Dear Consuelo: there used to be a song about the cockroach being unable to walk because he had no marijuana to smoke. Did you try ripping off their bag?

La Cucaracha, la Cucaracha

Ya no quiere caminar

Porque no tiene, porque le falta

Limonada que tomar. (the last line has been changed from "marijuana que fumar."

That song was a marching song, sung by the revolutionaries during the last Mexican Revolution. The last time I sang it was in Costa Rica the last 1 1/2 miles of a 5 mile walk on the beach, by the light of the full moon, after imbibing waaaaaaay to much scotch. It really helped! I accidently spell-checked this and it didn't recognise imbibing. Must belong to the temperence league!

Ah--temperance as Max points out, a very politically charged word!

the US abound in them.. a hundred years ago, women were espousing Free Love, not the license of the sixties, but rather free love was a code word for reforming divorce laws -- divorce was such a taboo, they didn't want to even use the word!

One Temperance group came down a street filled with pubs, and tried to rally the drinkers with in to halt their evil ways.
an old cow, a bit worse for wear, staggered out, and seeing the uniforms, and musical instruments was moved to hand over a 5 quid!
the Temperance leader was thrilled, and asked, "which hymn would you like?"
the old cow looked over the motly crew, and announced, "(H)im there, the one with the big drum!"

Dear of troy: Your evaluation of "free love" was rather narrow. For a more complete description see the URL:

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/03/12feature.html

My favorite anecdote about free love is the legend that Isadora Duncan suggested to George Bernard Shaw that they have a love child. "Just think it might have your brains and my beauty!" GBS is alleged to have declined on the grounds that it might happen the other way around.

the review of the book on Woodhull spoke of her many interest, sufferage, spiritualism and free love. it is hard sometimes to look at one movement with out being influenced by another. the free love movement uses the term free love, to promote the idea that love should be free and unshackled by law.

150 years ago, a woman, had no means to find cause (adultry) and even if she found it, no money or right to hire a lawyer on her own behalf, to sue for divorce. she was shackled to a man. (the further west you go in the US, the less this was true. Several of the western states had much more liberal laws) Divorce was so unspeakable, they used free love as code words. No one was then, and almost no one is now "In favor" of divorce. but we have come to see that it should be allowed. It is a rare thing to find someone who is happy about the idea of divorce. we might dislike our ex spouse, but feel sad that we ended up divorced.. divorce is unpleasant, (even if the thought of live with out our spouse is pleasant!)

just as, in this day and age, no one is Pro or anti abortion. the two sides have aligned themselves as "Pro choice" and "Pro life". abortion still has enough of a stigma, no one want to call them selves "Pro Abortion". and the other side, want to come across as positive, too, so they are not Anti anything, but Pro life.
It a good arguement. who wants want to come out and say they are anti life? Language is, and always has been used politically.

those of us, who have been members of "the fairer sex", the weaker sex, the better half, all know these terms (and others) are used to define women as different, less complete than men. they can, and are, used intimitately affactionately, (just as SWMBO can be), but the same words have been used to restrict women. we could do pages of them.. only some times, the users of the words are so sure, the words are OK-- and that women(or others) are just being hysterical.. they brush the whole thing off as being hyper Politically correct.

shade of what tsuwm said in another thread.. the words can mean what ever you want them too..

Bien non, Of Troy, twas Humpty Dumpty said that...

click http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/maxq/ and scroll down.

(thanks MaxieQ)

I think that I shall never see
a hippopotomus
pinnately resembling
a tree


unless it is a cammopotomus

Or a chamberpotamus. Yuck.

We have shamefully failed to give the praise due to this noble species, which has hippopotamultiplied to dominate large parts of the globe.

It is particularly prominent on the continent of Asia. In the Arab world, the hippopotamullahs rule the population of hippopotamuslims, who, travelling vast distances, pass through the capital city of HippopotaMuscat in the course of their annual pilgramage, or haaj, to HippopotaMecca. To the north in Asia, in Russia, the urbanized Hippopotamuscovites govern the rural Hippopotamujiks. To the south, the the Hindipotami rule the Indian subcontinent.

Their influence in Africa has waned since their glory days there, but that glory can still be seen in the massive, pyramidal tombs in which the most prominent Hippopotamummies were laid to rest.

In Europe, their cities of HippopotaMunich and HippopotaMuenster are key centers of the German economy, much like their Italian industrial cernter at HippopotaModena.

North America, of course, is dominated by the mighty muddy HippopotaMississippi River. A subttribe, travelling west to the Hawaiin Islands, established themselves as the HiloPotami and the HonoHippoluluPotami.

