# Taking the piss: samclem **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425 "2005-07-13T23:26:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/1 "2005-07-13T23:26:13Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6361993#post6361993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6361993#post6361993) Why close that thread? A quick Google search shows lots of interesting cites for urine toothpaste including the SDMB favourite Wikipedia. Even if whitening isn’t the important action it seems people aught to know why urine was commonly used as an ingredient in toothpaste prior to modern times. Wiki link states Since urine contains ammonia, it was probably actually effective in whitening teeth What were you thinking closing the thread ? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/2 "2005-07-13T23:44:46Z")
Interesting is a way to put it. A google of urine+teeth yeilded these on the first page. I bet with more searching one could find more. Makeup 101 First-century Roman doctors believed that urine whitened teeth and also kept them firmly in place. Yuk! But it must have worked, because it was used as an … [www.beautyriot.com/article.php?id=2102&c\_id=9](http://www.beautyriot.com/article.php?id=2102&c_id=9) Cow urine for dazzling teeth?- The Times of India NEW DELHI; Cow urine for dazzling teeth, glowing skin and a slim body? Not for the queasy but seemingly recommended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), … [timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1034529.cms](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1034529.cms) Toothcare Why Portuguese urine is so important for oral hygiene. … ammonia molecules (still used in modern pastes) in the urine does a great job at whitening teeth. … [home.nycap.rr.com/useless/toothcare/](http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/toothcare/) ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/3 "2005-07-14T00:20:45Z")
I normally don’t quibble with mod actions, but I too would like to know huccome the thread was locked. I thought it might shape up to be an interesting debunking of an UL (eventually, once everybody got all the pee jokes out of their system) and isn’t that what we’re all about? I also found Colibri’s comment to be puzzling: > [@](#): > > How about some cite that this effect actually occurs before we try to explain it? Umm…every time someone comes in to GQ and asks, “Will drinking Mountain Dew really make my 'nads shrink?” we don’t normally testily demand a cite from him that the effect actually occurs before we fight his ignorance. We also, when people come into GQ asking about Trivial Pursuit/John’s Bathroom Reader-type factoids, don’t normally sigh mightily and kick in a gratuitous mild ad hominem, to the effect that “we just _knew_ who would be asking the question”… 😉 What, is he bustin’ your butt with an endless stream of Trivial Pursuit-type factoids? Then don’t open any of his threads, eh? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/4 "2005-07-14T00:22:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Toothcare > [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6361993#post6361993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6361993#post6361993) > > Why close that thread? A quick Google search shows lots of interesting cites for urine toothpaste including the SDMB favourite Wikipedia. Even if whitening isn’t the important action it seems people aught to know why urine was commonly used as an ingredient in toothpaste prior to modern times. > > Wiki link states > Since urine contains ammonia, it was probably actually effective in whitening teeth > > What were you thinking closing the thread ? Let me say, upfront, wikipedia is not one of MY favorites. I have serious issues with much of its content. I haven’t really examined its cites on this issue. Just saying that wikipedia doesn’t automatically cut it as a cite in my experience. Saying that there are “lots of interesting cites for urine toothpaste” on a Google search isn’t what I’m interested in. Starkist don’t want cites that are “interesting.” I want cites that are based on something other than pure fluff and crap. I’ll reopen it for now. Thanks for your input. But someone give me some kind of factual cites. And I don’t mean something that was copied from some internet site. Give me a primary source. They’re out there. They just take more work. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/5 "2005-07-14T01:00:52Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > But someone give me some kind of factual cites. And I don’t mean something that was copied from some internet site. Give me a primary source. They’re out there. They just take more work. Wasn’t that sort of the whole point of the original thread? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/6 "2005-07-14T01:02:40Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > But someone give me some kind of factual cites. And I don’t mean something that was copied from some internet site. Give me a primary source. They’re out there. They just take more work. I wasn’t trying to answer the question (cuz, I mean what do I care- not like I’m ever gonna try it) I was just trying to say that it’s not as absolutely dumb and pointless of a question as I had originally thought. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/7 "2005-07-14T01:14:15Z")
