# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/461 "2024-03-13T15:28:10Z")
That’s just ridiculous—that’s a made-up fairy from Victorian and 20th century children’s media, not a “real” fairy from 19th-century and earlier folklore. Those look more or less like people, and you certainly wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a fairy and a solicitor at first glance. (I’m not aware of any traditions about fairies carrying pamphlets or cell phones, though.) ---
**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:** [March 13, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/462 "2024-03-13T15:29:49Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > That makes sense, but you would also have to assume that you had the ability to tell, just by looking, that it was an actual fairy. Because otherwise, if you saw an actual fairy at your door, you would think it was a person dressed as a fairy (or some other non-magical fairy emulator). Yes, I was assuming that there was something about the fairy that made that obvious. (I was also assuming that for whatever reason I didn’t think I was hallucinating; though my suddenly developing that sort of hallucination might not be less likely than a walrus on my doorstep.) ---
**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:** [March 13, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/463 "2024-03-13T15:56:54Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > It’s not clear to me that the “incel” group she created for “late bloomers to talk about dating” is even related to the incel community that later made the news, except for using the same abbreviation. Maybe it is? The article doesn’t say so explicitly. > > But i agree that she chose a bad name. She should have gone with the descriptive word she uses today, “late boomer”, which suggests both that it’s about you and that you can (even will) change. Whereas “involuntary celibate” sounds like someone else is forcing you to abstain from sex It’s directly related. She made a website for the subject. I don’t know if it had a portion that was specifically set up in message board format but it had the same effect. Like minded people could communicate with each other. She left the website after a few years and handed it off to others. It morphed into the toxic community starting from that website. I won’t presume to say there is someone for everyone. I will say that in my professional life I have seen some of the worst people in the worst circumstances and one thing they had in common was they all had mates/partners/spouses. Those in my life that have complained about not finding anyone tend to have unrealistic expectations for a partner. One old high school acquaintance fits the bill exactly. He is out of shape and looks sloppy. He dresses sloppy. He makes no effort to change. He’s been out of work or underemployed ever since he was fired from his dream career path for behavior many people warned him about. He probably still could have found someone except he has unrealistic expectations. He was constantly hitting on pretty waitresses that were up to 20 years younger than him. He required any woman who he dated to have no exes or children. Doable in your 20s. Much more difficult from your 40s and up. Now he’s had many medical issues exacerbated by being in bad physical condition and he’s bitter but still thinks he’s a catch. The incels I’ve met aren’t forced to be celibate because no one will date them. They are celibate because they think any woman they pick should automatically want them. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/465 "2024-03-13T19:31:44Z")
Are you telling me fairies from early folklore are not made up? ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/466 "2024-03-13T20:14:22Z")
We have several friends who sometimes refer to themselves as fairies related to their occupations. Off the top of my head we know a: Carpet fairy Cake fairy E.R. fairy So, a fairy at the door would be quite possible. Walruses not so much. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/467 "2024-03-13T20:25:07Z")
Hey, if someone can call themselves a carpet fairy, I can call myself a computer walrus. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/468 "2024-03-13T20:51:25Z")
Goo goo ga joob. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/469 "2024-03-13T20:53:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Are you telling me fairies from early folklore are not made up? There are people who think that some of those stories are derived from misinterpretations of earlier (and now long-gone) human or hominin populations. I have no idea whether there’s anything accurate in such theories. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/470 "2024-03-13T21:19:06Z")
Nope, those theories are deeply entwined with 19th-century racist theories of social evolution. As for “not made up”—well, would you accept “not made up by the individuals who talked about them” ? Barrie made up tinkerbell, but fairies from folklore were just part of the general cultural baggage. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/471 "2024-03-13T21:54:10Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > those theories are deeply entwined with 19th-century racist theories of social evolution. Ah. Didn’t realize that – I’m pretty sure that it didn’t show in the context of wherever I ran into them; I don’t remember what that was but it was something favorable to the people the stories were supposedly about, being driven out by annoying interlopers who weren’t their superiors but just lived in different ways – but people often pick things up out of their original context, and not all of them are as innocuous as they look at first glance. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/472 "2024-03-14T01:31:33Z")
The Good Idea Fairy is real. I’ve seen the results. > **[Beware of The Good Idea Fairy](https://mattmazur.com/2013/04/16/the-good-idea-fairy/)** > > When I was in the Air Force I had one assignment where I worked closely with a lieutenant colonel who was a self-proclaimed “good idea fairy”. Every time we had a meeting he would inter… ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/473 "2024-03-14T01:37:46Z")
I think someone has been on tumblr? ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/474 "2024-03-14T02:11:21Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I live less than a mile from a major zoo, which has several walruses. A walrus at my door is improbable, but less improbable than a fairy. I answered fairy, because I’m about a quarter mile from the beach. It’s plausible (though highly unlikely) that a walrus could make its way to my door. A fairy would astonish me. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/475 "2024-03-14T03:25:06Z")
My daughter the Tumblr habitué, tells me that the total captive population of walruses is no more than 133 and there are only thirteen walruses over three zoos in North America. They’re found in the wild only in the Arctic region. It starts seeming more plausible that a magical creature would show up at my door than that a walrus would. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/476 "2024-03-15T01:14:02Z")
However, to the best of our knowledge the total population of actual magical fairies in North America, and for that matter in the world, is zero.\* So the walruses are still more likely. [\*For whatever reason, the back of my head is very unhappy with my having posted that statement.] ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/477 "2024-03-15T03:57:51Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > less surprising than seeing something that looks convincingly like a walrus. Some of those pantomime walrus suits look pretty good. Nevertheless I opted for one in the poll as well. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/478 "2024-03-15T20:07:19Z")
I do miss movies that end with “The End”, and either no credits or a quick list of cast members instead of 10 minutes of credit roll, including “Honeywagon Driver”, whatever that is. (You know who hates that? Theater owners.) ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/479 "2024-03-15T20:53:22Z")
I use half yogurt and half mayo for chicken, tuna, egg salads. They also get garlic and whatever herb I grab first (usually basil). ---
**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:** [March 16, 2024, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/480 "2024-03-16T00:55:39Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > I do miss movies that end with “The End”, and either no credits or a quick list of cast members instead of 10 minutes of credit roll, including “Honeywagon Driver”, whatever that is. (You know who hates that? Theater owners.) But they make me sad, because I’m waiting breathlessly to see who did the aerial filming. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/481 "2024-03-16T16:51:47Z")
What little actual dating I did was so long ago that I didn’t see any sense in voting. Plus which, it was pretty mixed; and often didn’t involve spending much of any money, because often both of us didn’t have any. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=25)