# Who said: Only YOU can prevent wild fires? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691 "2007-03-27T15:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/21 "2007-03-27T17:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] That’s easy to say in 2007, but in the 50s and 60s the name “Smokey the Bear” was ubiquitous and the Forest Service did nothing to stem the tide. Although I can’t put my finger on any cites, I am sure that I remember radio/tv ads, billboards and parade appearances from that era that featured “Smokey the Bear.” It’s only in very recent years that the PR types have gotten snooty about the “the”. [/QUOTE] It definitely did use to be “Smokey the Bear” in common parlance, including in my 1960 World Book Encyclopedia in the article on fire prevention. But it wasn’t recently by any means that the Forest Service tried to deny the “the”. I’m sure I remember hearing before 1970 that it was supposed to be “Smokey Bear”. I never understood that; the “the” just makes so much more sense. If I name my dog Spot or my cat Rocco, then Spot The Dog or Rocco The Cat sound far more natural, and Fido Dog and Rocco Cat. “Smokey Bear”, IMO, seems how it would be spoken by someone whose native language is not English, and does not have articles. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/22 "2007-03-27T17:46:30Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Actually, [Iron Eyes Cody was Italian-American](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mindiantear.html). [/QUOTE] Me leaving the parking lot at Rich Stadium: Boy, if Iron Eyes Cody were here, he’d be inconsolable. [QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] Although I can’t put my finger on any cites, I am sure that I remember radio/tv ads, billboards and parade appearances from that era that featured “Smokey the Bear.” It’s only in very recent years that the PR types have gotten snooty about the “the”. [/QUOTE] Besides, there are a lot of Smokeys out there. How do we know which one you’re talking about? Edward was The Confessor, Simon was The Zealot, and Smokey is The Bear. The fact that his last name is also bear is just a coincidence. If he changed it to Eisenstein, he’d still be “Smokey the Bear.” ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/23 "2007-03-27T17:48:54Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] you. . .of all people. . . _::shakes head with disillusionment::_ [/QUOTE] ☹ I started reading backwards, got as far as “FIR,” and … ooh look! Shiny! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/24 "2007-03-27T17:52:52Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] I never understood that; the “the” just makes so much more sense. If I name my dog Spot or my cat Rocco, then Spot The Dog or Rocco The Cat sound far more natural, and Fido Dog and Rocco Cat. “Smokey Bear”, IMO, seems how it would be spoken by someone whose native language is not English, and does not have articles. [/QUOTE] IIRC, the original Smokey was a real bear – a cub rescued from a forest fire. His name was thus “Smok[e]y Bear.” I guess there’s something about a Mountie hat that calls for a “the.” ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/25 "2007-03-27T18:02:15Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] ☹ I started reading backwards, got as far as “FIR,” and … ooh look! Shiny! [/QUOTE] How you doin’? ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/26 "2007-03-27T18:02:16Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] Did they? “The Simpsons” definitely did. The time they trashed the town, and they were moving all of Springfield somewhere else, it ended with that Indian shedding a tear. [/QUOTE] D’oh!!! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/27 "2007-03-27T18:04:01Z")
[QUOTE=Stuffy] D’oh!!! [/QUOTE] Who says that, Peter Griffin? ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/28 "2007-03-27T18:04:16Z")
I never put this in one the “Things other dopers never would have guessed about me” threads, because I never thought of it then: I have been both Smokey Bear (several times) and Woodsy Owl once. Kevbabe works for the Forest Service, and I get recruited. Actually it’s fun, and I don’t have to (and am not even supposed to) talk to anybody. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/29 "2007-03-27T18:16:05Z")
In Africa they have rhinos for the job. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/30 "2007-03-27T18:17:25Z")
[QUOTE=A.R. Cane] Who remembers these words painted on the highway? ``` DON'T BE A GUBERIF ``` [/QUOTE] Burmashave! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/31 "2007-03-27T18:21:45Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Burmashave! [/QUOTE] Ah, yes. Highway Poetry. [Burma Shave](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_shave) ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/32 "2007-03-27T18:22:22Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Burmashave! [/QUOTE] My job is Keeping faces clean And nobody knows De stubble I’ve seen Burma-Shave ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/33 "2007-03-27T18:31:46Z")
^ Cool! And a nod to Tom Waits: > [@](#): > > ``` > I guess I'm headed that-a-way, > Just as long as it's paved, > I guess you'd say > I'm on my way > to Burma-Shave > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/34 "2007-03-27T18:34:42Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] What do Winnie The Pooh, Alexander The Great, and Jabba The Hutt have in common [/QUOTE] It’s Winnie _Ther_ Pooh, btw. Winnie _The_ Pooh is a girls name. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/35 "2007-03-27T18:36:26Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] It’s Winnie _Ther_ Pooh, btw. Winnie _The_ Pooh is a girls name. [/QUOTE] Do what? I feel a whoosh coming on… ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/36 "2007-03-27T18:42:01Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] It’s Winnie _Ther_ Pooh, btw. Winnie _The_ Pooh is a girls name. [/QUOTE] I believe it is properly _Das Pöoh_. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/37 "2007-03-27T18:45:00Z")
From the source - [QUOTE=AA Milne] When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are going to say, “But I thought he was a boy?” “So did I,” said Christopher Robin. “Then you can’t call him Winnie?” “I don’t.” “But you said—” “He’s Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don’t you know what ‘ther’ means?” “Ah, yes, now I do,” I said quickly; and I hope you do too, because it is all the explanation you are going to get. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/38 "2007-03-27T18:50:08Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] From the source - [/QUOTE] Tonstant Weader fwowed up. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/39 "2007-03-27T18:55:27Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] \ I never understood that; the “the” just makes so much more sense. If I name my dog Spot or my cat Rocco, then Spot The Dog or Rocco The Cat sound far more natural, and Fido Dog and Rocco Cat. “Smokey Bear”, IMO, seems how it would be spoken by someone whose native language is not English, and does not have articles. [/QUOTE] I remember radio commercials a couple years ago with a little girl who said, “you wouldn’t call him ‘Santa the Clause’, or ‘Easter the Bunny’” Personally, I don’t care either way. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691/40 "2007-03-27T18:57:57Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Tonstant Weader fwowed up. [/QUOTE] Now _this_ I do understand! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-said-only-you-can-prevent-wild-fires/397691.md?page=3)