# 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:** 397
**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:** [November 8, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7924 "2023-11-08T16:06:44Z")
That doesn’t compute. A player on a pitcher’s own team might accept an error to preserve a no-hitter, but not the other team. And it isn’t up to the players whether they accept an error anyway; the official scorer decides. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7925 "2023-11-08T16:07:35Z")
You’re right. It was on his own team. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7926 "2023-11-08T17:10:53Z")
There is a quote from a football coach - I wish I remember who - that referenced the perceived lack of sportsmanship of running up the score when your team has a large lead. “We will stop trying to score when they stop trying to catch us.” ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7927 "2023-11-08T17:23:18Z")
Some of the NBA top single-game scorers would seem to lend to the idea the other team was not trying as hard as normal once the potential record was in sight. I mean, 100 points by Wilt Chamberlain? In the modern era, 81 points by Kobe? ---
**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:** [November 8, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7928 "2023-11-08T19:03:40Z")
I thought it might be a reference to foo dogs. I’ve never had another B&J flavor better than Half Baked. They are all pretty good, but brownie batter and cookie dough? 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:** [November 8, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7929 "2023-11-08T19:45:57Z")
I haven’t had enough Ben and Jerry’s to have a list of favorites, or of dis-favorites for that matter, although a lot of their combinations make me think ‘can’t I get a plain coffee or raspberry ice cream without weird chunks in it?’ What little I have had was very good ice cream; worth the money, if I had the money, but I often don’t. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7930 "2023-11-08T20:25:57Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > From Wikipedia: > > > Grohl hoped to stay anonymous and release the recordings in a limited run under the name Foo Fighters, taken from [foo fighter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foo_fighter), a [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II) term for [unidentified flying objects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unidentified_flying_object). Yep, I knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7931 "2023-11-08T20:53:12Z")
Don’t like the texture of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Can’t hold my breath because I start giggling. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7932 "2023-11-08T20:57:09Z")
Famously, Ted Williams was given the choice to sit out the final day of the 1941 season, a doubleheader in Philadelphia, to protect his .400 batting average. (Not a record, but an incredible achievement that has not been matched since.) He insisted on playing, however, and went 6-for-8 in the two games, finishing the season at .406. Now, I’ve never heard any speculation that the A’s pitchers went easy on him that day. But if you think about it, a pair of rookie pitchers (accounting for most of Williams’s at-bats) facing a legend in the midst of making history, in a completely meaningless couple of games, could easily feel intimidated enough to take a little something off, consciously or not. Maybe. [An interesting article about that day here.](https://www.mlb.com/news/ted-williams-plays-in-1941-to-hit-406) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7933 "2023-11-08T21:10:51Z")
What’s the minimum number of games you have to bat to hold an official batting average? I assume you can’t bat .400 over a lucky 5-game streak, get cut from the roster, and lay claim to such an achievement. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7934 "2023-11-08T22:31:54Z")
Your batting average is your batting average. Doesn’t matter if you were at bat once or played every game. To qualify for the batting title you have to have a minimum of 502 plate appearances. Not at bats, plate appearances. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7935 "2023-11-08T23:49:49Z")
> - 75%1506 nix nix > > - 25%Notary sojac > What the hell was that previous poll about? > > - I don’t have the foggiest idea. > - Nah, I understood perfectly. I didn’t have the foggiest idea, but looking up “notary sojac” on wikipedia led me to this, > **[Smokey Stover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Stover)** > > Smokey Stover is an American comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Bill Holman from March 10, 1935, until he retired in 1972 and distributed through the Chicago Tribune. It features the misadventures of the titular fireman. > Holman was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and moved to Chicago, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts while working as an office boy in the Chicago Tribune art department. He relocated to New York City where he worked as a staff artist at the New York Herald ... which apparently was where the World War II airmen got the term “foo fighter”. Very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7936 "2023-11-09T00:35:54Z")
To answer the sports poll, it was a disgrace when Brett Favre lay down so that Michael Strahan could “sack” him and get the most-sacks-in-a-season record. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7937 "2023-11-09T01:09:03Z")
Yes, I know about Smokey Stover. Someone was posting examples of the strip on a Facebook page devoted to old funny papers. It played the Wacky card until you wanted it to cease. [![](https://scontent-lga3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/317770635_10224907687993444_5512103447431758805_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=8Sn2BUctNx0AX8sdLx9&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-2.xx&oh=00_AfAuc77zxDGmU4488WEutG6IPM9eBfLsbO0DRu1e1Qi25w&oe=6551A96C) ](https://scontent-lga3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/317770635_10224907687993444_5512103447431758805_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=8Sn2BUctNx0AX8sdLx9&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-2.xx&oh=00_AfAuc77zxDGmU4488WEutG6IPM9eBfLsbO0DRu1e1Qi25w&oe=6551A96C) One of the most irritating comic strips from that irritating decade, the Forties. I don’t know about foo and its ultimate point of origin. Bob Clampett cartoons in the Thirties (Daffy Duck, etc.) used to throw the word in at random intervals. “Foo” is also a mild interjection of disapproval. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7938 "2023-11-09T04:31:10Z")
So, [De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue) what the heck did that mean? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7939 "2023-11-09T13:07:27Z")
I rarely eat ice cream, and when I do it’s just the store brand French vanilla. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7940 "2023-11-09T18:16:58Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Your batting average is your batting average. Doesn’t matter if you were at bat once or played every game… I once saw a player come up from the minor leagues to play with the Cleveland Indians. He got a single in his very first at-bat. When he came to bat the second time, his batting average showed on the Jumbotron: .1000. I said to a friend who was with me, “It’s all downhill from here!” ---
**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:** [November 9, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7941 "2023-11-09T18:17:12Z")
I like several B&J flavors, but how did I miss Creme Brulee??? Now I has a sad. I just told my sister the other day that I wanted creme brulee for my birthday dessert, but I don’t know where to get one. I got hooked on their Strawberry Cheesecake flavor years ago, when we had our dogs, Luc & Shanni. They were typical little begging dachshunds, so they always got a tiny taste at the end of the carton. And every time Luc had Strawberry Cheesecake he threw up. Like _Immediately._ It was so weird we tried it two more times, and he threw up each time. We stopped after that. There was nothing in it that wasn’t in other flavors he’d get down with no trouble. It was just so random. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7942 "2023-11-09T18:23:03Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I like several B&J flavors, but how did I miss Creme Brulee??? Now I has a sad. I just told my sister the other day that I wanted creme brulee for my birthday dessert, but I don’t know where to get one… It was so freakin’ good it inspired _two_ threads here: > [@Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-jerrys-creme-brulee-ice-cream/561407): > > Never had it before - Google says it was introduced three years ago? Wow - it was good! It just might displace Mint Chocolate Chip and Heath Bar Crunch as my favorite B&J flavor. Yummmmm. Anyone else had it? What did you think? > [@Ben & Jerry's is going to kill me.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-jerrys-is-going-to-kill-me/398801): > > I just discovered their new [Creme Brulee](http://benandjerrys.com/our_products/flavorWorld.cfm?c=whatsnew) flavor. I couldn’t stop eating it, even though it was sort of overwhelming. I did eventually manage to put it back in the freezer, but not until I’d had 1/4 or 1/3 of the dang pint! It’s really tasty. I’ve never eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one go in my life, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I manged. I’m just going to die if I do give in to this new addiction too much. Check out the nutritional info on that thing! ---
**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:** [November 9, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/7943 "2023-11-09T18:26:44Z")
Ah. A pretty long time ago when I was much more careful with my diet. Sigh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=396) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=398)