# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380 "2022-09-28T11:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 282
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5624 "2023-07-18T06:51:58Z")
I haven’t had a cigarette in 20 something years. I would have no problem abstaining for another 5 years or for the rest of my life. But if it suddenly became good for me? Sign me up. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5625 "2023-07-18T12:51:54Z")
Why is it a thing? Probably because many people need to also be around non-human animals, and some of them don’t get enough of that in their lives. Also, I suspect, advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5626 "2023-07-18T13:01:36Z")
There’s “being around animals” and then there’s “doing yoga while a goat stands on you”. I wonder how often people get pooped on. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5627 "2023-07-18T13:37:28Z")
Didn’t vote on the “defending a guilty criminal” because the crime isn’t mentioned. Some crimes are truly crimes, others can be just silly laws, such as arresting someone for jaywalking when the crosswalks are fully a mile apart. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5628 "2023-07-18T14:14:51Z")
What does going to heaven or hell have to do with moral absolutism? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5629 "2023-07-18T14:18:35Z")
Other indeed ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5630 "2023-07-18T14:35:06Z")
Dualistic morality goes back to [Zoroastrianism](https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/beliefs/dualism.shtml). We can thank (or blame) the Babylonians ultimately for that. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5631 "2023-07-18T14:55:25Z")
Mythology is only one basis for moral reasoning. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5632 "2023-07-18T15:02:30Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I wonder how often people get pooped on. Not very often. One of our local breweries has Goat Yoga classes every Sunday morning. It’s a fun way to get out and new new and New-Age people. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5633 "2023-07-18T16:18:51Z")
I wavered between alcohol and soft drinks. I don’t currently drink either all that much, but I do get the occasional craving for a non-diet Coke or root beer. Since I’m not in the habit of drinking them regularly now, it wouldn’t be that much of a hardship to go completely without them. As for the alcohol, although I drink very little, I’m less willing to go without the occasional margarita with dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and since I really don’t want more than one, I wouldn’t take advantage of the benefit. The fact that five years is becoming a more and more significant percentage of my remaining life expectancy played into this. I’m not about to do without a food I love for a third of my remaining life. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5634 "2023-07-18T16:39:05Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I posted the book-reading poll because I have never, to my recollection, have not completed a book I’ve started. You either have had excellent taste when selecting books up until now, or you’re much more of a glutton for punishment than I am. Life is much too short for sticking with bad books. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5635 "2023-07-18T19:00:03Z")
I have some wonderful and magical memories of Christmas mornings after Santa had visited. And I’ve never felt any sense of betrayal or resentment toward my parents for “lying” to me about it. It’s a harmless little fiction that makes kids happy. I don’t have kids, but if I had, Santa would definitely have come to our house for as many years as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5636 "2023-07-18T19:04:30Z")
Loved Santa as a kid and as an adult. Fond memories and what a memorable way to make concrete the concept of generosity. I’ve never met anyone who felt betrayed, confused, traumatized or otherwise wished their parents never did Santa. ---
**Author:** ![Allecher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@Allecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allecher)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5637 "2023-07-18T19:11:29Z")
My kids believed in Santa for a while. There is actually a common idea in atheist circles that teaching your kids about Santa is the first step in teaching them not to blindly believe authority figures. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5638 "2023-07-18T20:20:00Z")
I believed in Santa. I don’t think my kid (now three) gives a whit about Santa. He likes presents and doesn’t care who they came from. I’m just a really terrible liar and I can’t lie to my kid. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5639 "2023-07-18T20:40:51Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Didn’t vote on the “defending a guilty criminal” because the crime isn’t mentioned. Some crimes are truly crimes, others can be just silly laws, such as arresting someone for jaywalking when the crosswalks are fully a mile apart. Ditto. @Cardigan: I’m just not voting in yours. I’m with Terry Pratchett: no, it’s not built into the universe (let alone with heaven and hell); but yes, it damn well matters, though any damnation is ours entirely. I can’t remember whether my parents told me that Santa was real. We occasionally got presents that said “from Santa”; we also got presents that were labeled as from somebody in the family. I don’t remember any shock at finding out otherwise – maybe because I hold to what I once told my then-small nephew when unexpectedly asked that question, which is that there are different kinds of real. I don’t know what I’d have told my kids if I’d had any. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5640 "2023-07-18T20:51:53Z")
I don’t remember ever believing in Santa Claus, but I also have no memory of my parents ever mentioning Santa at all … except in a joking manner. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5641 "2023-07-18T21:20:44Z")
C. Some of us are Jewish and always knew there was no Santa. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5642 "2023-07-18T21:38:42Z")
It’s an important part of the legal process for defendants to get the best possible defense. Even the guilty ones. I just could never do that myself. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5643 "2023-07-18T22:03:58Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It’s an important part of the legal process for defendants to get the best possible defense. Even the guilty ones. Agreed. You don’t lose sleep over the guilty ones that get freed. It’s pretty rare, especially for serious crimes. You lose sleep over the ones you really think are (or might be) innocent. Because they usually get convicted too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=281) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=283)