# I was not expecting quite so many James Fenimore Cooper references at work today **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668 "2006-04-21T18:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/1 "2006-04-21T18:31:33Z")
Earlier this morning, one of the guys at work tried to tell a “joke” involving, of all things, [this classic essay](http://users.telerama.com/~joseph/cooper/cooper.html) by Mark Twain about James Fenimore Cooper. It was kind of sad, really, as the guy has absolutely no sense of humor, but no one has the heart to tell him so. Anyway, about ten minutes ago, I’m randomly surfing the web, and I find [this comic](http://www.moderntales.com/series.php?name=teachingbabyparanoia&view=current), which ends with the line, “A search for ‘James Fenimore Cooper’ yields the results, ‘Over-rated author. Probably an ass.’” Truly, this is at least two more James Fenimore Cooper references than I was expecting to encounter before lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/2 "2006-04-21T18:57:12Z")
I’d never seen that Twain essay, he leaves little to the imagination regarding his feelings about Cooper. So what kind of practical joke involves a Twain essay on Cooper? ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/3 "2006-04-21T19:03:23Z")
_Long, slow whistle_ Note to self: Put on no pretensious of personal writerly compentence within earshot of Samuel Clemens. Now I don’t feel so bad about never having gotten past Chapter 2 of _Last of the Mohicans._ (I dimly remember something about a tattoo of a turtle. The rest is lost to me.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/4 "2006-04-21T19:32:12Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > So what kind of practical joke involves a Twain essay on Cooper? Not a practical joke, just a torturous retelling of the bit with the Indians jumping onto the boat. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/5 "2006-04-21T19:56:58Z")
I think I can beat that… I was in a meeting here this morning where somebody brought up James Fenimore Cooper (and how much Mark Twain hated him). So now that I’ve read your post, I’ve had _three_ references in one day! ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/6 "2006-04-21T19:59:46Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > _Long, slow whistle_ Note to self: Put on no pretensious of personal writerly compentence within earshot of Samuel Clemens. I _think_ you’re safe. Last I heard they don’t extend WiFi into graveyards. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/7 "2006-04-21T20:01:18Z")
Yeah, I read the whole Twain piece after I read your post and thought I remembered “practical”. Twain would have made a good Doper, he sure picked Cooper apart on his river/boat/bend/Indians jumping bit. “The Innocents Abroad” and “Roughing It” were a couple of my favorite books years ago, way better than any Cooper I had to wade through in high school. I might have to give them another shot to see if they still hold up. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/8 "2006-04-21T20:31:25Z")
[MP]_No one_ expects the James Fenimore Cooper reference.[/MP] ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/9 "2006-04-21T21:33:21Z")
Someone a row back from me at work just referenced “The Last of the Mohicans.” _Freaky_. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/10 "2006-04-21T22:42:31Z")
I shall make no _pretensions_ of being able to spell, or type, either, lest someone among the living take me to task . . . ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/11 "2006-04-22T00:07:34Z")
I love Mark Twain. But he missed one of my favorite improbabilities; in _Last of the Mohicans_, when Chingachoo or whatever his name was killed a beaver, skinned it, then _disguised himself in the beaver skin_ - head included - to sneak up on the Bad Guys and listen to their plans. The Bad Guys were Indians, too; you’d think they’d notice the giant beaver lurking in the bushes. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/12 "2006-04-22T00:09:21Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > …you’d think they’d notice the giant beaver lurking in the bushes. sic. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/13 "2006-04-22T11:39:53Z")
The odd thing-when LOTM made it to Europe, it was a sensation! James Fenimore Cooper was lauded as a great author. Makes me wonder how the standards for great novelists have changed. LOTM is a pretty hard read today-I’d wager that those who’ve claimed to read it got a LOT of help from CLIFFS NOTES. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-not-expecting-quite-so-many-james-fenimore-cooper-references-at-work-today/353668/14 "2006-04-22T11:57:01Z")
How much do you want to wager? And how will I prove to you that I read it and enjoyed it without help from Cliffs Notes?