# The BBQ Pit **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/the-bbq-pit/11.md?page=158 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 159 --- ## [Trademarking Pi. What's worse, granting the trademark or that this asshat thinks he can own it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarking-pi-whats-worse-granting-the-trademark-or-that-this-asshat-thinks-he-can-own-it/689915)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarking-pi-whats-worse-granting-the-trademark-or-that-this-asshat-thinks-he-can-own-it/689915 "2014-06-13T01:23:36Z")
Here’s the story from WIRED. And here is a slightly different version from the CBC. Bottom line is a gentleman from Brooklyn, Paul Ingrisano, an artist no less, applied for and received ‘ownership’ of the trademark “π.”… --- ## [A debate about 9/11 Truthers and CT threads (in the Pit)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-debate-about-9-11-truthers-and-ct-threads-in-the-pit/690242)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-debate-about-9-11-truthers-and-ct-threads-in-the-pit/690242 "2014-06-12T10:45:41Z")
So, the latest in a seemingly endless line of 9/11 CT threads has once again sprung up like a mushroom in GD. This one, like so many others is following the usual trajectory. The OP dropped a steaming pile in GD, came … --- ## [Feedly/Evernote DDOS ransom attack](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feedly-evernote-ddos-ransom-attack/690543)
**Author:** [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 11, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feedly-evernote-ddos-ransom-attack/690543 "2014-06-11T18:16:53Z")
Feedly and Evernote are down due to a DDOS attack, with the instigators apparently demanding money to end it. On the one hand, we’re officially living in a William Gibson novel. Which, honestly, kinda cool. On the o… --- ## [Texas law won't allow pregnant woman to be taken off life support](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-law-wont-allow-pregnant-woman-to-be-taken-off-life-support/677837)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 211\ **Last updated:** [June 11, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-law-wont-allow-pregnant-woman-to-be-taken-off-life-support/677837 "2014-06-11T12:39:35Z")
From the Dallas News: Marlise Munoz, 33, has been completely brain-dead since she suffered a pulmonary embolism after Thanksgiving. She made clear before it happened that she didn’t want to be kept alive by artificial … --- ## [Black skin is so offensive, ayup](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-skin-is-so-offensive-ayup/690314)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [June 10, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-skin-is-so-offensive-ayup/690314 "2014-06-10T04:52:14Z")
So somebody zombified a GD thread about the word “Sambo.” Interesting stuff there about the use of “sambo” as a word before Helen Bannerman’s justly famous children’s book. It came up that apparently the pancake house S… --- ## [Pakistan Conducts Airstrikes in Afghanistan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pakistan-conducts-airstrikes-in-afghanistan/689764)
**Author:** [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 8, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pakistan-conducts-airstrikes-in-afghanistan/689764 "2014-06-08T13:46:33Z")
http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-launches-afghan-airstrikes-attack-145452106.html I just want to point out the hilarious hypocrisy in Pakistan launching airstrikes in Afghanistan, which killed innocent civilians. --- ## [Religious Ecstasy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-ecstasy/689926)
**Author:** [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-ecstasy/689926 "2014-06-05T21:22:29Z")
When I am up late at night sometimes I watch Televangelists. What I find particularly telling is the people in the audience. They seem like they are high on dope or ecstasy. Seriously, these people are stone cold sober b… --- ## [Duke university asking for trouble on rape](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-university-asking-for-trouble-on-rape/689946)
**Author:** [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-university-asking-for-trouble-on-rape/689946 "2014-06-05T16:44:44Z")
I think Duke is most famous for its false rape accusations, the famous one a few years ago, and they were sued for a very large amount of money after 88 of the faculty wrote a letter condemning the defendants and the dea… --- ## [Fuck Joe the Plumber.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669)
**Author:** [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669 "2014-06-04T23:40:41Z")
http://news.yahoo.com/daughter-of-newtown-victim-speaks-out-against-joe-the-plumber-135839094.html God, I thought his 15 minutes were up. The nail clipping from my small toe has demonstrated more intelligence than anyth… --- ## [Thank your God for your Freedom](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-your-god-for-your-freedom/689689)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-your-god-for-your-freedom/689689 "2014-06-04T15:05:14Z")
