# Palin the intellectual says she always wanted a son named Zamboni **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139 "2008-10-22T22:39:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/1 "2008-10-22T22:39:14Z")
[Even the fluffy little human-interest pieces can’t help taking shots at this woman](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102201645.html?referrer%3Dreddit&sub=new): > [@](#): > > Although Palin didn’t name a single newspaper or magazine when CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked where she got her information So she reads, but can’t say what. It maunders a while before it gets to this: > [@](#): > > “I always wanted a son named Zamboni,” she said. This is what the article goes out on. Palin is a wonderful punching bag. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/2 "2008-10-22T22:41:59Z")
Well Zamboni is actually a name, unlike some of her other choices. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/3 "2008-10-22T22:44:00Z")
I thought Zamboni was a girl’s name, though. ---
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/4 "2008-10-22T22:50:23Z")
I didn’t know it was a name at all. All I know about it is that’s the name of the machine that smooths out the ice on hockey rinks. ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/5 "2008-10-22T23:02:06Z")
> [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](#): > > I didn’t know it was a name at all. All I know about it is that’s the name of the machine that smooths out the ice on hockey rinks. Yes it is. But it was invented by a man whose last name was Zamboni. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/6 "2008-10-22T23:08:12Z")
Italian: from the personal name Zamboni, a northeastern variant of Giambono, composed of a reduced form of Gianni (from Giovanni) + Bono or buono ‘good’. That is listed as the origin of the surname, Zamboni from here - [http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/zamboni](http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/zamboni) ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/7 "2008-10-22T23:16:17Z")
I’m thinking of naming my next kid “Tardlauncher,” myself. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/8 "2008-10-22T23:49:08Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Even the fluffy little human-interest pieces can’t help taking shots at this woman… It’s not so much that they’re taking shots at her as that it’s hard to walk anywhere near her without stepping in something that came out of her mouth. …okay, so they’re taking potshots. It’s only fair–she does that to everything else. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/9 "2008-10-23T00:24:18Z")
Yeah, it would be much more responsible to imply that she’s a terrorist. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/10 "2008-10-23T00:24:49Z")
One of the (many) things she’s doing that bugs me is that she can’t say “terrorists” without following it up with “whoaretryingtodestroyAmerica”. It’s become one word. She’s so programmed, it’s unbelievable. And another thing – accuse me of sexism, but she should have done a trial run with the skirt she wore in the Brian Williams interview. When she sits down, the skirt is mid-thigh. Maybe that was the plan – distract viewers from her inane responses. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/11 "2008-10-23T01:20:41Z")
A zamboni is an ice scraper. In Alaska, she could make a good living that she is well qualified for on any street corner with an ice scraper and a squee-gee. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/12 "2008-10-23T01:48:32Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I’m thinking of naming my next kid “Tardlauncher,” myself. Isn’t that kind of like naming them Vagina? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/13 "2008-10-23T01:53:43Z")
Okay, she’s really taking the hockey mom thing a little too far. #6.Zamboni #7. Plexiglas #8. False Teeth ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/14 "2008-10-23T01:54:05Z")
I was hoping that she would keep the trigonometric trend up: Trig, Sine, Cosine, Tangent,… ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/15 "2008-10-23T03:23:53Z")
Reading [the interview](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20235099,00.html), in context the line sounds like it was meant to be a joke. > [@](#): > > Alicia in New York City asks, Do you think about having more children? > SP: No-o-o-o. We got our starting five. That’s the final five. > > Alicia also wondered if you had any more unique names up your sleeve. > SP: We did. We never got to get our Zamboni in. I always wanted a son named Zamboni. > TP: I don’t think that would have flied. This part is interesting too… > [@](#): > > Has this changed how you talk about sex with your other children? > SP: I’ve always been a proponent of making sure kids understand – even in schools – they’d better take preventative measures so that they don’t find themselves in these less than ideal circumstances. Perhaps Bristol could be a good example to other young women that life happens and preventative measures are, first and foremost, the option that should be considered – > > Do you mean abstinence or contraception? > SP: Well, both. Ideally abstinence. But we have not been ones to say that students, should not know what preventive measures are all about. I’ve been taken aback by some criticism that mainstream media has thrown my way saying, Oh, what a hypocrite she is and she’s now learned her lesson because she’s been against sex education in the schools. And I’m like, when? Where? When have I ever said that there should be no sex education taught in our homes or even in our schools? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/16 "2008-10-23T06:26:04Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > I was hoping that she would keep the trigonometric trend up: Trig, Sine, Cosine, Tangent,… Nah, it’s gotta be school subjects. Trig, Track, Band, Homec, SATprep, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/17 "2008-10-23T08:22:13Z")
> [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](#): > > Isn’t that kind of like naming them Vagina? Etymology? You want me to be concerned about what words mean? But it’s such a cool word! I hadn’t even heard it before yesterday. and now I’m saying it all day long long. Tardlauncher, tardlauncher…it’s just so catchy. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/18 "2008-10-23T09:12:14Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Nah, it’s gotta be school subjects. Trig, Track, Band, Homec, SATprep, and so forth. Is Home Economics really taught any more? I had the idea the radical feminists caused it to be dropped way back when? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/19 "2008-10-23T09:12:34Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Tardlauncher, tardlauncher…it’s just so catchy. “Tardlauncher, Tardlauncher, Launch me a tard, Loft me a dunce, Shoot him out hard! Tardlauncher, Tardlauncher, Shoot me a shmuck And launch out a perfect tard!” ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139/20 "2008-10-23T09:42:33Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > One of the (many) things she’s doing that bugs me is that she can’t say “terrorists” without following it up with “whoaretryingtodestroyAmerica”. It’s become one word. She’s so programmed, it’s unbelievable. She obviously doesn’t want to alienate the terroristswhoadoptabandonedkittens vote. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-the-intellectual-says-she-always-wanted-a-son-named-zamboni/469139.md?page=2)