# Couldn't of/couldn't have **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 15, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156 "2020-08-15T05:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/222 "2020-08-20T12:08:09Z")
“Stepped foot” Appending a possessive " 's " to the name of every restaurant that doesn’t already end in an s. Eventually someone will refer to “Five Guys’s” A warp speed vaccine is needed for “Literally.” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/223 "2020-08-20T13:14:31Z")
Nah, I’d posted my reply to an earlier email in the thread, then saw his farther down, and quoted it, as he beat me to the punch and I didn’t notice it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/224 "2020-08-20T13:18:17Z")
While I didn’t really notice a lot of difference when I actually crossed the Kansas/Nebraska border (just south of Red Cloud), I did definitely notice a difference in the towns themselves on either side of the line. Kansas was, as you say, more just-so in terms of how everything was laid out, etc… while Nebraska was somewhat less orderly. Both places were very friendly though- I never felt unwelcome in either place. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/225 "2020-08-20T14:31:36Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > There’s a location field in Discourse? I hadn’t noticed. > > However, it absolutely does matter which way you turn. You’ll only get to chastise @Sam_Stone for derailing the thread if you’re going North when you turn left at Saskatoon. Go to your user page, select Preferences in the top menu then Profile in the left side menu and scroll down a bit. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/226 "2020-08-20T18:31:13Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > You’ll only get to chastise @Sam_Stone for derailing the thread if you’re going North when you turn left at Saskatoon. @Sam_Stone is a decent enough poster except for his wacky politics, which makes sense once you realize he’s in Alberta, and treat everything he says about politics accordingly. Alberta is basically Canada’s Texas. Like Texas, Alberta has more right-wingnuts, pickup trucks, and cowboy hats than you can shake a stick at – or a rifle, which are more common over there than sticks. Like Texas, their unofficial motto is “yeeeee-hawww!”, and every once in a while they threaten secession to get away from the dang libtards in the rest of the country. I blame the oil fumes. > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > [@eschereal](#): > > > > Have you ever been to Saskatchewan? Which way you turn does not matter. There is nothing in any direction, anywhere. > > Eh? As long as you don’t say this about Nebraska we’re good. The only notable thing I could find that has ever existed in Nebraska is Johnny Carson’s mom, who was, appropriately enough, very boring. Whereas Saskatchewan (though not Saskatoon itself) had the world-famous [Dick Assman](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/dick-assman-still-chuckles-over-his-david-letterman-fame-1.3076750) and still has the wonderfully creative [Dave Assman](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/dave-assman-sgi-vanity-licence-plate-1.5017377). 😉 ---
**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:** [August 20, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/227 "2020-08-20T18:42:12Z")
One problem you have with Nebraska is that if you are driving into it from the west, you are coming from Colorado or Wyoming, which are both beautiful states. So it suffers in comparison. Going into Saskatchewan, you are either entering from the worst side of Alberta, or from Manitoba. After driving through Vegreville and Lloydminster, Saskatchewan looks pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/228 "2020-08-20T19:01:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The only notable thing I could find that has ever existed in Nebraska is Johnny Carson’s mom I’m going to forgive you this, just once. Watch your step from here on out. Rueben sandwiches Vise Grips Kool Aid Warren Buffet Arbor Day Strategic Air Command constant velocity joints (try driving a car without one) Gallup polling Speedway Motors Only Unicameral legislature (nips no end of mischief in the bud) Sandhill cranes William Jennings Bryan Malcolm X (the last two are probably causally related) Spam the Mormon Trail College World Series Mutual of Omaha Boys town World’s Tractor Testing Laboratory Oglala aquifer, west of the Missouri River it’s hard to get a drink of water without it Henry Dooley Zoo, consistently awarded the best zoo in the world. And…our state capital is called The Penis of the Plains. You’ll have to look that up for yourself. Gorgeous architecture inside and out. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/229 "2020-08-20T19:12:58Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > The only notable thing I could find that has ever existed in Nebraska is Johnny Carson’s mom > > I’m going to forgive you this, just once. Watch your step from here on out. > > Rueben sandwiches _Reuben_ I will never disparage Nebraska again. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/230 "2020-08-20T19:22:02Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > _Reuben_ > I will never disparage Nebraska again. Reuben sandwich~invented in the ‘20s at the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha. In 1973 spent our wedding night at the Blackstone Hotel _because_ the Reuben was invented there. Have never regretted the wedding, the Blackstone or the sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/231 "2020-08-20T19:48:13Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Reuben sandwich~invented in the ‘20s at the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha. I realize I’m already on thin ice with you, but: (a) the Blackstone Hotel origin is disputed by some, claiming instead that the sandwich originated earlier at [Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_sandwich). This may, however, just be coastal elites squabbling with the flyover heartland types. (b) while I humbly acknowledge that the Reuben sandwich is pretty good, it cannot beat an authentic Montreal smoked meat sandwich, which likely originated at the historic [Schwartz’s Deli](https://www.schwartzsdeli.com/) in Montreal’s old Jewish district. Another possible origin is [the equally iconic Dunn’s, also in Montreal.](https://www.dunnsfamous.com/en/). Admittedly, none of these are in Saskatchewan, but again, Saskatchewan does seem to be in the running for a world-leading number of Assmans. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/232 "2020-08-20T20:13:26Z")
