# I just took the red pill AND the blue pill **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 21, 2025, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925 "2025-06-21T04:27:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/21 "2025-06-21T13:57:44Z")
He’s Canadian. Probably needs 10 red to one pale blue for the correct hue. And some white ones; Canada has lots of white in it. Especially in winter, although then it’s often too dark to see what color it is out there. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/22 "2025-06-21T14:35:26Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Lagomorph Calling them “rabbit shaped” seems tautological ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/23 "2025-06-21T14:40:48Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > He’s Canadian. …for now. Sorry, I can’t stick around today, going shopping for flags with 51 stars on 'em to beat the rush! ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/24 "2025-06-21T14:42:21Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Calling them “rabbit shaped” seems tautological You’ll have to take that up with Johann Friedrich von Brandt ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/25 "2025-06-21T15:00:49Z")
By the time those are available for real, the red & white stripes will be different colors and have a name overprinted in large block letters. Mark my words. So one of the preliminary designs like the current real flag with just one extra star will be collectors’ items. Kind of like this model of the “stealth fighter”: > **[Lockheed F-19 Stealth Fighter Concept by Testors](https://fantastic-plastic.com/lockheed-f-19-stealth-fighter-concept-by-testors.html)** > > A 1:48 scale plastic model of the Lockheed F-19 Stealth Fighter Concept by Testors IIRC when it first came out they were labeled as being the real thing, not an “artist’s conception” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/26 "2025-06-21T15:01:41Z")
You forgot so soon…what about Greenland? Better do 52 stars. Just in case. is it _too_ soon? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/27 "2025-06-21T15:08:15Z")
And Panamá. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/28 "2025-06-21T20:40:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > They are, however, long-eared varmints! > > Are they varmints or galoots? This is science, people! Based on a rigorous analysis of the insults uttered by Yosemite Sam, it would seem that “galoot” dominates the corpus. But that’s just a statistic. “Long-eared varmint” is what resonates in my mind. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/29 "2025-06-21T21:46:38Z")
I feel like the lumpers and the splitters have gone back and forth in my lifetime on whether rabbits are a type of rodent, or their own thing. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/30 "2025-06-21T22:00:01Z")
Well, they were considered rodents, then considered to be unrelated, and now considered to be an offshoot of the same clade as rodents (From Wikipedia) Although once considered [rodents](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodent), lagomorphs diverged earlier and have a number of traits rodents lack, including two extra [incisors](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incisor). Similarities between rabbits and rodents were once attributed to [convergent evolution](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution), but studies in [molecular biology](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_biology) have found a [common ancestor](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ancestor) between lagomorphs and rodents and place them in the clade [Glires](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glires). … Rabbits and hares were formerly classified in the order [Rodentia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodent) (rodents) until 1912, when they were moved into the order [Lagomorpha](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagomorpha) (which also includes [pikas](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika)). Since 1945, there has been support for the clade [Glires](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glires) that includes both rodents and lagomorphs,[[13]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit#cite_note-13) though the two groups have always been closely associated in taxonomy; fossil,[[14]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit#cite_note-14) [DNA](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA),[[15]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit#cite_note-15) and [retrotransposon](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrotransposon)[[16]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit#cite_note-Kriegs-16) studies in the 2000s have solidified support for the clade. Studies in [paleontology](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleontology) and [molecular biology](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_biology) suggest that rodents and lagomorphs [diverged](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divergent_evolution) at the start of the [Tertiary](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_(period)).[[17]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit#cite_note-17) And this points out that popular classification lags scientific classification: > **[Are Rabbits Rodents? (The Surprising Truth) | Rabbitology](https://rabbitology.com/are-rabbits-rodents/)** > > Do you know that there are many species of rabbits in the world? This article talks about the difference between rabbits and rodents. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/31 "2025-06-21T22:23:32Z")
Oh come on! That page says “Guinea pigs are great pets”, “beavers are extremely cute”, but “rats are known to spread diseases”?!? More anti-rat prejudice! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/32 "2025-06-21T22:26:38Z")
_One pill makes you larger And one pill makes you small And the ones that mother gives you Don’t do anything at all Go ask Alice When she’s ten feet tall…_ _And if you go chasing rabbits And you know you’re going to fall Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar Has given you the call…_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/33 "2025-06-21T23:47:30Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Sorry, I can’t stick around today, going shopping for flags with 51 stars on 'em to beat the rush! If it comes to pass, I figure I’ll honor the spirit of the occasion by stealing a star from somebody else’s flag and attaching it to mine. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/34 "2025-06-21T23:50:31Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Oh come on! That page says “Guinea pigs are great pets”, “beavers are extremely cute”, but “rats are known to spread diseases”?!? More anti-rat prejudice! Calling beavers cute and suggesting they are soft and cuddly seemed pretty odd. Hey, @Northern_Piper , how does reality look today? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/35 "2025-06-22T00:00:55Z")
Much the same as normal. I guess they cancelled each other out. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/36 "2025-06-22T20:42:50Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Oh come on! That page says “Guinea pigs are great pets”, “beavers are extremely cute”, but “rats are known to spread diseases”?!? More anti-rat prejudice! I’m sorry to admit this but mice, rats, rabbits, and guineas… well for herps and snake owners like myself, they’re all _snacks_ rather than individually cute. Though none of my snakes eat anything larger than rats. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/37 "2025-06-22T20:47:45Z")
My general consensus is I’d rather not have snakes or rats & mice in my vicinity. But I kept a Possum. So, I’ve lost credibility. Up front. 😊 (RIP Clarence) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925/38 "2025-06-22T20:57:35Z")
Just watch out for bottles labeled “drink me”. OTOH that’s probably just Crown Royal. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > the preliminary designs like the current real flag with just one extra star will be collectors’ items DC and Puerto Rico have already produced truckloads of the National Archives- approved design for USA51, for years if not decades. They’ll flood the market out of spite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-took-the-red-pill-and-the-blue-pill/1019925.md?page=1)