# The English are not an inventive people, they do not eat enough pie. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697 "2003-06-23T04:21:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/61 "2003-06-24T01:09:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Encinitas \* > \*\*Edison didn’t mean **pie** per se. He meant **pi**. Which we all know was invented by the Greeks. 🙂 \*\* The Greeks are clearly Scots [Proof](http://www.nature.com/nsu/020520/020520-2.html), and Pi was stolen from the Scots [Proof Incontrovertible again](http://www.nationalgalleries.org.uk/tipu/thistle211.htm). No sign here of Edison. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/62 "2003-06-24T01:51:55Z")
Does anyone else feel the GQ is getting lost here…? Anyway, wasn’t America essentially invented by British people? And we get radio, too, invented by the famous Scot called MacOni. And we have all sorts of pies. Just because we have savoury pies as well as fruit pies doesn’t mean we’re _less_ inventive. And the original claim was that the British weren’t inventive, not that we were less inventive (after all, USA is larger.) For that matter did the original refer to Britain as a whole, or Britons in general? After all, we don’t have Jerry Springer, and sitting, drooling, and banging your head on a wall is fairly stimulating and inventive mental activity compared to watching that :-p ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/63 "2003-06-24T01:58:42Z")
You know, making a pie out of organs and guts and then calling it “savory” is one of those British ironies us Merkins don’t get… ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/64 "2003-06-24T02:27:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > \*\*Is this aversion to kidneys a widespread American phenomenon? You really are missing out, because calf’s kidneys in a mustard sauce are a dish fit for kings. Does this attitude spread to all offal? I take it that you’re not really big on liver either then. And presumably not terribly keen when it comes to andouillette, sweatbreads, brains, tongue, tripe, faggots or tete de veau a la vinaigrette. > > You have much to learn. \*\* I think us modern day white-bread Merkins ARE fairly averse to organ meats. It is more of an ethnic thing, I think. And no, as **MC Master** points out, it isn’t really logical to drool over one part of a dead animal but be repulsed over another part of that same animal, but there it is. I eat beef, chicken, pork, lamb, whatever, but generally don’t touch the organs of these creatures, even when they are offered up for consumption, which is rarely (not counting hot dogs and sausages) ;). ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/65 "2003-06-24T09:57:28Z")
I’d have thought that as we Brits have both savoury and sweet pies then we are more inventive. More inventive with pies, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/66 "2003-06-24T10:58:05Z")
Funny how any mention of British foods on these boards soon degenerates into an anglo-american slanging match about steak and kidney pie. e.g.: [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=173743&highlight=steak+kidney) and [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178705&highlight=steak+kidney) to name a couple. To answer the OP’s question: Perhaps Edison was eating the wrong kind of pie when he invented the electric chair in an attempt to prove that alternating current is dangerous, in order to discredit a rival. Actually, when he wasn’t getting his assistants to do all his inventing for him, he seemed to spend a lot of his spare time backing the wrong horse (telegraph v. telephone etc.) Bit of a twat if you ask me. Wasn’t it Edison that wanted to supply electricity to cities by constructing huge lead-acid batteries to store the necessary amount of DC current? A prime example of Edison’s misguided pie-eating habits was his failure to invent the telephone. While he, and almost everyone else, was looking at the problem from the point of view of electricity and magnetism and so on, his rival Bell was tucking into his chicken scrotum and bull’s testicle pudding and - shock horror -studying the anatomy of the human ear, and trying to reproduce it. He was laughed at until he actually got the thing to work. Just goes to show that it’s not always a good thing to distance yourself from the less sugary aspects of our existance. And **Chronos** , don’t be so ridiculous. The American usage of the word “pie” is no more “proper” than the British usage. Why don’t you lot over the Atlantic just accept that you are not God’s gift to humanity. _[sub]fixed link - **DrMatrix** [/sub]_ ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/67 "2003-06-24T11:06:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WILLASS \* > \*\*Zorro you are a true gourmet! I love offal, liver, haggis etc. but andouillette is evil and isn’t tete de veau lambs face? I draw the line at that…oh and tripe, lets not forget tripe. \*\* You have the right idea but it’s actually calf’s head. It’s reasonably common where I come from in Alsace. I can only find a print of it though, not a photograph: [http://www.philaprintshop.com/images/cuisveau.jpg](http://www.philaprintshop.com/images/cuisveau.jpg) I think that this fact strongly suggests that the Americans are not currently very keen on this dish. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/68 "2003-06-24T11:14:20Z")
Whoops! Here’s [that other thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178705&highlight=steak+kidney) ---
**Author:** ![jinty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dbc845/32.png) [@jinty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jinty)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/69 "2003-06-24T11:56:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FranticMad \* > \*\*Revisionist piffle. > If it weren’t for the Scots, there would be no Utah, and therefore no television. [Incontrovertible Proof!](http://historytogo.utah.gov/british.html) \*\* What a shame there’s no pie chart on that link :D. Also, I see that a resident of Utah is a _Utahn_. Damn, what a missed opportunity: Utahlitarian, Utahman…the humorous possibilities are endless. This shows a total lack of inventiveness on the part of the Utahn authorities. Clearly, they should eat more pies. ---
**Author:** ![psi724](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@psi724](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psi724)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/70 "2003-06-27T13:26:35Z")
For shame!!! How does this discussion even take place with out reference to the great Weebl and Bob? [http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm](http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm) ---
