# Should the US bomb Agrabah? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 19, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818 "2015-12-19T00:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/41 "2015-12-21T04:16:23Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > - “We have cruise missiles.” > > - “We have a Genie.” How does that work out, actually? I have no idea. I mean, are genies immortal? If the cruise missile goes off will the genie be killed or what? And if the genie detects the incoming cruise missile could it wish it out of existence, or can genies only grant wishes to others? These are important questions, people. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/42 "2015-12-21T04:44:27Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > These are important questions, people. In your dream! ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/43 "2015-12-21T04:58:58Z")
Can we move to saying we are bombing fictitious places and then report fictitious death tolls to satisfy the real blood-lust? It’s a terrible idea really but seems better than bombing real people who had fuck all to do with anything that impacts us. We’ll manage until some well meaning ‘hero’ exposes the policy. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/44 "2015-12-21T05:00:06Z")
My son said, “I’m in favor of bombing Agrabah! Explosions are fun. And it’s a fake place, so no one would be hurt.” ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/45 "2015-12-21T14:30:52Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > How many libbys signed the petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide?.. After all, Dihydrogen Monoxide: 1. Contributes to the corrosion and rusting of iron and steel bridges. 2. Has been found “in situ” in cancer tumors. 3. Is often fatal if inhaled. 4. In its gaseous form, can cause severe burns. 5. Is a major constituent in “acid rain”. 6. Is used as a torture implement by totalitarian governments. 7. Despite all of the above, is uncontrolled and legal for purchase by children. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/46 "2015-12-21T15:18:49Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > How does that work out, actually? I have no idea. I mean, are genies immortal? If the cruise missile goes off will the genie be killed or what? And if the genie detects the incoming cruise missile could it wish it out of existence, or can genies only grant wishes to others? > > These are important questions, people. At least in “Aladdin” it’s not made clear. The genie frequently violates or changes the laws of space and time purely for his own amusement, creating and destroying matter to simply emphasize a point he’s making. He also inadvertently gives Aladdin something (getting him out of the cave) when it’s not a wish, solely because Aladdin pushes his pride button and gets him to fail to notice that Aladdin did not actually make a wish; so, clearly, his execution of wishes is based on his perception of whether or not a wish is made, not the objective fact of whether or not it was made, and he can be convinced into admitting being wrong in this regard. It’s also unclear how generic a wish can be. The genie states his master gets only three wishes and cannot wish for more. He’s very emphatic that the master gets just three wishes, but what constitutes ONE wish? For instance, if his master said “Make the cruise missile vanish,” obviously he could do that. But suppose the wisher said “Make it so that all weapons launched at Agrabah, from now until the end of time, fail” is that okay? There’s also significant misunderstanding issues; Aladdin, for instance, wishes to be a prince. The genie fails to do that, instead simply creating the APPEARANCE that Aladdin is a prince. He is said to be from the sultanate of Ababwa (sp?) but the implication is that there is no such place and it’s all a show. It’s understood that while he’s dressed to the nines and has a coterie of servants and elephants marching through the streets of Agrabah, he isn’t really a prince at all, has to go by an assumed name, and admits later on he’s just a street kid lying. Had the genie actually granted his wish, he really would be a prince; some land, somewhere, would have recognized Aladdin as a prince in their royal family, and his family tree would have been retroactively changed to reflect that. He would have been just as much a royal as Princess Jasmine, no need to lie or use a fake name. So in this regard the movie is weirdly inconsistent. Later, when the genie turns Jafar into a genie, it’s the full effect; he really does make Jafar a genie. There’s no fakery about it. So why did he not make Aladdin a real prince? In other words, Agrabah is one goddamn confusing place and we should at least try nuking it from orbit just to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/47 "2015-12-21T16:04:48Z")
Never mind Agrabah, let’s bomb Calormen, they’re all Devil-worshippers there. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/48 "2015-12-21T16:19:02Z")
I blame the passage of the Public Affairs Act of 1975 for all this nonsense. It should be repealed! Details: [http://yetanotherblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2013/04/a.html](http://yetanotherblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2013/04/a.html) ---