never mind --- ## [My local EPA can suck my balls.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-epa-can-suck-my-balls/689841)
**Author:** [@Robrein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robrein)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-epa-can-suck-my-balls/689841 "2014-06-04T03:13:51Z")
If it pleases the dope I wish to submit the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority for my virginal pitting. The Story Apparently Friday week ago my father-in-law and my missus went shopping at the local shopping … --- ## [John Kerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry/689608)
**Author:** [@slowlearner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slowlearner)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-kerry/689608 "2014-06-03T17:10:48Z")
John Kerry is a disgrace to the young man he was. --- ## [Dear Stupid People: "Government Agent X is corrupt" is not an axiom](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-stupid-people-government-agent-x-is-corrupt-is-not-an-axiom/689760)
**Author:** [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-stupid-people-government-agent-x-is-corrupt-is-not-an-axiom/689760 "2014-06-03T12:46:50Z")
Seriously. If you want to claim that “big pharma” has completely paid off the CDC/FDA to the point where they’re pushing purely in the interest of the pharmaceuticals, you shouldn’t stare at me like a particularly retard… --- ## [You May Share Your Mini-Rants Here!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-may-share-your-mini-rants-here/687431)
**Author:** [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Replies:** 427\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-may-share-your-mini-rants-here/687431 "2014-06-02T01:03:32Z")
I really didn’t see one so I thought I’d start it. This may be the only birthday present I get today. I asked my 8 year old to gently and kindly wake up his 6 year old brother. I heard a quiet murmuring from their bedr… --- ## [Michael Gove, UK Education Secretary and raving ideologue, removes American classics from curriculum](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-gove-uk-education-secretary-and-raving-ideologue-removes-american-classics-from-curriculum/689279)
**Author:** [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-gove-uk-education-secretary-and-raving-ideologue-removes-american-classics-from-curriculum/689279 "2014-06-01T22:47:23Z")
Story here. Of all the ridiculous policies to ooze forth from the de facto Tory government, this one gets to me the most. Like Iain Duncan Smith (Work and Pensions Secretary), Michael Gove appears to be driven not by a… --- ## [I pit the President for making the same excuse again](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-president-for-making-the-same-excuse-again/688864)
**Author:** [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Replies:** 307\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-president-for-making-the-same-excuse-again/688864 "2014-06-01T06:13:33Z")
In regards to the VA scandal, Jay Carney said, “The first time the President heard about it was in the papers.” We’ve only heard this, oh, about five times. It’s his answer to everything. “I didn’t know nuthin’”. He tak… --- ## [Roosters; feathered assholes!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roosters-feathered-assholes/687982)
**Author:** [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roosters-feathered-assholes/687982 "2014-06-01T00:49:26Z")
My sis has 14 chickens on her farm, all but one are hens, the sole rooster is a bantam silkie He may be small, but he’s still a rooster, and therefore, an asshole He’s human-agressive and attacks without provocation, o… --- ## [PlanetFitness has a 'philosophy' that is ignorant and potentially dangerous](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456)
**Author:** [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Replies:** 329\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2014, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planetfitness-has-a-philosophy-that-is-ignorant-and-potentially-dangerous/621456 "2014-05-31T12:57:58Z")
As many of you may know, I’ve had my share of gym-related escapes. The entire reason I joined my local PF (PlanetFitness) gym was because I had recently had my membership terminated at my previous long-term gym. PF was… --- ## [I pit misogyny/sexism on Twitter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-misogyny-sexism-on-twitter/688978)
**Author:** [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)\ **Replies:** 205\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-misogyny-sexism-on-twitter/688978 "2014-05-28T19:20:01Z")
It’s not that people are insulting me. So what? No, what bothers me is that they think “male vagina” is an insult, as well as calling me a pussy, questioning if I am male, telling me to go put on a strap on and fuck what… --- ## [Fruit fly season again. Bastids!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-fly-season-again-bastids/689320)