**Author:** ![skeptic\_ev](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@skeptic\_ev](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skeptic_ev)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/71 "2003-06-27T14:02:38Z")
Okay, technically, any dish that consists of a filling between two crusts–or on top of one crust–can be defined as a pie. It just so happens that Americans tend to focus a bit more on sweet pies, and Brits on savory pies. Just to mix it up a bit, who doesn’t love a good chicken pot pie? Merkin … AND savory. Also, I must admit to a longstanding curiosity about steak and kidney (and similar) pies; they seem to inspire such devotion over there. It’s definitely on my list of things to try if I ever make it to the UK. To give you Brits your props, BTW, I must admit that you have the BEST tea. Just plain ol’ Sainsbury’s red label (I’ve got friends that bring it when they visit) … yum. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/72 "2003-06-27T14:06:36Z")
Al Gore invented the internet. He likes Pecan Pie\*. Edwin Hubble invented\*\* the expanding universe. He liked Lemon Mereinge Pie. Hugh Hefner invented pornagraphy. He likes Fur Pie. Eli Whitney invented cotton _and_ gin! He liked Boysenberry Cobbler. Which he called pie. 'Cause of all the drinking, I’m sure. \*All _real_ pies are proper names. \*\*I use _invented_ as I want, which is my wont. Why isn’t **Lobsang** in this thread yet? ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/73 "2003-06-27T14:07:16Z")
Just for the record, Americans do eat meat pies, loads of them. They are called “pot pies” and you can get them at any supermarket in the frozen foods section. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/74 "2003-06-27T14:23:47Z")
I have to say, as a kiwi transplant in the UK, that I have been seriously disappointed in the english pie experience. Steak and Ale is OK (as long as the top is good puff pastry), and so is Steak and Stilton. But so many english pies don’t use a light puffy pastry. As I prepare for our first trip back home in 2 years, my thoughts are not on seeing my family and friends for the first time in an age, but on sinking my teeth into an absolutely perfect Steak and Bacon Ponsonby Pie, purchased from the nearest garage to the airport (how I will do this without being caught by my wife who disapproves of such fat-laden delicacies, I do not yet know. But it will happen). Of course, I will burn my mouth so badly I won’t enjoy the next three weeks, but it will be a small sacrifice, and I can always cool it down with a swill of ice-cold L&P - I guess I can’t wait. Of course, I could always have Lamb and Mint, or Mince and Cheese, or Chicken, or … Simon from NZ - Land of Pie ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/75 "2003-06-27T14:47:18Z")
Pot pies…bah! If you want savory pies in the US, you must go to Louisiana and partake of Natchitoches (NA-ka-tish, if you were wondering) meat pies. The crawfish pies (yes, we even have crustacean pies!) are particularly delectable, but the ground beef is a staple. The secret is _deep-frying_ the pie. 😉 As to the OP (yes, I’m really going to address the OP): Edison seems to have been claiming (in jest, one presumes) that you must be a little off your rocker to invent. He was further suggesting that a diet with a high pie content could lead one to this state. Now, a meat pie is little different, nutritionally, from a thick stew with a bit of bread around it, and I’ve never heard anyone claim that stew led to madness (although madness might perhaps lead to stew on occasion). I suspect, then, that Edison was speaking of sweet pies, which can lead to a sugar rush if consumed in quantity (er…not that I would now that, mind). Most of the inventive sorts I know nurse sugar and caffeine addictions, so maybe Edison had the right idea. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/76 "2003-06-27T15:12:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > Is this aversion to kidneys a widespread American phenomenon? You really are missing out, because calf’s kidneys in a mustard sauce are a dish fit for kings. **Does this attitude spread to all offal?** Yes. In fact, until I read this thread, I had never heard of that specialized usage of “offal” (referring to organ meats). In my experience, “offal” has always meant “refuse”, “garbage”, “trash”, etc. Not something you would put into a pie. Well, not something an AMERICAN would put into a pie. The English on the other hand … ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/77 "2003-06-27T15:49:15Z")
“Pie is gooood”. Hey whatever kind of pie turns you on is just [groovy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179401) . ---
**Author:** ![jillzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@jillzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jillzy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/78 "2003-06-27T15:55:38Z")
Forget about pie. What about PUDDING?!?!?!? To me, pudding is the delightful, creamy dessert endorsed by Bill Cosby. NOT that culinary montrosity referred to as Black Pudding. Blood does not belong in pudding. Chocolate belongs in pudding. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/79 "2003-06-27T16:03:33Z")
[Englishman] You got your blood on my chocolate! {taste} Hey! This blood stuff is almost as good as the rotting meat I put in my pies! Now, if I only find a way to include some urine… [/E] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/80 "2003-06-27T16:42:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*[Englishman] > Now, if I only find a way to include some urine… > [/E] \*\* You must be thinking of _Budweiser_, and we would never touch that piss, not even in a pie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697.md?page=5)