# In Hotels are the Gideon Bibles meant to be taken? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598 "2009-01-09T22:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/21 "2009-01-10T10:05:59Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > You see them on college campuses quite often, too. Congregations of young adults seem to be popular Gideon-bible-delivery spots. I found it pretty handy in college. I was taking a lot of English lit and having a nice little NT was rather helpful. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/22 "2009-01-10T10:08:01Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It’s like the soap or pens in a hotel room. Those are MEANT to be for the use of the guest. If the guest takes them fine, but they aren’t meant to be taken. > > (By soap I mean the extra unused soap still in a wrapper. If it’s used at all it will be thrown out. But the unopened unused wrappers are meant to be left there. But if you take them who cares) Off topic, and for that I apologize, but I have been to a few hotels that post signs asking guests not to do this. And among those, I have even seen hotels that additionally invite guests who particularly enjoy the toiletries to purchase them at the front desk in household-sized quantities. So, apparently, at least a few hotels do care at least superficially about it. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/23 "2009-01-10T10:32:33Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I once read somewhere that hookers put their phone numbers inside the front cover of Gideon bibles for savvy travelers to call. > > Never seen this anyplace. > And I was just looking for a certain psalm, so get your minds out of the gutter. Psalm 36 v4: > [@The Psalmist](#): > > He imagineth mischief upon his bed ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/24 "2009-01-10T14:23:17Z")
In Japan my room had a book of Buddha. I confess that I \*did \*take that - and have read bits of it too. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/25 "2009-01-10T14:37:04Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > [Boscobel Hotel Birthplace of Gideon Order](http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=5805&hdl=gideon&np=&adv=yes&ln=&fn=&q=&y1=&y2=&ci=&co=&mhd=&shd=) Nowdays, Boscobel itself is the wild turkey hunting capital of Wisconsin. -OT, but I love that town’s name! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/26 "2009-01-10T14:49:38Z")
Does anyone have a copy of a Gideon Bible? Don’t they actually say in a preface that you can take the Bible if you wish? Yes, they expect the bible to be there a long time and they hope that the people in the room will read it and leave it, but they say explicitly (if I recall correctly) that if you really want to you can take the Bible home with you. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/27 "2009-01-10T15:15:47Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Does anyone have a copy of a Gideon Bible? Don’t they actually say in a preface that you can take the Bible if you wish? Yes, they expect the bible to be there a long time and they hope that the people in the room will read it and leave it, but they say explicitly (if I recall correctly) that if you really want to you can take the Bible home with you. I picked one up 30 years ago that said to take it if I wanted it. It was stamped or written on the inside cover. I wanted to see how far off from our church’s bible it was. I had it until last year’s flood. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/28 "2009-01-10T15:23:21Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Psalm 36 v4: Of course, Psalms isn’t in the NT… ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/29 "2009-01-10T15:36:30Z")
Harmonious Discord writes: \> I had it until last year’s flood. Wow, that’s a selective flood. It seeped into your house and washed away one book on one shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/30 "2009-01-10T15:42:46Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Harmonious Discord writes: > > \> I had it until last year’s flood. > > Wow, that’s a selective flood. It seeped into your house and washed away one book on one shelf. It was a great flood. Unfortunately I’m still cleaning up and it wasn’t the only thing we had to throw out. Hopefully the main basement will be waterproof once again by spring. That’s what I’ve concentrated repairs on. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/31 "2009-01-10T15:45:51Z")
If you were in a hotel with a Book of Mormon, it was probably owned by Marriott. I never have figured out putting a BoM in the room while also making porn available on the TV. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/32 "2009-01-10T15:47:48Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I saw the Book of Mormon and a Bible in a hotel in Alaska . But I don’t recall if Utah hotels had them too. I know I expected Utah rooms to have them so I looked for them. Every room in a Marriott Hotel in the US and Canada has a Book of Mormon because the Marriott family are Mormon. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/33 "2009-01-10T16:16:01Z")
