# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/101 "2026-02-07T22:05:50Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I still remember the time Gus ran his head into a wall and then someone put up a target sign in a subsequent game reading, “Use your head, Gus.” OMG yes that was an embarrassing moment for sure! ---
**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:** [February 7, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/102 "2026-02-07T22:47:14Z")
I have on occasion actually TYPED a note to myself that I am later unable to decipher. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/103 "2026-02-08T00:39:27Z")
Several years ago I came across a cryptic message to myself, I had typed into the notes app on my phone. The entire entry was “MSH”. After a few days of scratching my head, I posted about it here and asked if anyone knew what the hell I meant by “MSH”. I was joking, of course; how would anybody know what I meant? And then someone suggested I was referring to the Beatles’ song “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”. Bingo, that was it. My note was an attempt at reminding myself to learn that tune on the piano. mmm ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/104 "2026-02-08T12:49:33Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > mmm ISWYDT ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/105 "2026-02-08T17:42:47Z")
To get away from Colonel Sanders, of course! ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/106 "2026-02-08T18:38:23Z")
On my desk right now I have the following note: > Soothe - H/E/R & H/EN (1) > > Nullify - H/E/R, H/E (1) Which means nothing to anyone else probably, but was a note I jotted down to myself when I was using the City of Heroes AH and trying to find a new Enhancement in which would apply additional set bonuses to my healing powers. I voted that I’d check to see if anything had happened recently with the doorknobs and move on. Due diligence, but many notes are going to only make sense in context! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/107 "2026-02-08T21:49:43Z")
Do phone games count as video games? Like playing sudoku or free flow on your phone? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/108 "2026-02-08T22:03:58Z")
Why does the chicken cross the road? In _Three Hearts and Three Lions_, by Poul Anderson, Holger and the giant discuss this. Holger’s answer is “Because it’s too far to walk around.” I wanted to quote the giant’s answer, but I cannot find my copy of the book. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2026, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/109 "2026-02-08T22:17:18Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Do phone games count as video games? I assumed no, because there’s not really a video component in the ones I play on bus rides. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/110 "2026-02-08T23:53:31Z")
There’s only one video game which I really play: the Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG. On a given day, I play for at least an hour, and when my guild runs a roleplaying event, I may be on for four or five hours straight. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/111 "2026-02-08T23:55:35Z")
That was my assumption, too, and i voted accordingly. But i water a ton of time on phone games almost every day. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/112 "2026-02-08T23:59:52Z")
I would say that relatively static games like sudoku, crossword puzzles, chess, etc. don’t count as “video games”, although I don’t think a sharp distinction can be made and there will be some things that are borderline cases and arguable. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/113 "2026-02-09T00:01:37Z")
IMHO if the game is played in a computer (cell phones and a consoles are computers) it’s a video game. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/114 "2026-02-09T01:28:38Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Why does the chicken cross the road? > > In _Three Hearts and Three Lions_, by Poul Anderson, Holger and the giant discuss this. > > Holger’s answer is “Because it’s too far to walk around.” My Aunt broached this subject with me today. She said, “What’s the joke?” I said, “The joke is that the chicken has a mundane reason to cross the road, the obvious reason, not a funny one. The joke is that it’s not funny.” She said, “That’s what _I_ thought, but I heard people saying that the joke is that the chicken wanted to kill himself - to cross over to the Other Side” (a euphemism for afterlife.) I said, “What? But that’s so sad.” “Am I stupid? Has this been the joke all along and I never got it?” “I… don’t know.” ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/115 "2026-02-09T01:40:58Z")
I do the NYT crossword puzzle every day online, but no other video games. I did not know how to vote. mmm ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/116 "2026-02-09T01:46:21Z")
Yeah, I do the Spelling Bee and nothing else. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/117 "2026-02-09T02:29:40Z")
In my book, word games are not video games. Video games must have some interactive moving graphics. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/118 "2026-02-09T02:43:36Z")
So Zork, Adventure and other primitive adventure games were not video games? ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/119 "2026-02-09T02:44:18Z")
I would say no. We called them computer games, but not video games. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/120 "2026-02-09T02:46:05Z")
Fair enough, I thought that the poll was using “Video Games” as a way to say “Computer Games” but you are the poll creator, so… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=7)