Stumbled across this site in my search for the origin of "the red carpet treatment" and thought it was intriguing enough to merit it's own thread. Enjoy!

http://www.mindlesscrap.com/stumpme/stumpme2.htm

Here's a stumper he hasn't solved yet:

• What's the origin of the tombstone? (Fiberbabe? )

Why should we believe this guy's answers?

Just curious.

I've just come to wonder a lot about sources on the Internet and how the sources can be verified. For instance, I read some pretty interesting information this weekend about clay, I think, and one of the sources was supposedly something that came out of a study done at Harvard. But how would a body know whether that study really came out of Harvard, or was just something put on the Net to appear as though it had come out of Harvard...???

believe this guy's answers?

I think the url name says it all.

For those of y'all haven't gone there yet, which of the following questions has NOT been answered?

• How many grains of sand are on the ground on York Beach in Maine?

• How many post boxes are there on the Keele University campus?

• How many cups of water are in the Keys in Florida's oceans?

I think the url name says it all
Mostly, I would agree with you, Faldage, but we can't always judge a book by its cover. "mindlesscrap" actually contains some useful information.

For instance, Consuelo just launched a discussion about "hiccups/hiccoughs" in another thread. This is what "mindlesscrap" has to say about that.

Hiccups are contractions of the diaphragm. When you hiccup, your diaphragm and nearby muscles convulse, causing you to briefly gulp air. Within 35 milliseconds the glottis (the opening at the top of the air passage) slams shut, producing the characteristic "hic." The amazing thing is that, as far as the medical community is concerned, the purpose of a hiccup is unknown. Thanks to Cecil Adams for the help.

Hmmm. Is the purpose of a hiccup/hiccough really unknown?

"mindlesscrap" actually contains some useful information.

And a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day.

I thought the questions stupid, hopeless curmudgeion grinch that I am. I liked better
Yahoo News section called "Oddly Enough".A sample:
Oddly Enough - Reuters


Notable Quotes
Mon Oct 14, 9:02 AM ET

HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - They really said it -- notable quotes from the news:

"Nobody has been scumbag rockers like us and lived to tell the tale. I wouldn't
put it past us to keep on rockin'."

-- Rolling Stone KEITH RICHARDS, on BBC Radio.

How would you characterize the sillingness to call oneself a "scumbag"?
Today's Word is about metaphors. "Scumbag" is a very gross metaphor.
In case ;you have led a sheltered life and don't know it,the term refers
to a used condom.

"Scumbag" is a very gross metaphor....the term refers to a used condom.

Hmmm, not over this side of the Pond, Bill. It just means a bag of scum, i.e. a "scummy" low-life person with no redeeming features whatsoever. It probably implies a bit of physical dirtiness as well, along the same lines as "scuzzy".

"Nobody has been scumbag rockers like us and lived to tell the tale" is a proud statement, because it's a statement of survival against the odds. The Stones have been that low, but don't necessarily see themselves as low-down "scumbags" now.

I like George Melly's (alleged) line in response to Mick Jagger's calling his wrinkles "laughter lines":
"Surely nothing could be that funny".

>the term refers to a used condom.

while this comes close to the USage, I don't think 'used' is a requisite.

>"Surely nothing could be that funny".

I dunno; the thought of those guys doing what they do well past the age of 50, for the money they get, *is pretty funny.

>the term refers to a used condom.
while this comes close to the USage..

Ah, so it is a transpondial variant.
Do USns not talk about "scum" as "lowlife", then?

>"Surely nothing could be that funny".
I dunno; the thought of those guys doing what they do well past the age of 50, for the money they get, *is pretty funny.



Touché.

Perhaps I'm naive. I've never heard the term scumbag used in any other sense than lowlife.

scumbag takes both meanings here; I suspect the condom slant may have some military lineage..