# What's your "Ask The \[blank\]"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098 "2003-03-21T14:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/81 "2003-03-25T15:11:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winnie \* > \*\*No kidding? I’m fascinated by this… I’ve been highly intrigued by the Melungeons since I read about them in Bill Bryson’s _The Lost Continent_. > > Where are you from? VA/TN/KY/WV? > > I think you should post an **Ask The Melungeon** thread… I’d probably be one of your most active posters! I’ve got tons of questions I’d love to ask… \*\* Hmmm… I’ll consider it. Maybe over Easter, when I have a couple of days off from school and enough time to give the topic the attention it deserves. I’m from Mississippi, but my Melungeon ancestors hailed from Tennessee. [QUOTE] _Originally posted by mooka_ **I’d be very interested in the Melungeon thing. I’d have a general interest in the nobility thing too. I never knew that the Shah of Persia was distantly related to King Henry 8th! Is this kind of thing common? I know european royalty is quite closely connected, but i did think it went outside europe…** Another vote for the Melungeons! I had no idea they were so popular. The genealogies are fascinating – you’d be surprised who crops up. Genghis Khan has several descents into European royalty, there’s a possible line from the Prophet Muhammad, etc. Most of the non-European connections come through the Byzantine Empire (whose daughters married not only European kings, but also Muslim sultans). Shah Ismail and Henry VIII were related as follows: Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium m. Eirene Dukaina Isaakios Komnenos, sebastocrator m. unknown Emperor Andronikos I m. unknown Manuel Komnenos, sebastocrator m. unnamed princess of Alania Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond m. Theodora Azuchina Emperor Manuel I of Trebizond m. Eirene Syrikaina Emperor Ioannes II of Trebizond m. Eudokia Palaiologina Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond m. Djiadjak of Samatzhke Emperor Basileios of Trebizond m. Eirene Emperor Alexios III of Trebizond m. Theodora Kantakuzene Emperor Manuel III of Trebizond m. unknown Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond m. Theodora Kantakuzene Emperor Ioannes IV of Trebizond m. unknown Turkish lady Theodora Komnena m. Uzun Hasan, Khan of the Aq-Qoyunliu Halima Begum m. Sultan Haydar Safavi Ismail I, Shah of Persia, founder of the Safavids. As for his cousin Harry, that connection goes like this: Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium m. Eirene Dukaina Theodora Komnena m. Konstantinos Angelos Andronikos Angelos Doukas m. Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa Emperor Isaakios II of Byzantium m. unknown Eirene Angelina m. Philipp, Duke of Swabia Marie of Swabia m. Heinrich II, Duke of Brabant Maud of Brabant m. Robert I, Comte de Artois Blanche de Artois m. Enrique I, King of Navarre Queen Juana of Navarre m. King Philippe IV de France Isabella de France m. King Edward II of England King Edward III of England m. Philippa of Hainault John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster m. Katherine Roet John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset m. Margaret Holand John Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset m. Margaret Beauchamp Margaret Beaufort m. Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond King Henry VII of England m. Elizabeth of York King Henry VIII of England, he of the six wives. There’s also a line from Shah Ismail down to the Moghul Emperors of India, who were also descended from Genghis Khan and Tamerlane (Timur-i-lang). There were lots of European connections to the early Ottoman Sultans as well, who often had Byzantine and Trapezunt princesses in their harems, along with Greek and Italian noblewomen. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Vevila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@Vevila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vevila)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/82 "2003-03-25T15:52:26Z")
ask the person who works in the porn industry. :eek: No, really - I work for a company that manages adult bookstores all over the country, and I deal with the merchandise aspect. So maybe the better "ask the \_\_\_ " would be: ask the person who deals with lots of adult toys. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunglasses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Sunglasses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunglasses)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/83 "2003-03-25T16:04:36Z")
Ask the: Adopted woman who has no desire to meet her birth mother. Single mom who’s putting two sons through college. Woman who moved in with her fiance after living with only her sons for the last 13 years. Woman who makes her bed every morning or she just can’t think straight. Forensics show addict. . ---
**Author:** ![Leifsmama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a698b9/32.png) [@Leifsmama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leifsmama)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/84 "2003-03-25T16:43:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoe \* > \*\*1. Ask the woman who dined privately with the former palace chef for the Hapsburgs in Vienna. > > 1. Ask the woman who collects Davids. > > 2. Ask the woman who celebrated her Twenty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary with her ex-husband, her current husband and the ex-husband’s wife. > > 3. Ask the high school teacher whose former principal branded her a “troublemaker” in sworn testimony before the local media. > > 4. Ask the woman who was robbed at gunpoint but made the thief give her back her favorite handbag. \*\* I’d love to hear the stories behind 1, 4, and 5! Please. ---
**Author:** ![\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/7cd45c/32.png) [@\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Deep_F_ied)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/85 "2003-03-25T16:46:25Z")
- Ask the guy with 30 tickets and 10 accidents. and a couple I have thought about but hesitate to undertake: - Ask the dangerously Bi-polar guy. - Ask the self-mutilator. ---