> [@Duck Duck Goose](#): > > I also found Colibri’s comment to be puzzling: My comment was more aimed at **Surreal** in particular, who has a habit of reading about some weird sexual practice or fetish on the internet and then asking us to explain it all. **Surreal** rarely gives any background on why he/she thinks the practice actually exists in the first place. I don’t mind cutting a newbie some slack, but this is SOP for **Surreal.** ---
**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:** [July 14, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/8 "2005-07-14T01:24:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I don’t mind cutting a newbie some slack, but this is SOP for **Surreal.** He’s obligated to provide regular reports to his home planet. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/9 "2005-07-14T01:36:05Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > My comment was more aimed at **Surreal** in particular, who has a habit of reading about some weird sexual practice or fetish on the internet and then asking us to explain it all. **Surreal** rarely gives any background on why he/she thinks the practice actually exists in the first place. > > I don’t mind cutting a newbie some slack, but this is SOP for **Surreal.** THIS is also one of the reasons I closed the thread originally. I’m tired of the OP’s crap. It’s hot as Hell here in Akron. I live on the third floor of an apartment that gets sun all day. And the humidity and heat are terrible right now. No A/C. But I should have not allowed that to influence me. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/10 "2005-07-14T01:42:38Z")
> [@Duck Duck Goose](#): > > Then don’t open any of his threads, eh? And maybe I should comment on this as well. This may be a reasonable enough comment for MPSIMS, IMHO, or the Pit. But we’re talking about GQ here. If someone was consistenly posting inane questions about bizarre urban legends, and never provided any background on where they thought they were true, I’m pretty sure that after a while they’d be catching flack from you too. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/11 "2005-07-14T01:59:51Z")
I can name three people, long-standing posters, right away, whose GQ threads I no longer open, precisely because I know it’ll be more of the same old-same old (and none of them is Surreal). I do not feel obligated to come **into** their threads to point out that they are posting the same old-same old. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/12 "2005-07-14T02:58:18Z")
> [@Duck Duck Goose](#): > > I can name three people, long-standing posters, right away, whose GQ threads I no longer open, precisely because I know it’ll be more of the same old-same old (and none of them is Surreal). I do not feel obligated to come **into** their threads to point out that they are posting the same old-same old. 😉 YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/13 "2005-07-14T03:04:20Z")
Aye, the only person on my ignore list is there because they constantly post inane GQ threads that I used to open and waste precious seconds trying to make sense of before realizing it was one of _that person’s_ OPs. (My sympathy for your sweltering existence, **samclem**.) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/14 "2005-07-14T03:14:19Z")
We went around on a similar topic recently - **Tuckerfan’s** penchant for opening one line OPs on space news. The verdict was, post as many of them as he likes - nobody makes anyone read them - with a codicil that it wouldn’t hurt him to lump a few together and do a “Daily Report on Space News” type thread. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/15 "2005-07-14T03:18:59Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > We went around on a similar topic recently - **Tuckerfan’s** penchant for opening one line OPs on space news. The verdict was, post as many of them as he likes - nobody makes anyone read them - with a codicil that it wouldn’t hurt him to lump a few together and do a “Daily Report on Space News” type thread. MPSIMS, not GQ. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/16 "2005-07-14T03:26:05Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > YMMV How much mileage, I wonder, does **Colibri** extract from [his beam](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6346724&postcount=26)? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/17 "2005-07-14T11:53:38Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I live on the third floor of an apartment that gets sun all day. Ah, the old “the sun was in my eyes” defense. I tried that as a source of error in an eighth grade physics class. The teacher was not amused. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/18 "2005-07-14T11:59:52Z")
It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/19 "2005-07-14T14:42:05Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > MPSIMS, not GQ. Ah. SOP, svp. Ok. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-the-piss-samclem/312425/20 "2005-07-14T17:15:11Z")
Thanks **samclem** I didn’t realise **Surreal** was getting a reputation for starting fluff, and maybe that OP was fluff to begin with (and my first wise arse reply was deffinately fluff) but once sites starte soming in I thought it had become a proper SDMB question of the type suitable for SDMB and Cecil’s Colomn. To have it closed in its infancy was a shame as it lead to all sorts of questions about bleaching through the use of urine etc.