# BAHFest Festival of Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410 "2014-02-27T12:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/1 "2014-02-27T12:17:08Z")
The festival ([website](http://bahfest.com/)), hosted at MIT, was inspired by [this webcomic](http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2853). [My favourite entry.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq7XHmyGEPs). Anyone care to come up with their own potential entries for next year? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/2 "2014-02-27T14:18:51Z")
I came up with one some years ago that I submitted to New Scientist during one of their contests, and it was one of the winners. **WHY do men often spit into a urinal before urinating?** In the pre-plumbing past, men would urinate into weedy areas near trees. There was always a danger that venomous snakes might be lurking in these areas and could attack the urinator, possibly in a very sensitive spot. The pre-urination spit evolved to allow the urinator to flush out any snakes while his sensitive areas are still protected by his clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/3 "2014-02-27T16:51:09Z")
I have a theory that the thick “[Down East](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGPuYqjQ7w8)” accent of Maine lobsterman evolved because it is so cold out on the water that they don’t expose their teeth, hence the clipped mode of talking. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/4 "2014-02-27T17:13:03Z")
The legends of dragons around the world can best be explained by the hypothesis that neotenous salamanders used to grow to salt-water crocodile size, but that they were hunted to extinction in the early Bronze Age. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/5 "2014-02-28T09:20:47Z")
These are all good. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/6 "2014-02-28T10:33:13Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > I have a theory that the thick “[Down East](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGPuYqjQ7w8)” accent of Maine lobsterman evolved because it is so cold out on the water that they don’t expose their teeth, hence the clipped mode of talking. I think there must be a grain of truth in this idea - or at least the notion that environmental factors can contribute to the development of accents and dialects. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/7 "2014-02-28T10:46:08Z")
Try to feed a reluctant baby and it shakes its head side to side to escape the advancing spoon. Hence, we shake our heads to mean “No”. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/8 "2014-02-28T11:56:02Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > I have a theory that the thick “[Down East](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGPuYqjQ7w8)” accent of Maine lobsterman evolved because it is so cold out on the water that they don’t expose their teeth, hence the clipped mode of talking. I was listening to a radio show about the Scandinavian countries, and apparently it’s common knowledge that Fins are so taciturn because you don’t want to do a lot of chatting when it’s 20 below. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/9 "2014-02-28T14:49:42Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Try to feed a reluctant baby and it shakes its head side to side to escape the advancing spoon. > > Hence, we shake our heads to mean “No”. Whereas the head-bobbing-up-and-down motion is integral to the act of oral sex - hence, we nod our heads to mean “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/10 "2014-02-28T15:25:49Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I was listening to a radio show about the Scandinavian countries, and apparently it’s common knowledge that Fins are so taciturn because you don’t want to do a lot of chatting when it’s 20 below. My folks were in Australia when they were told by a local that the reason they speak out of the side of their mouths was to keep the flies out. ---
**Author:** ![Weirofhermiston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e274bd/32.png) [@Weirofhermiston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirofhermiston)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/11 "2014-02-28T15:48:43Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Try to feed a reluctant baby and it shakes its head side to side to escape the advancing spoon. > > Hence, we shake our heads to mean “No”. Southern India and Bulgaria would appear to be counterexamples, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head\_bobble](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_bobble) but then I’ve never seen babies from these regions declining food, so I may be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/12 "2014-02-28T15:55:05Z")
People bite their nails because, if they didn’t, the nails would grow in circles and make the hands useless for picking things up. > [@Stanislaus](#): > > …escape the advancing spoon… Band name! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/13 "2014-02-28T16:33:34Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Try to feed a reluctant baby and it shakes its head side to side to escape the advancing spoon. > > Hence, we shake our heads to mean “No”. A Eurocentric simplification. In much of the non-European world, that is not a gesture for “No”. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/14 "2014-02-28T18:07:19Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > A Eurocentric simplification. In much of the non-European world, that is not a gesture for “No”. Did you think this was the thread for _good_ ad hoc hypotheses? I really don’t think corrections are needed here. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/15 "2014-02-28T18:35:18Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Whereas the head-bobbing-up-and-down motion is integral to the act of oral sex - hence, we nod our heads to mean “yes”. Love it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bahfest-festival-of-bad-ad-hoc-hypotheses/682410/16 "2014-03-02T23:40:33Z")
The graphic arrow icon on your screen is called a cursor. That’s because of the way most people attempt to communicate with computers.