# Bill O'Reilly: Fucking tides, how do they work? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 4, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150 "2011-02-04T15:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/101 "2011-02-06T11:57:54Z")
Does a tide-locked planet have tides? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/102 "2011-02-06T12:13:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Earth and 3753 Cruithne have no particular gravitational relationship, any more than the car next to me has any electronic connection to me just because our turn signals happen to flash on and off at the same frequency and at the same time. Which is what the post he referenced says. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/103 "2011-02-06T15:05:26Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > When someone uses the bits science can’t explain at the moment to “prove” the existence of God, this is sometimes referred to as “The God of the Gaps”. Bill O’Reilly is using a version of this fallacy we might call The God of the Gaps for Stupid People. Not to be confused with the “God of the GAPs” theory, which posits that mall fashion trends can’t be explained by science, ergo there must be a God. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/104 "2011-02-06T16:30:01Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > But he’s really not. He is a pretty smart guy with advanced degrees from good universities. He just knows which side his bread is buttered on, and he caters to his audience. How long would he have a conservative following if said the earth was millions of years old or that the bible may just be a metaphor? > > He is evil, not stupid. That makes it worse. Smart? He doesn’t even know how to [speak Thai](http://www.slate.com/id/101760/). ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/105 "2011-02-06T16:33:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Does a tide-locked planet have tides? There is ‘evidence’ of tides. We call it prints of tides. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/106 "2011-02-06T18:11:41Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > There is ‘evidence’ of tides. We call it prints of tides. Hah. Anyway, no. You still have a tidal bulge, but the planet isn’t rotating with respect to it, so no rise and fall. Of course, if you have more than one tidal influence, you’ll only be locked to the strongest of them; if the Earth were one-face to the Moon, the Sun would still raise tides on the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/107 "2011-02-06T18:16:53Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > There is ‘evidence’ of tides. We call it prints of tides. _throws **sh1bu1** into the Bay Of Fundy_ (ironic name, don’tcha think?) ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/108 "2011-02-06T18:18:54Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Smart? He doesn’t even know how to [speak Thai](http://www.slate.com/id/101760/). Would you like to thai me up with some of your thais, thai? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/109 "2011-02-06T23:03:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Does a tide-locked planet have tides? Any object that extends in space from a source of gravity will experience tidal forces. If the object is in an elliptical orbit, then the tidal force will rise and fall as the distance to the gravitational source increases and decreases, which could allow for tidal movement. So if you were on a hypothetical planet that always kept one face to the sun, you could still have tides as the planet moved closer and farther away. This isn’t a small effect. I believe Europa’s liquid ocean is the result of the tidal force changing as it moves through its elliptical orbit When it’s close to Jupiter, it gets stretched by the tidal force, and when it’s far away it tried to pull back into a sphere. That causes enough internal friction to melt its icy core. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/110 "2011-02-06T23:08:53Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > I think this is a very candid look into how you approach discussions and debates here. If there is some criticism against one of “your guys”, no matter how ridiculously wrong your guy is, you’re willing to throw yourself against the wall, hoping to find that some small crack emerges. What a bizarre statement to make. Bricker actually said exactly the opposite of what you are accusing him of, even in the snippet of his post that you quoted from. He’s saying that it would be possible to split hairs and defend O’Reilly, but he wasn’t going to do it because in his heart he believed that the criticism of O’Reilly is valid. And you turn that into an attack on Bricker on the grounds that he dogmatically defends everyone who is on his side? Your reading comprehension sucks. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/111 "2011-02-07T11:02:20Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > What a bizarre statement to make. Bricker actually said exactly the opposite of what you are accusing him of, even in the snippet of his post that you quoted from. He’s saying that it would be possible to split hairs and defend O’Reilly, but he wasn’t going to do it because in his heart he believed that the criticism of O’Reilly is valid. > > And you turn that into an attack on Bricker on the grounds that he dogmatically defends everyone who is on his side? Your reading comprehension sucks. I think that you may have misunderstood **Hentor’s** position (understandably, given the way he expressed it). He seems, to me, to be saying that had O’Reilly been one of **Bricker’s** “guys”, Bricker _would_ have tried to develop a plausible defence for him – but since he isn’t, he won’t. Not that I disagree with Bricker on this myself, you understand. I can appreciate the temptation to develop theoretical arguments that might explain what O’Reilly was thinking (people have suggested the Strong Anthropic Principle for instance) – but I get the strong impression that he wasn’t thinking anything. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that nobody who starts out with “Look, you pinheads…” is going to go on to develop a finely-nuanced philosophical argument. That’s the rhetoric of the playground bully – in fact, I’ll go further: a playground bully scripted by Stan Lee circa 1962. I fully expect to learn that he considers Richard Dawkins a “pantywaist” and Stephen Hawking a “milquetoast”. ---