You and I must have just been looking at the same Wikipedia page. The New York deli claim may have some credibility but I think it is more likely you are right. Elite coastal think-they-are-elites appropriating something wonderful the heartlands perfected. Besides, how much good beef is produced in NY state? There you have it. The beef was here, the food talent was here, serendipity. The Montreal Reuben did catch my eye though-I thought “I have to get me one of those”. I will definitely keep your recommended restaurants handy. And you aren’t thin ice with me. Weez just fighting boredom. And in my case, cabin fever. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/233 "2020-08-20T23:32:40Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > One problem you have with Nebraska is that if you are driving into it from the west, you are coming from Colorado or Wyoming, which are both beautiful states. So it suffers in comparison. The premise of your assertion is flawed. Both Colorado and Wyoming provide you with a hundred miles of “subtle beauty” well before you make it into Nebraska, so it feels like you have been there for days already. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/234 "2020-08-21T00:59:14Z")
Since we’re mentioning other misused words (“literally” makes my ass twitch. Though metaphorically, not literally.) Another that seems to be increasing is “decimated”. Especially when referring to battles or natural disasters. If an army is decimated, it means they suffered a 10% casualty rate. If they were overrun and routed, then they were overrun or routed. Even destroyed would be appropriate. But I have accepted this one’s a lost cause as well. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/235 "2020-08-21T01:05:41Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Another that seems to be increasing is “decimated”. Especially when referring to battles or natural disasters. If an army is decimated, it means they suffered a 10% casualty rate. If they were overrun and routed, then they were overrun or routed. Even destroyed would be appropriate. > > But I have accepted this one’s a lost cause as well. I don’t get this one. Considering it’s in my 1968 dictionary with “to destroy a great number or proportion of” as the first definition, I question why anyone today cares that the archaic definition, which probably hasn’t been used in our lifetime, isn’t being used today. Does it bug people when other people are quarantined for fewer than 40 days? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/236 "2020-08-21T01:33:39Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > The only notable thing I could find that has ever existed in Nebraska is Johnny Carson’s mom > > I’m going to forgive you this, just once. Watch your step from here on out. > > Rueben sandwiches > Vise Grips > Kool Aid > Warren Buffet > Arbor Day > Strategic Air Command > constant velocity joints (try driving a car without one) > Gallup polling > Speedway Motors > Only Unicameral legislature (nips no end of mischief in the bud) > Sandhill cranes > William Jennings Bryan > Malcolm X (the last two are probably causally related) > Spam > the Mormon Trail > College World Series > Mutual of Omaha > Boys town > World’s Tractor Testing Laboratory > Oglala aquifer, west of the Missouri River it’s hard to get a drink of water without it > Henry Dooley Zoo, consistently awarded the best zoo in the world. > And…our state capital is called The Penis of the Plains. You’ll have to look that up > for yourself. Gorgeous architecture inside and out. You seem fond of Nebraska. You might enjoy [this little tribute to Omaha.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUDvhVDOquE) ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/237 "2020-08-21T02:20:56Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > You seem fond of Nebraska. You might enjoy [this little tribute to Omaha.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUDvhVDOquE) I did enjoy it. Thank you. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/238 "2020-08-21T02:28:18Z")
Somewhere between Lincoln and Omaha on I-80, there is a sign pointing you to Exit 420. I have seen MP 419.99 outside of Lamar Colorado, and a blank MP on US 12 between Pomeroy and Clarkston WA. What the fuck is wrong with the slackers in Nebraska? Are they still trying to work out what the red “N” on the Cornhuskers’ helmets stands for? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/239 "2020-08-21T02:34:57Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Another that seems to be increasing is “decimated”. Oh, good fucking God. What century are you from? “Increasing”? Maybe in the 1700s or something. Yes, that’s literally what it means but I’ve also literally never heard anyone use that word to refer to a 10% casualty rate. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/240 "2020-08-21T03:29:38Z")
Fine. Then from now on I’ll accept it. I meant to make mention that I figured it was mainly because the US so stubbornly refuses to accept the metric system and doesn’t know deci- as a unit category. Guess I’ll start using it more often. Literally, I’ll use it more often. Shit. Now I’ll have to figure out what to call a decimeter. I’m going with 42 shillings. Because any word can mean anything and 42 is the answer to everything anyway. 42 shillings now means 10 cm. (and seriously, I still don’t know what a damn shilling is? Slang for pennies, a coin pound, equivalent of a dime or quarter?) ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156/241 "2020-08-21T03:43:37Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Somewhere between Lincoln and Omaha on I-80, there is a sign pointing you to Exit 420. I have seen MP 419.99 outside of Lamar Colorado, and a blank MP on US 12 between Pomeroy and Clarkston WA. What the fuck is wrong with the slackers in Nebraska? Are they still trying to work out what the red “N” on the Cornhuskers’ helmets stands for? :whooossshhh: I don’t get the joke. I need clueing in. The Greenwood exit (420) is not to be missed going either way. A mile or two north is the Baker’s Chocolates factory store. Fresh handmade chocolates (even cheaper if factory seconds), several aisles of old time candies from your childhood you haven’t seen in 30 years. They’ll make up a custom gift basket for you on the spot and did I mention free samples. Laugh all you want. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156.md?page=13)