# Can we drop the superior "tinfoil hat" phrase, please? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 3, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252 "2005-05-03T17:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/21 "2005-05-03T21:32:21Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > Pit or not, you, sir, have left me speechless. Assuming I’ve read this correctly, of course. Speechless funny or speechless angry? ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/22 "2005-05-03T21:38:47Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Speechless funny or speechless angry? That would be the latter. I can’t read it as anything other than suggesting that the OP is taking lithium as an anti-manic and therefore is an object of ridicule and dismissal. Fighting ignorance indeed. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/23 "2005-05-03T21:39:54Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > Do you prefer shiny-side-in or shiny-side-out? I’m a shiny-side-in person, myself. HERETIC! [Shiny-side-out!](http://zapatopi.net/afdb.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoodoo_Ulove)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/24 "2005-05-03T21:56:28Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > Pit or not, you, sir, have left me speechless. Assuming I’ve read this correctly, of course. We must distinguish tinfoilhattery from mere asshattery. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/25 "2005-05-03T21:59:47Z")
I, for one, welcome our new unmetallicallyhaberdashed overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/26 "2005-05-03T22:29:56Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > That would be the latter. I can’t read it as anything other than suggesting that the OP is taking lithium as an anti-manic and therefore is an object of ridicule and dismissal. > > Fighting ignorance indeed. Speaking as someone who doesn’t function very well without his anti-depressants, I have to say that I found the line to be **damned** funny. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it was one of the top ten funniest things I’ve ever read on this board. Then again, I’m on medication, so you probably should just ignore what I have to say. Me being crazy and all. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/27 "2005-05-03T22:50:19Z")
My cat’s tinfoil hat tastes like tinfoil. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/28 "2005-05-03T22:52:33Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > That would be the latter. I can’t read it as anything other than suggesting that the OP is taking lithium as an anti-manic and therefore is an object of ridicule and dismissal. > > Fighting ignorance indeed. I say this as someone who has been on Prozac: lighten up, Francis. ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/29 "2005-05-03T23:24:01Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Speaking as someone who doesn’t function very well without his anti-depressants, I have to say that I found the line to be damned funny. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it was one of the top ten funniest things I’ve ever read on this board. Then again, I’m on medication, so you probably should just ignore what I have to say. Me being crazy and all. > [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I say this as someone who has been on Prozac: lighten up, Francis. Speaking from my experience, the stigma on depression is almost completely gone. However, having facilitated mood disorder support groups, the stigma on bipolar disorder is very much still around. Many of the regulars have never told their parents, friends, etc. And you have to wonder how many people go undiagnosed and therefore unmedicated because they’re afraid of the stigma themselves. Then agian, maybe I just overreacted. And, **Tuckerfan** , if you found that top 10 funny, you need to read about M&M gladiator battles. Best. Thread. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/30 "2005-05-04T00:21:18Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > Speaking from my experience, the stigma on depression is almost completely gone. However, having facilitated mood disorder support groups, the stigma on bipolar disorder is very much still around. Many of the regulars have never told their parents, friends, etc. And you have to wonder how many people go undiagnosed and therefore unmedicated because they’re afraid of the stigma themselves. > > Then agian, maybe I just overreacted. > > And, **Tuckerfan** , if you found that top 10 funny, you need to read about M&M gladiator battles. Best. Thread. Ever. Given that I’ve not told my family that I’m on anti-depressants since they wouldn’t understand, I’d say you overreacted. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/31 "2005-05-04T01:14:17Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > My cat’s tinfoil hat tastes like tinfoil. How are the snozberries? ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/32 "2005-05-04T04:28:22Z")
