# Dear Czarcasm--I hear you like Grape Soda--- **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 21, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890 "2003-07-21T12:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/1 "2003-07-21T12:47:11Z")
Do you think you could get some grape soda out of this great, big, huge, angry, wet, purple thing? [LINKY-LINK](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/030718/170/4q3bu.html&e=6&ncid=1756) That ain’t no Barney! ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/2 "2003-07-21T12:56:04Z")
That’s got to be a photoshop. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/3 "2003-07-21T12:57:18Z")
[It is.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=198908) ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/4 "2003-07-21T13:00:46Z")
Great, I’m never trusting yahoo as a news source again. Whoever made that photoshop needs to go back to art school, they could have at least pasted the original bars on top of the purple ones. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/5 "2003-07-21T13:02:43Z")
Hmm, it does appear to be a bit “enhanced”. My reasoning: the front of the bars just below the bear’s head, have also mysteriously turned purple. Could it be a reflection? Well, only if it’s re-reflecting another image of the bear, since they’re facing away from the bear. Or they’re made of glass. Or the violet rubs off. Mr Occam demurs from these explanations. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/6 "2003-07-21T13:06:20Z")
So why are Reuters reporting this as true? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/7 "2003-07-21T13:10:25Z")
Anyone seen The Grapist lately??? ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/8 "2003-07-21T13:49:58Z")
Actually, they showed footage of the bear several times on CNN Headline News either Friday or Saturday- moving around and eating and sniffing and definitely purple (though not nearly as purple as the pic- perhaps that’s where the photoshopping comes in?). Accompanying story stated that they have been rubbing the bear down with some kind of anti-fungal treatment, and it turned the poor thing purple. Cracked Mr. Kitty up every time he saw it. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/9 "2003-07-21T15:31:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*Great, I’m never trusting yahoo as a news source again. Whoever made that photoshop needs to go back to art school, they could have at least pasted the original bars on top of the purple ones. \*\* Agreed. I’m pretty new to photoshop, and even i could have done a better job than that. ---
**Author:** ![pencilpusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d6d6ee/32.png) [@pencilpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pencilpusher)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/10 "2003-07-21T16:22:18Z")
Where can I get some of that medication? I’d like to do an experiment on my hubby!! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/11 "2003-07-21T16:58:56Z")
I think the the thing is real. [Here’s](http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_801020.html?menu=) another picture of the animal. Notice how some of the rocks away from the bear are also purple. Notice how some parts of the bars are purple, others are not, and that the two don’t correspond to the position of the animal. My guess is that the medication is topical and rubs off. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/12 "2003-07-21T18:18:51Z")
My guess is that the bear was jealous of the [green bunny](http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor). My god, what’s next? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/13 "2003-07-21T21:56:09Z")
This sounds like yet another occurance of Revtim’s Law: Whenever an odd-looking picture is being discussed, several people must comment on how bad the Photoshopping is - even when the pic turns out to be 100 percent genuine. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/14 "2003-07-21T21:57:42Z")
I don’t know whether it’s a fake or not, but I do know that if the alleged artist wanted it to be a _good_ fake, he would have made certain that the bear’s purpleness was reflected in nearby objects. The fact that the bars and rocks have some purpleness actually attests to the photo’s possible genuineness. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/15 "2003-07-21T22:01:04Z")
How would you like to be that bear? I mean, if you or me woke up with purple hair, we might be a little … confused. “Now, let’s see… where was I last night. Think, you fool, think! The Rabid Badger, downing shots. Okay, then where? The strip club… BooBoo was there…Can’t remember what happened next…Man, I look like $^^@#^ Grimace!” ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/16 "2003-07-21T22:29:20Z")
\>\> That’s got to be a photoshop \>\> Agreed. I’m pretty new to photoshop, and even i could have done a better job than that. It’s not. [Argentinian media carry different photos](http://www.cuyonoticias.com.ar/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=404). ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/17 "2003-07-22T01:05:12Z")
Couldn’t scrounge a photo, but polar bears can get algae growing in the hollow shafts of their hairs, turning their coat green. Green bears, purple bears…can the Grateful Dead be far behind? ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/18 "2003-07-22T11:39:35Z")
Umm - when I first saw it, I thought it was fake. But I’ve now seen the moving pictures on Reuters, which we ran yesterday, and it doesn’t seem to be enhanced. The bear really is VIVID purple. That dye on the front of the cage is probably either from them spraying the bear through the bars, or from the bar rubbing its paws and muzzle round the bars (in the video footage, it really does push through and reach round and stuff). IMO they may have rather over-dyed the bear for the tourism attraction. It’s being treated for a minor skin lesion, IIRC, so I’m surprised they have to coat the entirety of it. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/19 "2003-07-22T12:02:36Z")
To paraphrase…okay, to do a hack job on a Diane Ackerman poem: Swans are not white; they’re clear And so are polar bears. Blue jays are not blue Perhaps you already knew ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890/20 "2003-07-22T16:53:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > That dye on the front of the cage is probably either from them spraying the bear through the bars, or from the bar rubbing its paws and muzzle round the bars (in the video footage, it really does push through and reach round and stuff). I can’t believe I have to explain JPG and MPG compression. Just do the test yourself. Take a purple background and draw some grey bars across. Now compress with JPG and see what happens. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-czarcasm-i-hear-you-like-grape-soda/189890.md?page=2)