# Have you had your mind blown in an insignificant way lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2005, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272 "2005-12-19T08:10:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![NoPretentiousCodename](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/82dd89/32.png) [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/41 "2005-12-21T01:00:10Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > I’m 27. It just blew my mind that Anastasaeon and I are the same age. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/42 "2005-12-21T08:35:22Z")
> [@sjc](#): > > How about his father Woody? I’d be surprised if you’d never heard of him. The name doesn’t ring a bell… what does he do? > [@NoPretentiousCodename](#): > > It just blew my mind that Anastasaeon and I are the same age. I’m blowing my own mind trying to figure out if this is flattering or insulting. 😉 [sub]I’m lying.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/43 "2005-12-21T09:12:57Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > The name doesn’t ring a bell… what does he do? Woody Guthrie is (was) the most influential and most well-known folk musician of the 20th century. He was there at the birth of the folk movement, and saw it grow into what it eventually became. The Guthrie household was a mecca for musicians from all over the US, and it was not unusual for little Arlo to be surrounded by some of the greats in the music industry, who would come by to visit and jam. He learned from the best, from very early in life. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/44 "2005-12-21T09:20:51Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Woody Guthrie is (was) the most influential and most well-known folk musician of the 20th century. He was there at the birth of the folk movement, and saw it grow into what it eventually became. The Guthrie household was a mecca for musicians from all over the US, and it was not unusual for little Arlo to be surrounded by some of the greats in the music industry, who would come by to visit and jam. He learned from the best, from very early in life. Ah, folk music - this is why the area is shady and vague to me. Well, American folk, anyway; the only “folk” music played in my parents household as I was growing up was Irish or English. I’m always willing to learn more, however. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/45 "2005-12-21T10:12:13Z")
Folks, I’m over 40 and, while I’ve played _Alice’s Restaurant_ many times over the years, going back to when I was a little girl, I’ve never heard it all the way through when performed by anyone else, even though it’s a favorite of mine. As for me, my mind was blown this Sunday when I learned that while I was at church, the gentleman I’ve been seeing was putting plastic up over my bedroom window to provide some more insulation. CJ ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/46 "2005-12-21T10:57:57Z")
First, I’d never really thought of _Alice’s Resturant_ as a Thanksgiving event. It’s just a fun song/story. Especially with the father rapers. For mind-blowing, I was in the supermarket, looking for some paprika, and was disgusted by the price being asked for the McCormick paprika (Which wasn’t even _Hungarian_.) so decided to see if there might be some in the ethnic foods section at a more reasonable price. Came across a package, in the Indian foods, that was about 2/3 the price and three times the mass of spice. It was also labelled as being a “Gourmet Food of India,” and a “Product of Spain.” I’m not dissing spanish paprika, just that I don’t normally think of Spain as supplying Indian spices. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/47 "2005-12-21T16:46:20Z")
I’m 26 and I know _Alice’s Restaurant_ by heart. But I can guarantee you none of my friends know it. As for mind-blowing… I was walking the dog with my mom and somehow we started talking about creationism and she says to me that she’s not sure about creationism…but she doesn’t believe in CARBON DATING. “I can’t believe that someone can look at something and say it’s thousands of years old. That’s impossible.” I told her I wanted her to stop hanging out at church so much, but she says she has ALWAYS been leery of this kind of science. WTF? Can I sue her high school over this or something? ---
**Author:** ![NoPretentiousCodename](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/82dd89/32.png) [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/48 "2005-12-22T17:18:03Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > I’m blowing my own mind trying to figure out if this is flattering or insulting. 😉 > > [sub]I’m lying.[/sub] Um… neither… or maybe both. 😃 I’ve just never read your posts and thought, “Hey, she could have been a classmate of mine.” My classmates are/were waaay less interesting. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/49 "2005-12-22T18:35:01Z")
Woody Guthrie is probably most famous for the song “This Land is Your Land”. You know, “This land is your land, this land is my land /From the Redwood Forest to the New York Island…” If you haven’t heard of that song, well, my mind is officially blown. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/50 "2005-12-22T18:46:10Z")
At a holiday lunch last week in Dallas, Texas, one of the local managers asked an employee from Mexico City how long it would take her to to get to Colombia. She was shocked to learn that there are many many (my sarcasm) countries south of Mexico. She really believed that Mexico included all of Central and South America and admitted to calling anyone who speaks Spanish “Mexican”. I was shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/51 "2005-12-22T19:02:52Z")
Just yesterday, I was advised by a co-worker to go talk to my manager, who had “some really big news.” I know our divisional director is moving to a new postion, so I figured my boss would be moving to the director’s space, so then someone would need to be moved up to the manager’s role, etc etc etc. So my mind is rolling in these circles, and then I see my boss. “So what’s the big news?” I ask. “I’m pregnant!” she says. Well, I wasn’t even thinking along that line, so I had to completely spin down my brain’s hard drive and re-boot before I could offer my heartiest congratulations. That translates out to a two-second pause with me standing there with a blank look in my eyes. More like a brain blow-out than a blowage, _per se_. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/52 "2005-12-23T02:04:17Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Woody Guthrie is probably most famous for the song “This Land is Your Land”. You know, “This land is your land, this land is my land /From the Redwood Forest to the New York Island…” Actually, the relevant lines are: > [@](#): > > From California, to the New York Island > From the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters [Complete lyrics here.](http://www.arlo.net/lyrics/this-land.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/53 "2005-12-23T10:21:03Z")
> [@jali](#): > > At a holiday lunch last week in Dallas, Texas, one of the local managers asked an employee from Mexico City how long it would take her to to get to Colombia. She was shocked to learn that there are many many (my sarcasm) countries south of Mexico. She really believed that Mexico included all of Central and South America and admitted to calling anyone who speaks Spanish “Mexican”. I was shocked. **jali** , I sympathize. You see, I’ve got a younger brother who’s absolutely brilliant and has no tolerance for stupidity. He and his boss used to play trivia games together and a coworker of his who was a bit of a blonde ditz complained that they never asked her to join them. When she did this one day, they decided all right, they’d give her a chance. They started her off with an easy one. “What’s the tallest mountain in the world?” one of them asked her. Her response was “Switzerland.” So much for trivia games. CJ Whose best friend happens to be Swiss. ---
**Author:** ![wampeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@wampeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wampeter)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272/54 "2005-12-23T11:32:58Z")
I was walking with a very religious friend of mine after drinking a bit, and we started talking about getting something to eat. Drunkenly, she said, “I could really go for some chicken arms… Oops, I mean chicken WINGS! Hahahaha…” So, smiling (and also drunkenly), I said, “Well, you’re almost right. I mean, wings are just evolved arms…” And she cuts in suddenly, and sternly, saying “Well, I don’t believe in evolution.” I stopped dead in my tracks. I mean, I KNOW there are lots of people out there that don’t believe in evolution, but… she’s one of my best friends… she’s really intelligent… she studies with me and we have amazing intellectual conversations all the time… and she DOESN’T BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION??? My mind was blown. And I was a bit saddened… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-had-your-mind-blown-in-an-insignificant-way-lately/336272.md?page=2)