# Pitting Honeybadger **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183 "2018-03-07T15:40:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/381 "2023-08-22T11:16:50Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > questions that are only tangential to the question you’re actually want to ask? I do that because I want to hear different perspectives on something. I don’t know if it’s a bad habit or a good habit sometimes it serves me well and sometimes it doesn’t serve me so well. Very often by going back to a first principal in a question I will hear some interesting perspectives that I may not have considered. And then there’s times that nobody has any idea what the fuck I’m even talking about. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/382 "2023-08-22T11:31:06Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If you were ten years old, I’d applaud your curiosity. But you’re supposed to be a grown up, and the problem is that in your pondering of things, you generally seem oblivious to the fact that smart people have been thinking about those things (and dedicating their lives to investigating them) for literally hundreds of years, and that your inane hot take is rather unlikely to be a profound insight that has never occurred to anyone before. Do you have any idea how many assumptions you made in that short paragraph? If I were as judgmental as you i would be angry all the time. I have no desire to be profound, I simply enjoy hearing how others might approach a subject. I already knew that I was going to hear that there is not enough water or that the earth isn’t flat. But I also had hoped that I would hear something new, which I did. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/383 "2023-08-22T12:29:01Z")
Welcome to the thread. Since no earth-shattering news has come out about Joe or Hunter Biden, contrary to your predictions in the thread you were banned from, has that caused you to reassess anything at all in terms of news sources, reality, anything? Or, are you like a cultist who, when armageddon doesn’t arrive on time, comes up with excuse after excuse? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/384 "2023-08-22T12:48:31Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > And then there’s times that nobody has any idea what the fuck I’m even talking about. This implies there are times when people do understand you. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/385 "2023-08-22T13:04:45Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I used to live not far from Wichita, so I believe it. Were you ever a lineman for the county? ---
**Author:** ![keeganst94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@keeganst94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeganst94)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/386 "2023-08-22T14:13:50Z")
Is this true? I don’t see why it would be. Sure, life might never have come on land, but the vast majority of life is aquatic anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/387 "2023-08-22T14:26:31Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I don’t think any of you have any idea why I was even pondering the question. I assumed you were high (on pot or something else). ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/388 "2023-08-22T14:32:17Z")
Sadly Wichita Kansas isn’t in Wichita County… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/389 "2023-08-22T15:23:28Z")
The funny thing is I knew that. For work I’d spent a bunch of time in the city of Wichita & the surrounding Sedgwick county back in the 1990s. But I sure didn’t remember it. Tyanks for the point-out. Although I don’t think the lyrics are 100% explicit on whether he works for Wichita county or just lives in/near Wichita city while working for “the county”. I grew up in a place where one of the 'burbs had the same name as the containing county. But most everybody including me lived in other 'burbs or unincorporated areas. Mostly we just called it “the county”, especially when referring to the government. The name was mostly reserved for referring to the city. Not that it matters. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 22, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/390 "2023-08-22T16:04:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I assumed you were high (on pot or something else). This is my frequent hypothesis when reading many of the questions/explanations posed by the pittee. It’s not meant as a slam, but an observation. THC does unlock what seem to be profound insights to many a user, but said insights do seldom stand up to scrutiny or result in new scientific principles. There’s no real harm in it, and it may well not be the case for **HoneyBadgerDC**. But if a post makes me think the poster is in such a state, I tend towards prejudiciously dismissing post and poster. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/391 "2023-08-22T16:05:38Z")
