# Very mild, but... the Dope isn't influencing popular culture **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986 "2008-10-15T01:24:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/21 "2008-10-15T07:33:20Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > …and lots of members like the idea of the Dope being some sort of super cool club for smart people. It really isn’t so, okay? It is a cool club for smart people. Just one nobody knows about. I once saw the evolution of a phrase on a messageboard that became an acronym and catchphrase, and then much later saw it used on a completely unrelated place, and I got really excited. The phrase was **PPOR** , or _Post Proof Or Retract_, meaning something very much like “cite!” does here. I saw all this on the Star Wars messageboard at “[TheForce.net](http://TheForce.net)”. Except then I discovered it’s a much older phrase that pre-dates the web. I believe it actually originated on Usenet, or even earlier still. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/22 "2008-10-15T08:15:06Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > What if Letterman put _Hi, Opal_ in the 3rd spot on his top ten? Would we be cool then? no. It’s not easy to make something less cool than the letterman top ten list, but repeating an ancient catchphrase that was never funny to begin with would probably get the job done. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/23 "2008-10-15T10:16:24Z")
I’ve always thought the best thing about this message board is that nobody else I know ever reads it. In fact, the more obscure it is the better, as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/24 "2008-10-15T10:41:47Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > No one famous is shouting out to the SDMB. This isn’t the only group that likes bacon. This isn’t the only group that says “asshat.” If someone says something about 1920-style death rays, that might be a shout out. Mentioning pie isn’t a shout out. Wait…I knew about asshat…I’m not surprised by ‘bacon’…are people really taking pie references as some sort of SDMB innovation? 😕 WE got it from Weebl and Bob! ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/25 "2008-10-15T11:34:02Z")
I almost started this thread myself yesterday. If you’re keening for the possibility that D-list famous people might see what you’re saying, go to Fark. This board is TINY. TI! NY! If I were to become famous I wouldn’t reveal my true identity on here - I’d be afraid ever thread I posted to would be mobbed with people trying to feel famous/important by association. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/26 "2008-10-15T12:00:39Z")
All you asswagons and assgoblins are just hatin’, I for one welcome our new asshat overlords… wait, that’s not ours either? ---
**Author:** ![Hogwash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@Hogwash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogwash)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/27 "2008-10-15T12:57:33Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > Stressing out over whether you’re cool enough? Squaresville, kitten. > > If they don’t know where you are, maybe they don’t know where it’s at. Dig? This hepcat speaks the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/28 "2008-10-15T12:57:45Z")
Counterexample: Rebecca Watson on _The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe_ podcast\* a few weeks ago referenced “the invisible pink unicorn” in a discussion about religious fanatics and God. I thought: “ooh! an SDMB reference! I gotta tell the gang. But wait – I’ll get laughed out of town when everyone says how common that is.” Then, two weeks later the same panelist was talking about PETA’s new wacky publicity stunt. She listed off a bunch of jokes about it and then said: “Those are all from the Straight Dope Message Board.” So: not EVERY instance is imagined. \*Listenership 40,000. Your definition of “popular” may vary. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/29 "2008-10-15T13:12:03Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > Counterexample: > > Rebecca Watson on _The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe_ podcast\* a few weeks ago referenced “the invisible pink unicorn” in a discussion about religious fanatics and God. I thought: “ooh! an SDMB reference! I gotta tell the gang. But wait – I’ll get laughed out of town when everyone says how common that is.” > > Then, two weeks later the same panelist was talking about PETA’s new wacky publicity stunt. She listed off a bunch of jokes about it and then said: “Those are all from the Straight Dope Message Board.” > > So: not EVERY instance is imagined. Your Imagination May Vary… The Invisible Pink Unicorn has been around since at least 1990 ([Invisible Pink Unicorn - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Pink_Unicorn)) ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/30 "2008-10-15T13:22:51Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Your Imagination May Vary… > > The Invisible Pink Unicorn has been around since at least 1990 ([Invisible Pink Unicorn - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Pink_Unicorn)) Yes, that’s why I didn’t say anything after the first podcast. But then in the next one she said the phrase “Straight Dope Message Board.” This phrase has only been around since 1999, which, perhaps by coincidence, is the same year that the SDMB was founded! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/31 "2008-10-15T13:30:16Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > Yes, that’s why I didn’t say anything after the first podcast. But then in the next one she said the phrase “Straight Dope Message Board.” This phrase has only been around since 1999, which, perhaps by coincidence, is the same year that the SDMB was founded! Did you even read the Wiki quote? The phrase “Invisible Pink Unicorn” was first used on Usenet in 1990. She may have read it here, but whoever used it here pulled it from the greater ether. And something tells me we didn’t originate “penis ensues” either. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/32 "2008-10-15T13:39:31Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Did you even read the Wiki quote? The phrase “Invisible Pink Unicorn” was first used on Usenet in 1990. She may have read it here, but whoever used it here pulled it from the greater ether. > > And something tells me we didn’t originate “penis ensues” either. You might want to try re-reading his post a third time, for comprehension. She didn’t reference IPU and SDMB in the same show. She listed off a bunch of jokes about the most recent (at the time) PETA publicity stunt, and said she had read all the jokes on the SDMB. IOW, sometimes things mentioned on the board DO get noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/33 "2008-10-15T13:46:06Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > You might want to try re-reading his post a third time, for comprehension. She didn’t reference IPU and SDMB in the same show. She listed off a bunch of jokes about the most recent (at the time) PETA publicity stunt, and said she had read all the jokes on the SDMB. IOW, sometimes things mentioned on the board DO get noticed. Ah, I guess you’re right about that. But then that just makes her a joke thief, filling time in her podcast with stuff other people wrote. Drew Curtis wrote in his book about how pissed he is that a lot of “morning zoo” radio shows are filled with Fark retreads. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/34 "2008-10-15T14:25:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Ah, I guess you’re right about that. But then that just makes her a joke thief, filling time in her podcast with stuff other people wrote. I thought this thread was about false impressions of references to the SDMB in the wider world, and hey look, here’s an actual _verifiable_ reference to the SDMB, and…what’s your point again? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/35 "2008-10-15T14:40:06Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It is a cool club for smart people. Just one nobody knows about. No it isn’t, it really isn’t. I like the SDMB, but there’s nothing remotely cool about it. And the people here range in intelligence, just like everywhere else. There might be a slightly higher average intelligence here compared to the _rest of the internet_, but that is not saying much. The smartest people I know wouldn’t spend 5 minutes yakking about all the crap we talk about around here, especially not on an internet message board. ---
**Author:** ![Mellivora\_capensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mellivora\_capensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mellivora_capensis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/36 "2008-10-15T14:44:00Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > … > And something tells me we didn’t originate “penis ensues” either. I might be wrong, but I think “penis ensues” did in fact originate here. > **[Wow! A kind warning to Olestra-phobes!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=294892)** > > Okay, we had a hubbub about the fake fat-like substance used in Frito-Lay WOW Chips and Toasty Toes WOW Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips. The generic name is Olestra, and the brand name is Olean®. Well, they’ve changed the name. What was WOW!® is now... ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/37 "2008-10-15T14:52:36Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I thought this thread was about false impressions of references to the SDMB in the wider world, and hey look, here’s an actual _verifiable_ reference to the SDMB, and…what’s your point again? Some random podcaster using our jokes to fill time in her podcast is not a reference in the wider world. Look! Look! This article at a video game website references 1920s style death rays! The SDMB has made it. > **[PreemptivE3 2004 PlayStation 2 Coverage Special @ Gaming Target](https://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=4092)** > > Like last year, the PlayStation 2 has an impressive array of sequels scheduled to show up on the show floor. So here is a little last minute preemptive coverage of a handful of them. Oh wait, I wrote that. Does that still count? ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/38 "2008-10-15T16:10:14Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Ha! I must’ve been reading the same threads you were, **jsgoddess** , 'cause I had exactly the same thought. It’s a bit silly to think we’re that (or at all) influential; reminds me of the twits on Television Without Pity who assume everything is a shout out by some TV writer who’s reading their boards. (Funnily enough, the use of “asshat” is one of the references they cite too.) But for TWOP it’s sometimes true. [My Name is Earl writers plant character on TWoP](http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/01/23/my-name-is-earl-writers-plant-character-on-twop/) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/39 "2008-10-15T16:13:16Z")
In “All Tomorrow’s Parties” by William Gibson, the main character says something like “I remember reading somewhere that glass is a liquid and in a million years would end up as a puddle on the floor.” ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986/40 "2008-10-15T16:40:50Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > In “All Tomorrow’s Parties” by William Gibson, the main character says something like “I remember reading somewhere that glass is a liquid and in a million years would end up as a puddle on the floor.” I’m reasonably certain that notion not only predates the SDMB, but the Straight Dope newspaper column as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-mild-but-the-dope-isnt-influencing-popular-culture/467986.md?page=3)