# Outrageous acts of Censorship **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809 "2007-05-20T11:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/1 "2007-05-20T11:51:56Z")
The title says all. What are the stupidest acts of censorship you’ve come across? This also extends into political correctness gone awry. I’ll give my own two cents. In the 4th grade, my class did a big probability unit in math. So you’re probably thinking, dice would be great for this unit! Well, we did use dice, but we didn’t call them dice. We called them “probability cubes”. :smack: :smack: But anyway, what experiences of stupid censorship you’ve seen? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/2 "2007-05-20T12:06:08Z")
What’s wrong with “dice”? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/3 "2007-05-20T12:10:19Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] What’s wrong with “dice”? [/QUOTE] They thought it would encourage gambling. Yeah, it’s that stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/4 "2007-05-20T12:10:21Z")
Dice are associated with gambling, donchano? (Mostly a WAG, having seen similar sentiment before. Not around here, luckily.) ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/5 "2007-05-20T12:20:39Z")
My daughter’s high school English class had to take a “Drugs Я Bad” course after reading Huxley’s _Brave New World_. The school admin didn’t want them thinking it was okay to take _soma_. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/6 "2007-05-20T12:28:53Z")
Wow, I never realised there was that much fear about the subject of gambling. Different culture, I guess. When I was about fourteen, we had an all-school General Studies class where the guest speaker told us that to prevent taboos, we should reclaim “bad” words. He encouraged us to swear. So, being teenagers, we took to the task like ducks to water. Cunts, dicks, bollocks, fucks and twats were flying around the hall, until the words were indeed devalued, at least for that hour or so. The next day we had a General Assembly where we were told that while the speaker was correct, and it’s all well and good to reclaim taboo words, that didn’t mean we were allowed to actually _use_ any taboo words. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/7 "2007-05-20T12:45:45Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] They thought it would encourage gambling. Yeah, it’s that stupid. [/QUOTE] In a school district I once lived in, they called them ‘probability cubes’ to try to _prevent_ complaints by parents that they were allowing their kids to _gamble with dice!!_ :eek: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/8 "2007-05-20T13:17:53Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] In the 4th grade, my class did a big probability unit in math. So you’re probably thinking, dice would be great for this unit! Well, we did use dice, but we didn’t call them dice. We called them “probability cubes”. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] In a school district I once lived in, they called them ‘probability cubes’ to try to _prevent_ complaints by parents that they were allowing their kids to _gamble with dice!!_ :eek: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. [/QUOTE] But but but probability _shows_ how random the results are. Don’t adults want students to understand probability in respect to gambleing? ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/9 "2007-05-20T13:31:10Z")
At the Winter Festival, during all of high school, glee club and chorus could only sing secular songs. However, both groups had traditional carols - taught in and by the school - in their repertoire. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/10 "2007-05-20T13:32:23Z")
Probability cubes? What a stupid term. Couldn’t they have at least gone with D&D terminology, like “Now roll 2d6 10 times and tabulate the results?” ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/11 "2007-05-20T14:25:44Z")
The Apartheid Government was infamous for banning things at a moment’s notice - preferring to err on the side of caution than allow anything to pervert the nation’s moral fibre. Some 18,000 different titles were banned over the years… _Black Beauty_ is one title that stands out for the stupidity of its banning, and my father was given the once over by the customs officials when he was found carrying a copy of the _Naive and Sentimental Lover_ into the country. Grim ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/12 "2007-05-20T14:54:16Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] In a school district I once lived in, they called them ‘probability cubes’ to try to _prevent_ complaints by parents that they were allowing their kids to _gamble with dice!!_ :eek: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. [/QUOTE] I’ve missed something. Damned if you do what and damned if you don’t what? -FRL- ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/13 "2007-05-20T14:58:21Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] I’ve missed something. Damned if you do what and damned if you don’t what? -FRL- [/QUOTE] Call them ‘dice’ and some folks will complain. Call them ‘probability cubes’ and some other folks will complain. See? ---
**Author:** ![Matt\_Holck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Matt\_Holck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matt_Holck)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/14 "2007-05-20T15:00:59Z")
quantum \> relativity ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/15 "2007-05-20T15:17:19Z")
My high school drama department once staged a melodrama called _Deadwood Dick_, about a villain the old West. Halfway through rehearsals, my drama teacher announced that we would call the play _Deadwood Gulch_, and call the villain Deadwood Rick, so that no one could be offended by hearing the word “dick.” Even as a name. She’d never struck me as a nutcase before, so I have no idea where that came from. I can only assume the Vice President is always known as Richard around my old schoo. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/16 "2007-05-20T15:27:06Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Call them ‘dice’ and some folks will complain. Call them ‘probability cubes’ and some other folks will complain. See? [/QUOTE] I think so. There are reports of parents complaining when they’re called dice. I guess the ones you’re saying complain when they’re called probability cubes are the people on this thread who have criticized the phrase? (I’m only confused because in your first post, you seem to quote a case of someone being damned for using the word “dice,” and then go on yourself to mention a case of someon being damned for using the word “dice.” But it appears as though you are intending your post to show the other side of the coin displayed by the post you’re quoting. So I got confused.) -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/17 "2007-05-20T15:42:00Z")
I’ve always been amused by the banning of the word “flick” in comics, though that may be an urban legend. It was also amusing when Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” was a hit, since the radio stations took different tacks for the word “crap” in the first verse. Around here, some played it as it; others beeped it out; and one took the words “girls I knew” from the second verse and spliced in into the first. There was also Monty Python’s first appearance on US TV. It was during the great-concept-but-horrible-execution\* summer replacement series **Dean Martin’s Comedy World**. A sketch was shown, and they bleeped out the words “naughty bits.” No, not the names for the naughty bits, but the phrase “naughty bits” themselves. Which was double stupid since they simply could have chosen a different skit and avoided the issue. \*The idea was to showcase unknown comedians from around the world. However, this was during the **Laugh-In** days, so they were given about 30 seconds of air time and told maybe three jokes. It was immpossible to determine whether they were good, bad or not. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/18 "2007-05-20T15:49:39Z")
The drama department at my school decided to perform _Blood Brothers_. The headteacher started to question whether all of the script was appropriate for a school production. In the end, a meeting was called with headteacher, drama teachers, performers, etc. The sum total was that the line “you might as well shag the vicar” (I paraphrase from memory) was excised. I don’t think it was coincidental that the headteacher’s husband was a vicar. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/19 "2007-05-20T16:14:48Z")
I used to work for the Saudi Navy. The navy, all the offices decorated with anchors and stuff. All the anchors had the crossbar removed. It looked too Christian, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809/20 "2007-05-20T17:04:18Z")
A here-and-now example: My chorus is singing (and dancing) “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now” from \*Hairspray. \*Our arrangement was previously done by a high school. The phrase “if I get a hickie” was changed to “if I miss my curfew.” Needless to say, we changed it back. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outrageous-acts-of-censorship/404809.md?page=2)