# War Games quote **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 19, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663 "2019-11-19T17:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/1 "2019-11-19T17:56:54Z")
What does General Beringer mean when he says, “I’d piss on a spark plug if I thought it’d do any good!”? Is pissing on spark plugs dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/2 "2019-11-19T18:06:11Z")
Isn’t it like pissing on an electric fence? ---
**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:** [November 19, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/3 "2019-11-19T18:07:06Z")
Why do you think they call them “spark” plugs? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/4 "2019-11-19T18:47:43Z")
“I don’t have to take that from you, you fat sack of shit!” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/5 "2019-11-19T18:50:43Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > “I don’t have to take that from you, you fat sack of shit!” I believe the correct quote was: “I don’t have to take that, you pig-eyed sack of shit.” Lots of great quotes from that movie. Still one of my all-time favorites. ETA: OP, you really don’t want to goggle 'piss on a spark plug"! Probably some writer (or perhaps the actor) had heard it before, and just inserted it there. Meaning is pretty clear ("I’ll do just about anything to prevent what’s happening). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/6 "2019-11-19T20:20:04Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > ETA: OP, you really don’t want to goggle 'piss on a spark plug"! The goggles do nothing! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/7 "2019-11-19T21:47:19Z")
It was one of those made up Southernisms and was ad libbed on set. It just means that the General would do just about anything to fix the problem at hand (impending nuclear war). It is a humorous reference that suggests something the top-secret nuclear computers at NORAD actually depends on spark plugs. He is telling everyone to try to figure out absolutely any solution. The internal military fight in the movie was to figure out how much control to give to the computers rather than people because many of the top people don’t really understand how they work. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/8 "2019-11-20T02:16:32Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I believe the correct quote was: “I don’t have to take that, you pig-eyed sack of shit.” > > Lots of great quotes from that movie. Still one of my all-time favorites. > > ETA: OP, you really don’t want to goggle 'piss on a spark plug"! Probably some writer (or perhaps the actor) had heard it before, and just inserted it there. Meaning is pretty clear ("I’ll do just about anything to prevent what’s happening). (Paraphrased) “After deep consideration, I’ve come to the conclusion your system sucks.” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-games-quote/843663/9 "2019-11-20T16:14:01Z")
“Is this real or is it a game?” “What’s the difference?”