**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:** [December 21, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/49 "2015-12-21T16:38:41Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > This was not a real survey people. Why does that organisation get any media coverage at all? This is being reported in Australia as - Americans are stupid. I read somewhere that this supposed survey had 19 % of Democrats supporting the bombing. > Let me ask ask if you were completing what you thought was a real survey how would you respond to that question? Yes? No? Don’t know? The only answer that would be a good one would be - I think auto correct gave you an odd error there…did you mean Baghdad? > People will respond to fictitious issues in surveys [Opinions on Fictitious Issues: The Pressure to Answer Survey Questions | Public Opinion Quarterly | Oxford Academic](http://poq.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/2/240.short). What do the results really mean? Totally agree. In terms of what it actually means, probably that around 35% of Republicans and 45% of Trump supporters approve of bombing cities controlled by ISIS, and that 85% of people don’t recognize the name Agrabah, but assume that the question that they are being asked is actually relevant. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/50 "2015-12-21T17:34:45Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Never mind Agrabah, let’s bomb Calormen, they’re all Devil-worshippers there. Yes, but we have evidence that some of them are actually good people… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/51 "2015-12-21T18:09:45Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yes, but we have evidence that some of them are actually good people… Kill 'em all, let Aslan sort 'em out. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/52 "2015-12-21T18:18:49Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Uh…no. People are dopes and routinely sign petitions to ban it. They read the info sheet on what it can all do to a person [inhalation can cause death, etc.] and freak. D’uh!:smack: Aren’t you the guy who once posted about how a particular gun can fit inside your swim trunks? If so, you’re the wrong person to be criticizing others for poor judgment about threats to health and safety. Glass houses, etc. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/53 "2015-12-21T18:37:38Z")
If we can find it we should bomb it. Isn’t that our usual strategy? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/54 "2015-12-21T18:44:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If we can find it we should bomb it. Isn’t that our usual strategy? Not always. The song “Bomb Iran” (to the tune of “Barbara Ann”) first came out during the hostage crisis in 1979 and we still haven’t. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/55 "2015-12-21T19:07:13Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In other words, Agrabah is one goddamn confusing place and we should at least try nuking it from orbit just to be sure. Worth trying. The genie may well just turn the nukes into something that no longer appear to be nukes. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/56 "2015-12-21T19:20:46Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In other words, Agrabah is one goddamn confusing place and we should at least try nuking it from orbit just to be sure. Exactly how many showings of Aladin have you been forced to sit through. That analysis looks like the outcome of a parent forced to watch a children’s movie on repeat far to many times. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/57 "2015-12-21T19:24:24Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Exactly how many showings of Aladin have you been forced to sit through. The drinking game is, you take a shot when someone says “a diamond in the rough.” So, no, I’ve never actually remained conscious until the end. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/58 "2015-12-21T20:51:54Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Exactly how many showings of Aladin have you been forced to sit through. That analysis looks like the outcome of a parent forced to watch a children’s movie on repeat far to many times. Just twice. What can I say, I’m just clever. Or I wish I am. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/59 "2015-12-21T23:54:05Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Aren’t you the guy who once posted about how a particular gun can fit inside your swim trunks? How is carrying a pocket pistol in the pocket of swim trunks any more of a hazard than carrying it the pocket of shorts or regular trousers? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818/60 "2015-12-22T00:27:23Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > How is carrying a pocket pistol in the pocket of swim trunks any more of a hazard than carrying it the pocket of shorts or regular trousers? It’s more of a hazard, in that you do athletic stuff in trunks, I suppose. Also, unless that gun is good with water, you’re gonna leave a pistol in your beach bag unguarded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-bomb-agrabah/740818.md?page=4)