Oh I am so completely on the side of the OP on this one. It was only (somewhat) funny the first 1000 times. Now hearing this lame weatherbeaten piece of snark makes me side instantaneously with the alleged delusional. In fact all the delusionals of the world are my best friends when I hear it. At least they’re original. Jesus people, if you lack wit and wits most of the time (like me) suck it up! Anything’s better than swiping the same old tired line \*\*on the same board where everybody’s already heard it half a dozen times that day \*\* just to be able to toss out a nasty one liner. BTW asshattery must die too. I hope it’s painful. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/33 "2005-05-04T09:27:02Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > 😕 > > The moon landing joke you linked to would have really sucked if it had been followed by an elaborate debunking. Sometimes it’s OK to indicate to certain beliefs are crazy without backing it up, once it has been well-established elsewhere that said beliefs are in fact batshit-crazy. Not to mention that the alternative is boring as shit. Clearly you didn’t read the thread, or you’d have known it wasn’t a moon-landing joke. You saw the words “area 51” and shut off your brain, ignoring the well-documented fact that a number of interesting high-tech research projects have been tested there in the past 30 years including the US, SR-71, and F117. The OP in the other thread was just asking some people’s opinions on some satellite photos, without mentioning UFO’s, extraterrestrials, or moon hoaxes. So you were either too closed-minded or too stupid to understand what was being asked. Thanks for handily illustrating the point. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/34 "2005-05-04T10:09:50Z")
> [@dasgupta](#): > > Speaking from my experience, the stigma on depression is almost completely gone. However, having facilitated mood disorder support groups, the stigma on bipolar disorder is very much still around. Many of the regulars have never told their parents, friends, etc. And you have to wonder how many people go undiagnosed and therefore unmedicated because they’re afraid of the stigma themselves. > > Then agian, maybe I just overreacted. > > And, **Tuckerfan** , if you found that top 10 funny, you need to read about M&M gladiator battles. Best. Thread. Ever. Yeah, not to jump on you, but I found it funny, too, and I’m another one who’s been on anti-depressant meds (and was treated for bi-polar disorder, until they figured out it was just plain garden-variety depression). I laughed like a fool when I read that. And before anyone calls me out, I’ve been treated for being a fool, too. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/35 "2005-05-04T13:16:49Z")
Somebody has been drinking the kool aid. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/36 "2005-05-04T13:30:33Z")
No, they haven’t. If they were drinking the Kool-Aid, they’d be dead. Remember, “drinking the kool-aid” doesn’t mean “buying in.” That’s what **THEY** want you to think. ---
**Author:** ![Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoodoo_Ulove)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/37 "2005-05-04T15:06:38Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > BTW asshattery must die too. I hope it’s painful. With you there. What was wrong with assholery? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/38 "2005-05-04T15:09:53Z")
Listen, are you guys actually debunking anything or just having a big wank because somebody said the phrase “Area 51?” This is a link to a satellite image, not on some nutter’s web site, but on [maps.google.com](http://maps.google.com). [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.665124,-116.025646&spn=0.015750,0.021329&t=k&hl=en](http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.665124,-116.025646&spn=0.015750,0.021329&t=k&hl=en) Keep in mind this isn’t Paladin Press or the Flat Earth society… Google is a reference site that we consider reliable, is it not? (see the other pseudo-intellectual rejoinder “I’m too lazy to talk to you, Google for it”). Perhaps the pattern is real, or perhaps a prankster at Google slipped the image in there. If you zoom in closely, it looks fairly real. Anyway, didn’t mean to step on your little superiority trip there… please resume your high-school science club sophistry. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/39 "2005-05-04T15:17:31Z")
Some of you just need more cowbell. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252/40 "2005-05-04T16:26:40Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > Clearly you didn’t read the thread, or you’d have known it wasn’t a moon-landing joke. When I referred to the moon-landing joke, I was referring to [post #2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6120532&postcount=2), where **The Chao Goes Mu** makes a joke about the moon-landing being a fake. > [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > ::::tinfoil hat on:::: It’s obvious to me that this is precisely where they staged the fake moon landing. ::::tin foil hat off:::: Since this was the only time the phrase “tinfoil hat” appeared in that entire thread _and_ since you quoted **Chao** ’s post when you linked to this Pitting in that thread _and_ since the premise of your Pitting is that one shouldn’t use the phrase “tinfoil hat”, I sort of assumed that was what you were talking about… > [@Brain Wreck](#): > > You saw the words “area 51” and shut off your brain, ignoring the well-documented fact that a number of interesting high-tech research projects have been tested there in the past 30 years including the US, SR-71, and F117. The OP in the other thread was just asking some people’s opinions on some satellite photos, without mentioning UFO’s, extraterrestrials, or moon hoaxes. So you were either too closed-minded or too stupid to understand what was being asked. Thanks for handily illustrating the point. …but it’s now fairly clear that I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-drop-the-superior-tinfoil-hat-phrase-please/302252.md?page=3)