**Author:** ![SouthernStyle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@SouthernStyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouthernStyle)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/86 "2003-03-25T22:31:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vevila \* > \*\*ask the person who works in the porn industry. :eek: > > No, really - I work for a company that manages adult bookstores all over the country, and I deal with the merchandise aspect. So maybe the better "ask the \_\_\_ " would be: > > ask the person who deals with lots of adult toys. > > 😃 \*\* Oh goodie, I’ve got lots of questions! 😉 \*) There has to be all sorts of fringe benefits that go along with working in porn. At the very least you save a fortune in clothes. Can you give us some more? \*) Have you met lots of famous people? (Silly me – like you’d remember their FACE!) \*) “Lots of adult toys”. Is this like product testing? Do you test them all at once or one at a time? Who buys all the stinkin’ batteries??? \*) What, exactly, is the “chicken position”? SS ---
**Author:** ![Vevila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@Vevila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vevila)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/87 "2003-03-25T23:51:57Z")
Heh. I guess I better clarify my adult industy stuff. I work in an office, from 8-5 Monday through Friday, maintaining a database chock full of adult toys and magazines that get sent to the stores the company I work for owns. No nudity around here. Famous people? Lessee, the only one I remember meeting (in reference to the porn industry) is Nina Hartley, who was doing an in-store appearance signing autographs. Nope, no actual product testing. I look at the item, and determine what exactly the item is - is it a hard vibe, a soft vibe, a pump, a doll…I assign each item a specific category/subcategory for the database. Batteries are actually supplied free from each store when you purchase a battery-operated item. Of course, these are really _cheap_ batteries, so you’ll want to pick up a set of duracells before really trying your new battery-operated pal out. The store provides the batteries to make certain the item works (open the package, insert batteries, turn item on.) We do this because we absolutley will not take any returns on merchandise. Ewwwwwwwwwww. :eek: Haven’t got a clue on the chicken position, and I’m just not gonna Google it. 😉 Oh, before I got my job in the main office, I worked in one of the stores for a little over a year… So I guess another one might be ask the former porn store clerk/manager. ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/88 "2003-03-26T01:10:27Z")
Ask the California farm kid\* Ask the daughter of a mining engineer Ask the print freak \*sample question: How do you keep the sea lions from hauling out into the fields and mashing the artichoke plants down? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/89 "2003-03-26T01:54:36Z")
Feh, I almost did one of these a while back: “Ask the American-born cricketer.” I reckon there may only be a couple hundred of us around. Other possibilities: Ask the (now former) Oxford D.Phil student! Ask the guy who got hit by a bus! Ask the (former) 13-year-old college student! Ask the university fundraising researcher! Ask the hopelessly disorganized guy! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/90 "2003-03-26T02:57:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*sample question: How do you keep the sea lions from hauling out into the fields and mashing the artichoke plants down? Alright, I’ll bite, How do you keep sea lions from mashing down artichoke plants? sounds like a set up for a joke Does it involve a Rabbi, Priest and a duck? ---
**Author:** ![flickerwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/13edae/32.png) [@flickerwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickerwolf)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/91 "2003-03-26T05:32:18Z")
\*Ask the chick who knows _way_ too much about werewolves \*Ask the Jhonen Vasquez fangirl(Oh, the posts runneth over…):rolleyes: \*Ask the budding photographer \*Ask the master (mistress?) of strange facial expressions:dubious::eek: …yup. ---
**Author:** ![flickerwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/13edae/32.png) [@flickerwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickerwolf)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/92 "2003-03-26T06:01:04Z")
\*Ask the chick who knows _way_ too much about werewolves \*Ask the Jhonen Vasquez fangirl(Oh, the posts runneth over…):rolleyes: \*Ask the budding photographer \*Ask the master (mistress?) of strange facial expressions:dubious::eek: …yup. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/93 "2003-03-26T09:18:30Z")
•Ask The Atheist •Ask The Political Moderate ('Hate liberals. 'Hate Conservatives.) •Ask The Amateur Flight Sim Scenery Designer •Ask The (Medication Controlled, :twitch-twitch:) Obsessive-Compulsive •Ask The Grandson of a B-29 pilot •Ask The Unusual and Arcane Information Collector •Ask The Custom Action Figure Builder •Ask The Holiday Season Cashier (:twitch-twitch:) •Ask the Guy who was in a “Nut house” for 72 hours (:Twitch-twitch-twitch:) •Ask The 'Shipper Sympathizer •Ask The Megalomaniac with an Inferiority Complex •Ask The Borderline Asexual •Ask the Draconian Punishment Advocate ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/94 "2003-03-26T09:20:05Z")
•Ask the guy who accidentally put smilies in his last post. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/95 "2003-03-26T11:18:25Z")
Ask the graveyard shift Tech Support Agent. Uhhm . . . I think that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/96 "2003-03-26T11:23:44Z")
Ask the Tim Horton’s Worker ---
**Author:** ![GUINNESS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@GUINNESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GUINNESS)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/97 "2003-03-26T13:46:25Z")
ask the…Rudeboy ask the…UPSguy ask the…lazyguy ask the…grillmaster ask the…frustated Boston Terrier owner ask the…😛 ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/98 "2003-03-26T20:45:08Z")
Separate sea lions and artichokes–an 80’ cliff will do it (Sorry, **Shirley** , no joke). But I’d like to know some way to keep the #%&!\*#!! deer out of the artichokes, and the peas, and the lettuce, and… ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/99 "2003-03-26T21:53:16Z")
Wow, I actually want to ask a bunch of question of all of you. I guess that’s another thread. [ul][li]Ask the Macintosh Geek for a large Ad Agency[/li][li]Ask the father of a soon-to-be-three year old[/li][li]Ask the bass player[/li][li]Ask the Copywriter for a fledgling ad agency[/li][li]Ask the sailor (of sailboats)[/li][li]Ask the camper[/li][li]Ask the person _who isnot a Nurse_[/li][li]Ask the person _who is not a Carmen_[/li][li]Ask the fraternal twin[/li][li]Ask the doctor’s son[/li][li]Ask the handyman around the house[/li][li]Ask the shade tree mechanic[/li][/ul] what the hell is a Melungeon? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098/100 "2003-03-26T23:16:25Z")
[ul]Ask the umpire Ask the card-counter Ask the systems analyst Ask the Californian Ask the Tolkien Geek (one of many here…) [/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-ask-the-blank/163098.md?page=6)