**Author:** [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-fly-season-again-bastids/689320 "2014-05-28T18:47:53Z")
I hate 'em. Glass of wine while I’m typing this–they’re right there. Banana on the counter-there. Any recourse? --- ## [Pat Sajak needs to buy a fucking clue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-sajak-needs-to-buy-a-fucking-clue/688874)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-sajak-needs-to-buy-a-fucking-clue/688874 "2014-05-28T15:24:37Z")
According to this douchebag, Unpatriotic? Racist? What a fucking wacko this guy is. I never gave him much, if any, thought other than as a bland game show host. Turns out, he’s pretty much a radical righty and has … --- ## [Hearing loss from data center work](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-from-data-center-work/641624)
**Author:** [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-from-data-center-work/641624 "2013-01-16T15:10:38Z")
More than MPSIMS, less than Pit, but I wanted to warn people about hearing loss while working in a data center! This is not my regular work environment but I had to work in one for one full week, followed by the latter … --- ## [I Pit the whole mass-shootings situation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-whole-mass-shootings-situation/689369)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-whole-mass-shootings-situation/689369 "2014-05-28T01:52:19Z")
This morning there was a shooting close to home for me, in Clearwater Beach. At least 2 dead and 8 injured; other details as yet unclear. What I Pit is the fact that I find myself immediately wishing this turns out to … --- ## [Tom DeLay: "God Wrote the Constitution"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-delay-god-wrote-the-constitution/689027)
**Author:** [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-delay-god-wrote-the-constitution/689027 "2014-05-26T01:50:38Z")
God, this fucking idiot gets on my everlovin’ nerves. Tom DeLay, that paradigm of logic, has now stated that “God wrote the Constitution.” From the article, my favorite bit: “James Madison, the lead author of the Unite… --- ## [James O'Keefe is at it again.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-okeefe-is-at-it-again/689052)
**Author:** [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-okeefe-is-at-it-again/689052 "2014-05-24T13:36:10Z")
Just a taste of what’s at the link: On Wednesday, conservative activist and controversial video sting artist James O’Keefe made an appearance in Cannes during the Film Festival with a new, secretly recorded 20-minute … --- ## [Iran Proves That It Is Not Some Kind of Fascist State](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-proves-that-it-is-not-some-kind-of-fascist-state/689009)
**Author:** [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-proves-that-it-is-not-some-kind-of-fascist-state/689009 "2014-05-23T14:27:56Z")
By arresting six young people who had the nerve to commit the grievous crime of dancing and singing! I think your government is kind of stepping on your point there. --- ## [The Koch Bros. hit a new low -- killing a rapid-bus line in Nashville just because](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 117\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-koch-bros-hit-a-new-low-killing-a-rapid-bus-line-in-nashville-just-because/685112 "2014-05-22T19:49:59Z")
From Salon: So, this is not “the Kochs” doing this, in the cartoonish sense of David or Charles calling up a henchman and saying “kill that new bus line in Nashville,” and then cackling and dipping an orphan in frackin… --- ## [Florida DMV and vision testing - seriously??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-dmv-and-vision-testing-seriously/688207)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-dmv-and-vision-testing-seriously/688207 "2014-05-22T19:18:55Z")
My MIL is 83 and has macular degeneration. When we visited her at Christmas, she told us that she can only see to drive if it’s clear, bright, and sunny out. On a recent afternoon, she was driving home in the rain and … --- ## [Who needs a trial for alleged rapists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-a-trial-for-alleged-rapists/688587)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 143\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-a-trial-for-alleged-rapists/688587 "2014-05-22T05:09:15Z")
Not these Columbia University vigilantes who have taken it upon themselves to destroy the reputation of these young men anyway. Of the four listed one is termed a ‘serial rapist’, the others as having been “found respons… --- ## [House of Elrond - Castle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-elrond-castle/688643)
**Author:** [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-elrond-castle/688643 "2014-05-21T19:51:37Z")
Rook, motherfucker. And preferably Rivendell, but definitely rook. I understand why you made Gimli a bishop, but the makers of a Lord of the Rings chess set should at least know the names of the pieces. Perhaps Galadriel… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/the-bbq-pit/11.md?page=157) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/the-bbq-pit/11.md?page=159)