That’s the name of that novel! But if I remember correctly, weren’t Sparky and Polly actually 30 or 40 but being kept physically 10 years old by medical technology for the good of a long-running trans-planetary TV show? Yeah, the Charonese Mafia were cool, but the whole killing my father thing ran thin for me.
In the novel, the two kids are actually setting up a contest, where watchers of their show have to come up with their own list of 33 substances. Like:
“Hey kids! Can YOU come up with 33 substances that come out of the human body? Here’s a hint - babies don’t count, but snot and boogers are two different things! The winner gets a walk on part on an upcoming episode of Sparky and his Gang!!! Send your completed list to Room 25, Corridor 6, King City Studios, Luna.”
The novel itself lists only 10 or so - I’ll have to check it tonight.
By the end of the show, they were in their 20’s or maybe early 30’s, but still looked like 8 year olds. But they were making the list very early on in the show’s run, before Sparky has wrested control & ownership of the show away from Peppy, so he was still around 10. Mind, he was a 10 year old who had memorized all of Shakespeare’s plays, so he wasn’t quite your average child.
BTW, I’m sure John Varley would be amused this is still being debated 15 years later by a bunch of adults, including some physicians and a forensic pathologist (that’s what you are, aren’t you gabriela? If I got that wrong, no offense intended, and my sincere apologies). I’ve emailed him a link to the thread.
Well after I’ve come into a human body I then come out of it.
Does that count?
Pie?!? Who can think of pie at a time like this. hurk :eek:
It’s worth noting that it just says 33 substances, not THE 33 substances. I think the point is just to come up with a matching list of 33, an exercise akin to counting the beans in a jelly-bean jar.
Don’t go by my “quote” - it’s purely from memory. I’ll post the actual text from the novel tonight.
How about OTHER human bodies?
Well, I’ve got the book in front of me now, and it’s actually 36 things.
Here’s some quotes:
A few pages later:
The premise is that Sparky takes the 36 things, and in his lab creates his new friend, Armageddon Angry. Something goes wrong though, and Angry doesn’t have a soul.
It’s a great book.
What about acetone? I swear I heard that people with certain disorders (maybe even as common as diabetes) produce acetone in their breath.
So grateful you dug that out, muldoonthief - now we see it’s 36, not 33. And I totally forgot plaque, tartar, and calculus. And we see there that babies don’t count.
Which means chowder’s funny line doesn’t count either. But he knew that when he posted it.
A quick nod to muldoonthief, Chronos, and OneCentStamp - Yes, I am a forensic pathologist. Chronos, of course only men fart. Medical fact. Ask someone expert who should know like - like - like elfbabe. Yeah.
And OneCentStamp, I’m disappointed in you. I could make pie while holding that discussion. Heck, I’ve had an in-depth discussion of local Chinese food places over a partly dissected body.
Who wants to come over for take-out Chinese and pie? Let’s think of 36 substances that can go into a human body!
Me! Me! Me! I’ve never been so squicked out by a discussion that I couldn’t eat. I just don’t get that.
Let’s see, there’s take-out Chinese, pie, apple cider, cheese, eardrops, eyedrops, syrup of ipecac, anal probes and Chowder! Who’s got another? 
Excuse me, I was perfectly serious, I Do come out of a human body, female I hasten to add.
For shame sir, for shame, thinking I was extracting the urine :dubious:
I thought I had lost the list, but I found it. I see there can be endless debate, as in “Are boogers and snot the same thing?” and the natures of various puses, hairs, and secretions, but this is Sparky’s definitive list:
- Head hair
- Dandruff
- Eyebrows
- Tears
- Sleepy dust
- Eyelashes
- Boogers
- Snot
- Blood
- Spit
- Teeth
- Vomit
- Earwax
14 Stuff inside zits - Stuff inside blackheads
- Lungers
- Bad breath
- Sweat
- Milk
- Bellybutton lint
- Fingernails
- Farts
- Poop
- Pee
- Jizz
- Penis cheese
- Period blood
- That slick stuff when you’ve been hard a long time
- Vaginal slick stuff
- Placenta
- When your water breaks
- Toenails
- Toe jam
I thought I was nuts when I was making this list while writing the book. Nice to see there’s other nuts out there.
jvarley…and ME!!!
Do pay attention
On a more serious note.
- Heat
- Sugar
- Salt
- Babies
- Undigested food
For those who may be unaware - jvarley above is John Varley, the author of the book in question. I emailed him last week with a link to this thread.
Oh, sure, he comes in here like some kind of quote-unquote expert or something, just because he wrote the book!
muldoonthief, do you feel a little like Woody Allen in line for a movie now?
jvarley, I hope you stick around and peruse the rest of the board. We have captivating discussions like this all the time!
snip
/snip
Its the thiry three that must be in witchies brew!