**Author:** ![McReady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@McReady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McReady)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/112 "2011-02-07T13:08:52Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Any object that extends in space from a source of gravity will experience tidal forces. If the object is in an elliptical orbit, then the tidal force will rise and fall as the distance to the gravitational source increases and decreases, which could allow for tidal movement. So if you were on a hypothetical planet that always kept one face to the sun, you could still have tides as the planet moved closer and farther away. > > This isn’t a small effect. I believe Europa’s liquid ocean is the result of the tidal force changing as it moves through its elliptical orbit When it’s close to Jupiter, it gets stretched by the tidal force, and when it’s far away it tried to pull back into a sphere. That causes enough internal friction to melt its icy core. Right. And with Earth’s Moon, there’s enough of that effect to cause occasional moonquakes. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/113 "2011-02-07T13:42:55Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I think that you may have misunderstood **Hentor’s** position (understandably, given the way he expressed it). He seems, to me, to be saying that had O’Reilly been one of **Bricker’s** “guys”, Bricker _would_ have tried to develop a plausible defence for him – but since he isn’t, he won’t. If that’s correct, I wonder who “my guys” might be, in **Hentor’s** mind? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/114 "2011-02-07T15:14:44Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > If that’s correct, I wonder who “my guys” might be, in **Hentor’s** mind? I wondered myself. I thought you might know. Sort of makes it harder to play the game, if you don’t know who’s side your supposed to be on. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/115 "2011-02-07T15:52:19Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I wondered myself. I thought you might know. > > Sort of makes it harder to play the game, if you don’t know who’s side your supposed to be on. Beats me. I guess I imagined that if I were viewed as an unrepentantly partisan conservative, surely O’Reilly WOULD be one of “my guys.” ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/116 "2011-02-07T16:12:54Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Beats me. I guess I imagined that if I were viewed as an unrepentantly partisan conservative, surely O’Reilly WOULD be one of “my guys.” First off, you are an unrepentant partisan conservative. And moving your opinion on gay marriage to that of Dick Cheney hardly changes that. I only mention this because you usually rock back on your heels and rub your belly saying, “Oh yeah, I changed my opinion on gay marriage, I’m not partisan.” when someone calls you on it. That said, I have enjoyed the bullshit astronomy tangent so I forgive you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/117 "2011-02-07T17:06:23Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Yeah…Bricker really went to the wall defending O’Reilly there. 😕 Did you actually read that post to the end, or kinda stop halfway through? Are you stupid or what. I’ll go with stupid. His post is a discussion with himself about how to mount a defense of O’Reilly’s words. Most people just look at the content of the words and evaluate them first, concluding that he’s just fucking moronic. They arrive rather quickly at the conclusion “Yeah, that’s pretty fucking stupid and indefensible.” Bricker tells us here that his first thought is “Hmmm, how could I defend this?” and to start mapping out a defense strategy first, before coming ultimately (in this case) to the reality-based conclusion. So, sure, I’ll give him some credit that in this case the task was too great even for him. I suppose the real surprise should be that even **Bricker** has some standards. Next time that **Bricker** wants to chase some semantic nitpick down the rabbit hole just because there’s been some criticism levied against the right, his post in this thread ought to leap to mind in order to see where the process started (excepting of course, the good judgment to recognize when people on the right are in fact in the wrong). ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/118 "2011-02-07T17:08:21Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Beats me. I guess I imagined that if I were viewed as an unrepentantly partisan conservative, surely O’Reilly WOULD be one of “my guys.” Can you bat your eyes in a message board post? Who, little ol’ me? Why I do declare! Someone fetch **Bricker** a good fainting couch. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/119 "2011-02-07T17:56:22Z")
Ah… I had that wrong then. My apologies to **Sam Stone.** ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150/120 "2011-02-07T18:20:39Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Most people just look at the content of the words and evaluate them first, concluding that he’s just fucking moronic. > > Bricker tells us here that his first thought is “Hmmm, how could I defend this?” and to start mapping out a defense strategy first, before coming ultimately (in this case) to the reality-based conclusion. Laf. Most people read **Bricker** ’s original post (basically saying, I _can_ understand BillO’s argument but he’s deluded) and thought: That’s a valid take that’s slightly different than what’s been expressed so far. But **Hentor** , you read it and say: Okay, I can use that comment as a way to attack the poster. You can better do, Mr. Barbarian, and an apology wouldn’t be out of line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-fucking-tides-how-do-they-work/570150.md?page=7)