# Being the last poster of a thread and then it dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751 "2018-07-11T21:02:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 146
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2902 "2025-01-02T23:40:20Z")
It originated in textile factories that used the Jacquard loom. The loom used punched cards to control the weaving pattern, enabling quite intricate designs to be woven much more easily than was previously possible. But sometimes the program cards were fed into the machine in the wrong order, producing errors in the pattern. Just as today, such programming errors were called “bugs”. A rug woven with a bug in it would often need to be entirely discarded and rewoven. But the discarded rugs were reused for purposes where the pattern wouldn’t matter, such as for an awning on a ship to protect it from bad weather. A ship so protected was called “snug”, and since it was protected by a buggy rug, it would be said to be “snug as a bug in a rug”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2903 "2025-01-03T01:26:42Z")
No, the origin of the expression is completely different, but the words were later mispronounced and its meaning changed somewhat. There is a sort of similarity, though: it is about safety in obscurity, about evading capture by blending in ad vanishing in a massive throng. The original version is “snuck a buck in a ruck.” ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2904 "2025-01-03T04:15:30Z")
Heh. Those answers remind me of certain segments on _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2905 "2025-01-03T05:36:15Z")
It had something to do with stoats and Orson Bean, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2906 "2025-01-03T08:49:32Z")
Wrong thread, that discussion should go to > [@The cognitive process of "rhyming" in pop-art](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cognitive-process-of-rhyming-in-pop-art/1012415): > > random shower thoughts: why is rhyming (in pop/rock/rap-music, poetry, etc…) a thing … why does it cause us positive feelings ? why is it omnipresent in contemporary art? is it about “pro-active” pattern recognition (the night was cold / our love turned \_\_\_\_). again, interested in the mental/cognitve process of decoding (why do we generally speaking like that shit is rhyming), rather than verse-meters or somesuch literary vehicles. EXAMPLE Every breath you take And every move you make Ev… ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2907 "2025-01-09T03:59:30Z")
![](https://media1.tenor.com/m/xzUN3xfr43kAAAAC/dead-men-tell-no-tales-keep-them-quiet.gif "Dead Men Tell No Tales Keep Them Quiet GIF - Dead Men Tell No Tales Keep Them...") ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2908 "2025-01-09T05:55:29Z")
But do they wear plaid? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2909 "2025-01-09T23:05:03Z")
Does anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2910 "2025-01-09T23:53:51Z")
no, of course not ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2911 "2025-01-09T23:55:33Z")
Plaid be the bees knees ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2912 "2025-01-10T00:50:36Z")
I never heard of black and yellow plaid. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2913 "2025-01-10T01:46:46Z")
[![](https://relicate.com/cdn/shop/products/Relicate_Spec_Plaid_Tartan_5843_2000x.jpg) ](https://relicate.com/cdn/shop/products/Relicate_Spec_Plaid_Tartan_5843_2000x.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2914 "2025-01-10T02:34:30Z")
Well, there we are, then. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2915 "2025-01-10T03:06:17Z")
Wherever you go, there you are. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2916 "2025-01-10T03:22:36Z")
That’s what bothers me. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2917 "2025-01-12T03:59:38Z")
Don’t worry, Buckaroo. It’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2918 "2025-01-12T05:04:50Z")
Banzai! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2919 "2025-01-13T01:33:36Z")
Huzzah for little trees! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2920 "2025-01-13T02:31:36Z")
So what? Big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751/2921 "2025-01-13T02:35:08Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > I never heard of black and yellow plaid. I had a long hooded coat almost this color when I was in college (in the late 1970s). The 70s were known for their wild and crazy color combinations in everything. Fashion, painting, wallpaper, furniture, rugs, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751.md?page=145) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-the-last-poster-of-a-thread-and-then-it-dies/817751.md?page=147)