You bet your sweet ass I am.
Only 7 so far. Let them wonder a while
You bet your sweet ass I am !
“Patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings.” Bob Dylan
I just want to say that it is indeed an honor to be in the presence of such a dignified group of individuals who,as young adults strove to set a standard which remains today…bump
I ain’t tellin!
Please! Please! Please…somebody tell me what you all mean by ‘turtle’. I’d get down my knees and beg, but who’d help me back up??
I may not be a cat, but the curiosity is causing severe pain to my poor overworked brain. sniffle <in wavery tiny voice> please???
There, is that enough begging to satisfy you?
You sing in my consciousness like a counterpoint to my life.
L.L.
You bet your sweet ass I was!
(Quit drinkin’!)
Voted Best Sport
And narrowly averted the despised moniker Smiley Master
Forward deployed until 18AUG00
You bet your sweet ass I am!
Remember, averages only apply to the average.
Is the turtle astronaut story real or just a UL? I can’t seem to find anything on a web search. If you find it, don’t post the link right away; let’s keep 'em guessing. 
If Cecil Adams did not exist, we would be obliged to create Him.
I’m not a turtle (at least I don’t think I am) but one of my cats is. The others are not turtles. I don’t know how this can be but it is.
My dog is not a turtle either.
What the… with the turtles and three minute mysteries… and the angelina jolie incest… perhaps I should go out and get some sunlight…
You’re ALL full of shit. If you’re refering to being a SHELLBACK (he says, refering to the beautifully colored, laminated card in his wallet), then the correct answer is “You bet your sweet ass I am.” Otherwise, you token wannabes, bugger off! NO Shellback would EVER be duped into some kind of turtle dementia. No true Shellback would EVER mistake his state as being a “turtle”. Poseurs, the lot of you.
And Take THIS:
What is crossing the line? The definition, as provided in the Naval Orientation Manual, NAVEDTRA
16138-G explains;
"The boisterous ceremonies of crossing the line (equator) are so ancient that their derivation is lost. It is said that this custom
had its origin in the propitiatory offerings to the deities of the sea by mariners who thought that the gods and goddesses
controlled the elements.
Today when naval ships cross the Equator those members of the crew (called “pollywogs”) who have never before crossed the
line are initiated by the more experienced members of the crew (“shellbacks”). The usual formula is for the “shellbacks” to attire
themselves in strange costumes representing Neptune, Amphritrite, and other favorites of the sea. A court is held among
Neptune’s subjects, and the novices are summoned to trial. The fate administered to each is in the nature of ridicule, such as a
parade of the person’s particular idiosyncrasies and a caricature of his foibles. The victim is usually lathered with some frightful
concoction, shaved (with a wooden razor), and ducked backward into a tank of water. He is then issued a certificate, signed
by Neptunus Rex, documenting the fact that he has crossed the line and is now a full-fledged “shellback”."
Basically, you are put through Hell for several hours prior to appearing before King Neptune’s Court and upon completing your
sentence you are declared a Trusty Shellback. It’s a lot of fun…the second time around and I don’t think I suffered any
adverse long term effects except I still have some creamed corn fall out of my ear from time to time."
Notice there is nothing about no stinking TURTLES!!!
Uh… no. We are not refering to the Shellbacks. I think most of us here know perfectly well the difference between the Naval tradition of crossing the Equator and the Pilot’s tradition of the “Turtles”. The phrase “You bet your sweet ass, I am” has always been associated with the Turtles.
Now who’s full of shit?
“I must leave this planet, if only for an hour.” – Antoine de St. Exupéry
Are you a turtle?
Gee, wiz, Johnny. Even though you ignored the preposition IF, I’ll be more careful with your line “The phrase “You bet your sweet ass, I am” has always been associated with the Turtles.”
That may be true, but if it has, they appropriated it from the Navy and their tradition of the Shellbacks. And I can’t be as quick as you to judge how refined the knowledge is here, reference turtles and Shellbacks. So I am not going to let ignorance of the subject perpetuate itself.
Now that I’ve had a chance to look around the web a bit, Yes, you are still full of shit. I can site numerous places that speak of the Navy’s Shellback tradition, and not a single place where turtle and Air force coexist, short of an Air Force guy’s experiences in Grand Cayman with sea turtles. Could you help me find an AF reference to their turtleness?
Here are a couple of USN references: http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/.www/faq.html http://iserver.saddleback.cc.ca.us/div/mse/lostatol.html a civilian sailor’s experience
and here are pictures of the 'ceremony". http://members.tripod.com/logbone/shell.htm
Anything similar for you ‘turtles?’
You bet your sweet ass, I am! I’m a fireman, too. Watch me douse this flame war.
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/1396/turtle.html http://home.att.net/~skipwfg/turtle.htm
and from http://www.nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/schirra.html
[quote]
A high point of the Apollo-7 mission was the astronauts’ TV shows shot with a 4-1/2 pound camera developed by RCA. Their daily transmission was made during the pass of their spacecraft between Corpus Christi, Texas, and Cape Kennedy. During the program, nicknamed the “Wally, Walt and Donn Show”, the astronauts held up signs such as: “Hello From The Lovely Apollo Room, High Above Everything.” Another impertinent one asked: “Deke Slayton, Are You A Turtle?”. In accordance with bar-room tradition, adopted by the astronauts, he was obliged to answer: “You bet your sweet ass I am”, or buy everyone within earshot a drink. “I have recorded my answer”, Deke responded after momentarily cutting off his microphone. On one show, Schirra and Cunningham suddenly floated up toward the camera, vividly demonstrating weightlessness. They also panned the camera to show the interior of their spacecraft as they described its equipment, and collected loose drops of water with a vacuum hose.
[quote]
No warranty on the truthfulness of this alleged exchange. But it’s just a barfly thing.
NYC IRL III
is on April 15th. Do you have what it takes?
Relax, gentlemen. This is the Straight Dope! We settle questions like this by doing research.
I was initiated into the common turtle “society” when I was in Jr. High. The traditional query and answer was in place at that time. Thus the history of common turtles goes back at least twenty years.
Until now, I was unaware of any connection between turtles and either shellbacks or pilots. I was aware of a vaguely humiliating ritual upon crossing the equator for the first time, but never associated it with the tradition turtle Q&A.
A search on deja.com/usenet revealed no links between “turtle” and “shellback”; apparently, this is not a well-known controversy
A lookup of “shellbacks” has revealed some fascinating information (e.g. Imperium Neptuni Regis), but I’ve yet to see any association between that august society and the turtle Q&A.
I’ve found some interesting links about the common turtle society, perhaps I shall post them soon; however none of them mention a connection to the shellbacks.
If Cecil Adams did not exist, we would be obliged to create Him.
Now you see what happens guys? You start acting up, and manhattan has to come in and give away a perfectly good joke we could have milked for days! just to get you to behave.
Sigh… some people… some people’s parents…
If Cecil Adams did not exist, we would be obliged to create Him.
Yea, sorry about that, SingleDad. But we can’t be having barfights over this. It’s positively un-turtlelike.
NYC IRL III
is on April 15th. Do you have what it takes?
Not your fault, manhattan.