# Heard on a PBS documentary **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811 "2002-11-15T02:44:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/1 "2002-11-15T02:44:10Z")
It’s on right now, it’s called “Great Apes,” and the voiceover is by Lynn Sherr. She said: “_For as long as there have been trees,_ humans have been cutting them down.” (emphasis mine) I don’t even know what the word is for what that was, but it’s not a flattering word. ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/2 "2002-11-15T04:04:01Z")
The word you are looking for, **Fiver** , is _sensationalist_. Or, that would at least be the word I would use. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/3 "2002-11-15T05:06:18Z")
“Stupid.” ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/4 "2002-11-15T07:43:36Z")
My word for that is “bullshit” ---
**Author:** ![Pythagras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/45deac/32.png) [@Pythagras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pythagras)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/5 "2002-11-15T08:11:23Z")
How about just wrong. Maybe as long as there’s been civilization… ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/6 "2002-11-15T08:25:03Z")
So what’s so wrong about that statement? Everyone knows that trees have only been around as long as Al Gore has, because he invented the environment. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/7 "2002-11-15T08:56:08Z")
[Simpsons: Narrator of TV special “When Buildings Collapse”] “Man has always loved his buildings. But sometimes the buildings don’t love back…” [/Simpsons: NOTVS"WBC"]] ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/8 "2002-11-15T09:07:48Z")
Wow. Must have been written by a Creationist. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/9 "2002-11-15T18:10:56Z")
You’re going to bust her chops just because she was off by 344,000,000 years? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/10 "2002-11-15T18:22:08Z")
Hmm. If a tree doesn’t fall down and humans don’t exist yet, is it a tree? ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-on-a-pbs-documentary/136811/11 "2002-11-15T20:41:07Z")
For as long as there have been roads, people have been travelling. . . . . For as long as there have been shoes, people have been walking . . . . For as long as there has been employment, people have been working . . . . For as long as there has been up, there has been down. . . . For as long as there has been hot air, there has been PBS.