can be used for seasoning cast iron cookware and as a moisturizer for afro-textured hair. Crisco has also been used by historical battle re-enactors, who lubricate musket balls to reduce the effects of black powder residue.
Related Links
Crisco.com
Wikipedia
Mother Linda's
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