# Can't find a column. Can you? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 25, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931 "2003-07-25T18:15:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/1 "2003-07-25T18:15:30Z")
Not truly about the SDMB, but about the SD, and I don’t know where help me to find a column threads go to, so I did it here. Some time ago I read a column by Cecil about numbering several people of a family who share a common name (something like you’re John Doe III, your father was John Doe II, and so on). I found this stuff (which is uncommon here) pretty interesting, and I’d like to check that column again, but I can’t find it despite having searched the archives for a while for a couple of variants. Anyone can kindly provide a link to that article? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/2 "2003-07-25T20:46:31Z")
I thought you might have talking about the Henry System, but that’s not about shared names. And no Cecil column on that, either! You know, 5th kid named Quinten, 8th named Octavia, etc…) I even looked for some famous names (Henry V, Henry VIII, Pope John XII), to see if anything was included in that discussion. Nothing. If I think of the right word for the custom, then we can all search for it. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/3 "2003-07-26T16:51:25Z")
NoClueBoy: You’re talking about numbering your ancestors when drawing your family tree? It’s much more banal; it’s a sophistication of the Sr./Jr. thing: If your father’s name was John Doe, yours is John Doe Jr. If your grandfather’s was John Doe as well, he’s John Doe I, your father II, you’re III. IIRC the column mentions that as soon as granddad dies, your father is switching to I and you to II, which is why people shouldn’t call themselves John Doe VII or so since this would mean some great-great-great-great-grandfather is still alive. Probably I read it somewhere else and just assume it was a SD column since interesting stuff on my mind usually is from the Straight Dope. I searched for _great-grandfather_ with a number of \*great-\*s prefixed, since I was pretty sure this appeared in the text I’m looking for, but no success. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/4 "2003-07-26T17:35:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Schnitte \* > \*\*NoClueBoy: You’re talking about numbering your ancestors when drawing your family tree? It’s much more banal; it’s a sophistication of the Sr./Jr. thing \*\* No, and I know. That’s what I was looking for. I even asked in GQ what the term for this is and got one response, which was interesting, but not quite what you wanted. Maybe it’ll pop up somewhere/when we least expect it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/5 "2003-07-27T12:47:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*Maybe it’ll pop up somewhere/when we least expect it. 🙂 \*\* That’s the kind of approach I take frequently. And the interesting thing is: It actually works out, providing that you’re patient enough 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/6 "2003-07-27T18:00:20Z")
But what if you have an accident involving a time machine and a contraceptive? How does it work then? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/7 "2003-07-27T21:55:18Z")
**Chronos** , I _am_ my own greatfather, but that won’t happen for a couple of years yet. I’ll fill you in on the details then. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/8 "2003-07-27T21:57:02Z")
_:::sigh:::_ great **grand** father ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-a-column-can-you/190931/9 "2003-07-28T16:44:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*But what if you have an accident involving a time machine and a contraceptive? How does it work then? 😃 \*\* No need to worry there. The course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw. It all sorts itself out in the end, so share and enjoy.