> [@lexi](#): > > When I worked in a hotel, we had at least enough spare Gideons in the basement to replace every one in every room at least once. Considering they give hotel spares, I am guessing you either are permitted to take them, or they just expect that some will be taken. Interesting. So they just mail hotel managers crates of books with instructions to put them in each room, they don’t do it themselves ? That’s… disheartening. I always imagined them like Bill Hicks did, as furtive Bible ninjas. Come to think about it, does that mean there may be Gideon-free hotels out there because the staff refused to comply ? And if I wanted all to know the joy and message of Neil Gaiman, could I send crates of _Sandman_ (appropriate ;)) to every Holliday Inn with instructions to make them available to all guests to make it happen, or is there a strict Holy Books Only policy ? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/34 "2009-01-10T18:25:56Z")
> [@the raindog](#): > > Of course, Psalms isn’t in the NT… But my Gideon Bible was really “New Testament with Psalms”–they stuck those in too. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/35 "2009-01-10T18:50:33Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > But my Gideon Bible was really “New Testament with Psalms”–they stuck those in too. And Proverbs? My baby bibles always had Proverbs, too. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/36 "2009-01-10T18:53:26Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > But my Gideon Bible was really “New Testament with Psalms”–they stuck those in too. The ones I’ve usually seen were NT w/ Psalms & Proverbs. Proverbs is a nice practical book but how it qualifies to be packed with the NT instead of a “Highlights of the OT” still escapes me. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/37 "2009-01-10T22:02:58Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > In Japan my room had a book of Buddha. I confess that I \*did \*take that - and have read bits of it too. Cool! This gets me thinking … has anyone ever seen a Torah/Tanakh or Koran in a hotel room? I have my doubts about a Koran, because of the protocol about how the physical book is to be treated; there’s no guarantee it would not be abused. As for a Torah/Tanakh, there’s not the same protocol, but in Judaism it’s generally taboo to take a prayer book into a bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/38 "2009-01-10T22:19:53Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Cool! This gets me thinking … has anyone ever seen a Torah/Tanakh or Koran in a hotel room? I have my doubts about a Koran, because of the protocol about how the physical book is to be treated; there’s no guarantee it would not be abused… You will never find a Koran in a hotel room in an Islamic country (unless of course it belongs to the guest). It’s too sacred to risk the possible abuse. You might find an arrow somewhere pointing toward Mecca. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/39 "2009-01-10T22:29:49Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Cool! This gets me thinking … has anyone ever seen a Torah/Tanakh or Koran in a hotel room? I have my doubts about a Koran, because of the protocol about how the physical book is to be treated; there’s no guarantee it would not be abused. Not necessarily. I live in a majority Middle Eastern neighborhood in Chicago, and the Muslim equivalent of the Gideons left an English translation of the Koran in a plastic bag on my doorknob. It was accompanied by sheet of paper with a request to treat it respectfully. Until it appeared, I had never experienced any Islamic prostelization. > [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Does anyone have a copy of a Gideon Bible? Don’t they actually say in a preface that you can take the Bible if you wish? Yes, they expect the bible to be there a long time and they hope that the people in the room will read it and leave it, but they say explicitly (if I recall correctly) that if you really want to you can take the Bible home with you. Even if you are a very speedy reader, you’re not likely to finish the whole thing in one hotel stay. For such a popular book, it’s a long and difficult read. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598/40 "2009-01-10T23:13:31Z")
I’m not sure what your point is, gaffa. Of course I didn’t mean that it was possible to read all of the Bible in one hotel stay. I meant that the Gideons wanted people staying in the room to read part of the Bible and then leave it in the room. However, if the hotel guests wanted to take it home with them so that they could read more of it, the Gideons are happy to let them take it home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hotels-are-the-gideon-bibles-meant-to-be-taken/480598.md?page=3)