# Lawrence of Arabia was NOT Arabian **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616 "2013-01-09T11:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/41 "2013-01-10T05:23:31Z")
[Philip the Arab](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_the_Arab) wasn’t really an Arab either, but [John of Gaunt was quite gaunt](http://1henry6.wdfiles.com/local--files/roses/gaunt.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/42 "2013-01-10T05:25:46Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Please sir, what is an “ass thread”? Just pray that you never run out of dental floss in an opium den in Funafuti and have to find out. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/43 "2013-01-10T07:02:47Z")
Duh! The first line of the theme song is, “Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia. He was an English Guy.” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/44 "2013-01-10T07:04:42Z")
Have you seen Larry’s actual birth certificate? Until such a document is produced (and I seriously doubt it is forthcoming), I will go on believing he is Arabian despite the “so-called” evidence. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/45 "2013-01-10T07:13:20Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Y’know that “No Prisoners!” massacre-scene near the end of the movie, that Lawrence was supposed to be so ashamed of afterwards, and so disgusts the photojournalist who is following him? I never got that. In context, I found myself very glad that not a single one of those Turkish soldiers lived to see the sun go down that day; they had just massacred a whole village of civilians. And how are guerrilla-irregulars supposed to take prisoners anyway? Better to send them to Hell with Lieutenant Calley than let them just walk home. Lieutenant Calley is still alive and living in Texas _Oh, right,_ Texas ---
**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:** [January 10, 2013, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/46 "2013-01-10T07:22:13Z")
[Moderating] Alright, off to MPSIMS with this stuff. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/47 "2013-01-10T09:06:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [Moderating] > Alright, off to MPSIMS with this stuff. > [/Moderating] Now, sadly, I must moderate my raging fires of, er… rage. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/48 "2013-01-10T11:46:49Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > [Philip the Arab](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_the_Arab) wasn’t really an Arab either Yes, he was. > [@](#): > > but [John of Gaunt was quite gaunt](http://1henry6.wdfiles.com/local--files/roses/gaunt.jpg). No he wasn’t. (Gaunt is a corruption of Ghent, where he was born. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/49 "2013-01-10T16:26:59Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Duh! The first line of the theme song is, “Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia. He was an English Guy.” “He came to fight the Turkish” Or the other line from that movie that’s appropriate to the topic: “It does have a little wang to it. Good, though.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/50 "2013-01-10T16:55:27Z")
“Killed a Camel at the Age of Three” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/51 "2013-01-10T20:56:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You guys are missing the real issue here. It’s not Peter O’Toole. It’s Alec Guinness playing Faisal. As everyone knows Guinness was not an Arab. He was a Jedi. That is not the camel you are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/52 "2013-01-10T20:57:59Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Groucho Marx once commented on Peter O’Toole’s name being redundant. There was a Bond girl names Plenty O’Toole. Bond (Roger Moore?) said “named after your father, no doubt.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/53 "2013-01-10T21:04:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That is not the camel you are looking for. You have my vote for thread winner. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/54 "2013-01-11T05:26:42Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > No he wasn’t. (Gaunt is a corruption of Ghent, where he was born. Perhaps he is not gaunt, but that doesn’t follow from your parenthetical. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/55 "2013-01-11T19:34:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So, what you’re saying is that you don’t think this is a terribly great idea? I wish I couldn’t say I’m not unhappy about that. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/56 "2013-01-11T21:06:06Z")
The Eagles of Death Metal are neither eagles nor do they play death metal. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616/57 "2013-01-12T04:37:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “He came to fight the Turkish” > > Or the other line from that movie that’s appropriate to the topic: “It does have a little wang to it. Good, though.” I’ve had this taste in my mouth before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawrence-of-arabia-was-not-arabian/646616.md?page=2)