# The Pineapple and the Hare **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2012, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395 "2012-04-20T10:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/21 "2012-04-20T20:10:18Z")
> [@PacifistPorcupine](#): > > I’ve never met a pineapple that didn’t get eaten in the end. Yeah, we all know pineapples are into the kinky stuff. But this was a test for school children so let’s keep it out of the gutter. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/22 "2012-04-20T22:23:52Z")
1. Because pineapples are delicious. 2. Clearly the Hare. He got some good exercise, he won a ninja (and a lifetime supply of toothpaste), he succeeded against adversity (everyone cheering against him) and he got to eat some pineapple. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/23 "2012-04-21T01:35:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I miss Skald. You are the wisest. The story (the pineapple and the hare story) is attributed to Daniel Pinkwater but they totally changed the story he wrote (in **Borgel** ). [It was a story about an eggplant and a rabbit. It makes so much more sense that way.](http://www.pinkwater.com/pzone/) ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/24 "2012-04-21T02:43:17Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > The story (the pineapple and the hare story) is attributed to Daniel Pinkwater but they totally changed the story he wrote (in **Borgel** ). [It was a story about an eggplant and a rabbit. It makes so much more sense that way.](http://www.pinkwater.com/pzone/) Jesus. I’d like to take the pineapple and use it to beat the test developers to death. Would take that be wrong? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/25 "2012-04-21T03:38:20Z")
The article, the text of the story, the questions, and the possible answers at the article in the OP’s link, have all changed since this afternoon. For example, the Owl _is_ now a character in the story, and the ninja and toothpaste are nowhere mentioned. No mention of this update accompanies the article. Yay, NY Daily News! Way to be credible! ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/26 "2012-04-21T21:13:21Z")
[The Wall Street Journal’s interview with Pinkwater](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577356113609677208.html#articleTabs=article) is a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/27 "2012-04-22T01:45:16Z")
Wait a minute, I voted based upon the story I read yesterday, where the prize was ninjas and toothpaste and the moose said “Pineapples don’t have sleeves”. Did the NY Daily News originally rely on an 8th grader’s memory of the question for this article? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/28 "2012-04-22T10:27:28Z")
> [@Tamex](#): > > Did the NY Daily News originally rely on an 8th grader’s memory of the question for this article? To be fair, the guy’s been a top DN reporter since the 5th grade. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/29 "2012-04-22T14:40:53Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > [The Wall Street Journal’s interview with Pinkwater](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577356113609677208.html#articleTabs=article) is a hoot. That interview is worth reading for anyone in this thread. Pinkwater seems like a pretty amusing guy, and he’s clearly aware of the absurdity of this situation. The pineapple story was adapted from a passage in one of Pinkwater’s novels, and in the context of the novel it’s apparently meant to be a sort of Grandpa Simpson-esque nonsensical fable told by an old man who is, or is pretending to be, senile. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/30 "2012-04-22T14:49:40Z")
Rocks fall, everyone dies. That’s why we _killed_ all the talking animals, to put an end to bullshit like this. In fact really we should kill off a few more classes of talking creature since the smell of bullshit is still too strong. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/31 "2012-04-22T15:14:23Z")
Cool story, bro. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/32 "2012-04-22T17:13:52Z")
So is anyone going to tell me what happened to **Skald**? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/33 "2012-04-22T17:16:37Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > So is anyone going to tell me what happened to **Skald**? Well, I’d tell you if I knew. IIRC he just left the boards – I think he said he was leaving, but I don’t recall that there was any specific reason offered. Maybe he just felt he was spending too much time here. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/34 "2012-04-23T02:02:19Z")
I changed my mind. The hare is the wisest, he wouldn’t lose anything from losing the race (except the race- well, you know what I mean), but he would gain ninjas and toothpicks if he won. Therefore, agreeing to race is preferable to turning out pineapple down. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/35 "2012-04-23T16:04:27Z")
Possibly this is the only test question that they could write after eliminating all of the [banned concepts.](http://www.popehat.com/2012/04/03/yes-the-new-york-city-department-of-education-banned-words-list-is-as-bad-as-reported/) ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/36 "2012-04-23T18:33:38Z")
I put annoyed and owl, but only because I’d already read the article. It’s weird that in the OP story, the owl doesn’t appear at all. I mean, whole thing is weird, but that’s \*particularly \*weird. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/37 "2012-04-23T21:45:32Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Possibly this is the only test question that they could write after eliminating all of the [banned concepts.](http://www.popehat.com/2012/04/03/yes-the-new-york-city-department-of-education-banned-words-list-is-as-bad-as-reported/) Wait, never mind–it has anthropomorphism. No idea how this made the cut. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395/38 "2012-04-23T23:07:34Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > I put annoyed and owl, but only because I’d already read the article. It’s weird that in the OP story, the owl doesn’t appear at all. I mean, whole thing is weird, but that’s \*particularly \*weird. The story in the _original_ NY Daily News article, at the OP’s link, had the story as the OP posted it. They made extensive changes to their article, including a version of the story that wasn’t, apparently, written by an 8th grader. (Just so you don’t blame **Cheesesteak** for there not being an owl in the OP.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pineapple-and-the-hare/619395.md?page=1)