Canada Smanada

[Rubinetto Grande]

Uncle Cecil...I recently read a "Special" report about " What's the origin of "Canuck?" (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcanuck.html). Now, I know you didn't come up with that lame story about how Canada got its name, but I thought I should point out to you that someone/thing that calls itself "SDSTAFF Dex" (sounds like a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease!) is putting out some bum info.

It is common knowledge that Canada got it's official name during a town hall meeting in 1541 in the settlement called Charlesbourg-Royal. They really didn't know what to call it an let it up to chance. It was decided that letters would be pulled out of a hat and those letters would be used to form the name. Jacques Cartier, the guy pulling the letters out of the hat told the scribe to wrote down what Cartier said. Cartier reached in an pulled out the letters and the scribe did exactly what he was told to do and the name was born...."C' eh "N" eh "D" eh...

[Jackknifed Juggernaut]

This probably belongs in another forum.


Why do Canadians prefer sex doggy-style?

So they can both watch the hockey game at the same time.

[C K Dexter Haven]

Rubinetto, I think you mean "ay" instead of "eh" but ...

In any case, comments on Staff Report belong in the forum called "Comments on Staff Reports," so this is in the wrong forum to begin with. However, Canadian jokes are not appropriate for either of those forums. So, I'm moving this to the correct forum and then closing it.

[John W. Kennedy]

I think you mean "ay" instead of "eh" but ...No, "eh" is the conventional spelling. For a 19th-century example, consider the following from the chapter Bruno's Picnic in Lewis Carroll's Sylvie and Bruno Concluded.'And the Oven said--' Here Sylvie made a long pause. 'Really I don't know what an Oven begins with, when it wants to speak!'

Both children looked appealingly at me; but I could only say, helplessly, 'I haven't the least idea! I never heard an Oven speak!'

For a minute or two we all sat silent; and then Bruno said, very softly, 'Oven begins wiz "O".'

'Good little boy!' Sylvie exclaimed. 'He does his spelling very nicely. He's cleverer than he knows!' she added, aside, to me. 'So the Oven said "O! What are you going to do with all that Bread?" And Bruno said "Please--" Is an Oven "Sir" or "'m", would you say?' She looked to me for a reply.

'Both, I think,' seemed to me the safest thing to say.

Sylvie adopted the suggestion instantly. 'So Bruno said "Please, Sirm, I want it for my Picnic." And the Oven said "O! But I hope you wo'n't toast any of it?" And Bruno said, "No, indeed I wo'n't! New Bread's so light and so puffy, it wants no toasting!"'

'It never doesn't want no toasting,' said Bruno. 'I wiss oo wouldn't say it so short!'

'So Bruno put the Bread in the hamper. Then Bruno said "Now I want some Apples!" So he took the hamper, and he went to the Apple-Tree, and he picked some lovely ripe Apples. And the Apple-Tree said--' Here followed another long pause.

Bruno adopted his favourite expedient of tapping his forehead; while Sylvie gazed earnestly upwards, as if she hoped for some suggestion from the birds, who were singing merrily among the branches overhead. But no result followed.

'What does an Apple-Tree begin with, when it wants to speak?' Sylvie murmured despairingly, to the irresponsive birds.

At last, taking a leaf out of Bruno's book, I ventured on a remark. 'Doesn't "Apple-Tree" always begin with Eh!"?'

'Why, of course it does! How clever of you!' Sylvie cried delightedly.

Bruno jumped up, and patted me on the head. I tried not to feel conceited.

'So the Apple-Tree said "Eh! What are you going to do with all those Apples?" And Bruno said "Please, Sir, I want them for my Picnic." And the Apple-Tree said "Eh! But I hope you wo'n't bake any of them?" And Bruno said "No, indeed I wo'n't! Ripe Apples are so nice and so sweet, they want no baking!"'

'They never doesn't--' Bruno was beginning, but Sylvie corrected herself before he could get the words out.

'"They never doesn't nohow want no baking." So Bruno put the Apples in the hamper, along with the Bread, and the bottle of Milk. And he set off to have a Picnic, on the top of the hill, all by himself--'And now you may close this thread, too.

[Manduck]

??

[Larry Borgia]

I gotta congratulate you on reading that horrible book. It's hard to believe that the same person who wrote the wonderful Alice books--not to mention his books on logic--wrote that treacle.

[C K Dexter Haven]

I've actually merged the threads, it seemed more reasonable than having two.