Why is it said that one can not walk and chew gum at the same time? That seems to me to be incredibly easy.
Perhaps this is not what you’re looking for, but I suspect you’ve been fed the bowdlerised version of this insult:
picmr
That’s the whole point. It is a way to insult someone by suggesting that he is so clumsy/inept that he cannot accomplish even this simple task.
Duh!
A show of mine “The American Civil War Motown Beartrap Experience” has just finished a very succesful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It features a pair of Stevie Wonder lookalikes - dressed in appropriate blues and greys - stumbling around the stage to the tune of Uptight (Everyhing’s Alright). On the stage there are two primed beartraps. The idea is each Stevie has to find a mantrap with his feet. Once caught he has free himself by gnawing off his foot. The winner is decided by whoever frees himself first and then pushes a plunger firing a battery of authentic Civil War replica cannons (mind your heads!).
The show received rave reviews and was on the shortlist for the Perrier Award. I could sent you a video performance to check out if you like (running time approx 112mins).
and that related to chewing gum and walking in what way?
After reading the wonderfully warm replies to my OP, I decided to check the ol’ search engines to see, if indeed, I’m as clueless as was suggested here.
Well, I can tell you that the phrase “walk and chew gum” appears thousands of times. And without bringing quotes here, I can also tell you that not all (in fact not most) of the uses were of an insult to those who can’t. Most used it as a metaphor for things like multitasking in computers, or handling more than one policy issue in government. Others simply assumed that not everyone could walk and chew gum at the same time (my assumption in the OP). I didn’t find anyone who wrote that they can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, but that makes sense, considering my question. Perhaps it is a phrase from some earlier time (I assume before LBJ) that no longer quite makes sense now. I found a couple of sites that purported to describe the origin of the phrase, but I don’t think they were being serious.
So now I ask again, in all sincerity, does anyone know the origin of the phrase " (he) could not walk and chew gum at the same time"?
Well, could you give some quotes? 'Cause I’ve never heard it as anything but a personal slight.
I also have only heard it used as an insult. Although I have met one or two people who took the saying too literally and actually thought that there were people who couldn’t accomplish the task.
Remember when you were a kid and it was a test of your skills to see if you could rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time? If you were able to do it it meant you were somehow more talented than those who couldn’t. Well, what better insult than to say that someone can’t do two tasks that anyone else in the world can do?
Is it the first known occurrence of the phrase that you are after, curwin? (As in, what is the origin of the phrase, “May the force be with you”?)
I think everybody has understood your request to be “What is the meaning (or interpretation) of the phrase?” (a valid understanding, since your OP asked “Why is it said that one can not walk and chew gum at the same time?”)
I just thought I’d try to clarify the waters a little bit so that maybe you’ll get some responses closer to what you are after.