Moving up to Australia, it is of course well known that Oz is inhabited principally by HippopotaMunchkins, who settled along the mighty HippopotaMurrey River and its tributary, the HippopotaMurrumbidgee.

a number of bulliten boards have been infected with the hippopotimus virus.

as virus's go, it not to destructive, but it does cause every thread to contain HIPPO in some form.

an other infect thread recorded what happens when the virus spreads to humans..

http://www.darwinawards.com/ See Hippo Hop for complete details, and active links.

2001 Honorable Mention
Confirmed True by Darwin

31 July 2001, Ukraine | Before I retire this category forever, here's one
last free spirit who learned a painful lesson while frolicking with large zoo
animals.

A Ukrainian woman hopped the fence at Kharkiv Zoo to swim
with Masha the hippopotamus. The woman's playtime was cut
short when the three-ton herbivore abruptly changed its dietary
habit and mauled the intruder, in defense of its offspring. The
sinking swimmer was rescued from the irate mammal by irate
zoo workers, who sent her to the hospital where she was listed
in serious but stable condition.

Zoo officials said the woman's action was far from unusual:
visitors commonly ignore warning signs and fences to cavort
with the animals. Because this happens so often -- with polar
bears, tigers, whales, and now a hippopotamus -- I am hereby
adding it to the list of mental lapses which, while dangerous,
occur too regularly to be amusing. Past winners include:
Polar Bear Lesson
Playing With Cats
Killer Whale Rodeo

DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2001

Certainly, Max. I believe the species has pushed as far south as HippopotoMurray Island and McHippopoMcMurdo Station, thus expanding its range to a sixth continent, Antarctica. To date, however, I have been unable to establish any hippohabitation on the South American continent.

'Mid Fantasi-astic images of terpsichorean beauties
en jete-ing and plie-ing in their hippopotatuti,
Many further inspirations I am tempted to educe
For the hippopoamusement of the hippopostaMuse,
But I fear 'twould be excessive, and that any further scrutiny
Would constitute incitement to a hippopotamutiny.

The other interesting note on the Darwin page gives food for thought as to a possible explanation for our recent penchant for including hippos in our threads here:

"Hippos play an important role in the African ecosystem. Their dung feeds tiny water microorganisms, which in turn support a food chain of larger creatures. On land, their large bodies and grazing habits make trails that provide other animals with easy access to water holes. [Seaworld]"

Could they be stirring the pot? Fertilizing our poor, overworked little brains? Just a hippi thought. There certainly have been a wealth of posts recently! Ball's back in you're court, Dub Dub. See, Jazzo, what did I tell you? Food, sports and hippopotomi!

and no-one yet has mentioned the theme song of hippopotami: -- "Mud, mud, glorious mud".

With acknowledgement to Flanders and Swann.

I read somewhere this week that a hippopotamus is more closely related to a pig than to a horse, which isn't electrifying news or surprising.

However, and more to the point, in reading over this thread and coming to Paulb's "Mud, mud, glorious mud" post above, I thought of a hippopotamud, which sounds like a hippodrome-sized pot of mud, say, one for the convivial pleasure of mud bathing with the thousands.

And what is the name of that now extinct cow in the cave drawings==the auroch something or other?

Max, I just tried the link, but the page is down. Hope it is, indeed, "temporarily unavailable." I'd like to read Caesar's description if it's there...

I just tried the link Max gave and it worked. In case you are still having trouble, here is Caesar's desceription from that site

"They are but a little less than Elephants in size, and are of the species, color, and form of a bull. Their strength is very great, and also their speed. They spare neither man nor beast that they see. They cannot be brought to endure the sight of men, nor be tamed, even when taken young. The people who take them in pitfalls assiduously destroy them; and young men harden themselves in this labour, and exercise themselves in this kind of chase; and those who have killed a great number - the horns being publicly exhibited in evidence of the fact - obtain great honour. The horns, in amplitude, shape and species, differ much from the horns of our oxen. They are much sought after; and after having been edged with silver at their mouths they are used for drinking vessels at great feasts."

Thanks, Vernon...

It was worth the read to imagine those mouths of silver at the great feasts.

Best regards,
WW

Dear MaxQ: I enjoyed the link, thank you. I wonder what the aurochs could find to graze on in the deep forests of ancient Germany. And it wasn't clear whether the aurochs were being killed for food, or because they were so dangerous. I wonder when sport first began. Of course it could have been a rite de passage before it degenerated into sport.