In case anyone is wondering, I lived in Sedgwick, KS (the city) then later moved to Newton for a bit. Both are north of Wichita. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/392 "2023-08-22T16:07:00Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Both are north of Wichita. Which Men North of Wichita? I’ll see myself out. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/393 "2023-08-22T16:13:48Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Sadly Wichita Kansas isn’t in Wichita County But as falls Wichita, so falls Wichita Falls. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/As_Falls_Wichita.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/As_Falls_Wichita.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/394 "2023-08-22T16:21:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Although I don’t think the lyrics are 100% explicit on whether he works for Wichita county or just lives in/near Wichita city while working for “the county”. Well, when Jimmy Webb wrote the song, he was in Washita County, Oklahoma, but ain’t nobody need a song about Oklahoma. > **[Wichita Lineman | Background and content](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita_Lineman#Background_and_content)** > > Jimmy Webb stated in an interview for the BBC Radio 4 Mastertapes programme that the song was written in response to a phone call from Campbell for a "place" or "geographical" song to follow up "By the Time I Get to Phoenix". Webb's inspiration for the lyric came while driving through Washita County\[a\] in rural southwestern Oklahoma. At that time, many telephone companies were county-owned utilities, and their linemen were county employees. > Heading westward on a straight road into the setting su... ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/395 "2023-08-22T16:24:10Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Chingon](#): > > > > Sadly Wichita Kansas isn’t in Wichita County > > But as falls Wichita, so falls Wichita Falls. > > [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/As\_Falls\_Wichita.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/As_Falls_Wichita.jpg) One of the first jazz albums I ever bought! Metheny led me to Ornette Coleman, which really opened my ears (and pissed off my college roommates). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/396 "2023-08-22T16:45:51Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Well, when Jimmy Webb wrote the song, he was in Washita County, Oklahoma, but ain’t nobody need a song about Oklahoma. Heck, Oklahoma has a whole darn _musical_ about it. But the year I spent in OK pretty well sold me on the idea that it’s nothing to sing about. I’m now wondering how the locals pronounce “Washita”? “wah-SHEET-ah”, “wush-uh-TAH” or ??? A bit of research suggests “wa-SHI-tuh”. Which would be an easy corruption into “Wichita” for greater name recognition and commercial appeal. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/397 "2023-08-22T16:50:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > A bit of research suggests “wa-SHI-tuh”. Which would be an easy corruption into “Wichita” for greater name recognition and commercial appeal. Which is probably why Webb changed it before publishing it. Footnote “A” in the Wiki extract shown above says “Replaced in Webb’s lyrics with Wichita, for singing purposes.” And really, if you’re not intimately familiar with the Great Plains, south-central Kansas and southwest Oklahoma are completely interchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/398 "2023-08-22T17:07:34Z")
I lived there a year, and flew all over western OK & southern KS for that year. Drove around a lot on weekends visiting random small town just becuase I could. And I’ve looked down at it while passing overhead for decades since. Yeah, visually and culturally it’s pretty much one big space. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/399 "2023-08-22T17:33:03Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It’s not the worst question ever, honestly. The obvious answer is that there isn’t enough water for it to cover everything, and/or the land surface isn’t even enough. But there have been much, much worse questions asked here. Actually I think it was a pretty good question, except that it needed a little more time pondering to figure how to articulate the nagging feeling of improbability that drove it. Properly phrased the question was: We live on a planet for which water covers the majority of the planet, but there are large swaths of dry land. In order for this to happen the amount of water has to be within a fairly narrow range. Too much and it covers everything, too little and you get mostly land with just a few small seas. Why is it that the amount of water lies within this range. Possible explanations are: 1. Its just just happened that way. 2. Its not actually a narrow range, some water and some dry land is the most likely outcome. 3. Its the [anthropic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle) principle at work 4. There is something about geology that makes the land rise up so that its partially above sea level regardless of the amount of water. Asking the question to determine which of these (or which combination of these) is the correct one is a totally worthwhile question. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/400 "2023-08-22T17:47:29Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Asking the question to determine which of these (or which combination of these) is the correct one is a totally worthwhile question. You are actually very close right there. Another feature I was hoping to see discussed is how surface area of the ocean affects climate. I know water is considerably lighter than rock, but I also know that it exerts forces differently. So I was curious as to if the outward forces of water against continents had any effect on them. Honestly, I just saw it is a conversation starter. I may have spent too many years hanging out in coffee shops where we throw something out there and for the next 2 hours we just see where it takes us. I already know what my thoughts are on something, so I am really interested in hearing yours. Being vague will often allow for elements to come in that I have not even considered. In the future I will try and be more direct, no promises! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183.md?page=21)