# Why does the porridge bird lay its eggs in the air? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 29, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488 "2017-12-29T00:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/1 "2017-12-29T00:52:59Z")
See first update, halfway down the page: [Why did so many Native Americans die of European diseases but not vice versa? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/995/why-did-so-many-native-americans-die-of-european-diseases-but-not-vice-versa/) The answer is: To confuse the animatronic President Nixon into full failure mode. You’re welcome. 😃 From Fireside Theater [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lmWFrMq3qNY/maxresdefault.jpg "The Firesign Theater - I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus (1971) (Complete Album)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmWFrMq3qNY) ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/2 "2017-12-29T01:42:46Z")
Thank YOU very much. Oh, I’m too late. My best friend from high school has a neighbor named Nancy Catherwood. He keeps wanting to tell her to roll a couple of bombers and leave them on the side table. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/3 "2017-12-29T14:05:50Z")
“Oh, man, you broke the President!” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/4 "2018-01-03T22:56:23Z")
Long ago, before there were celly phones and battery-powered drum dusters, whenever I was in an airport or shopping center, I’d have the information person page “my Vietnamese friend” Ah Clem. These days, you can’t get people paged anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/5 "2018-01-03T23:01:00Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Thank YOU very much. > > Oh, I’m too late. > > My best friend from high school has a neighbor named Nancy Catherwood. He keeps wanting to tell her to roll a couple of bombers and leave them on the side table. Oh, you mean Nancy! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/6 "2018-01-04T00:48:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **AskNott** : > > Long ago, before there were celly phones and battery-powered drum dusters, whenever I was in an airport or shopping center, I’d have the information person page “my Vietnamese friend” Ah Clem. …I don’t get it. I assume that this is one of a long line of pranks of tricking someone into saying something that sounds naughty, but I can’t see what’s naughty about “Ah Clem”. ---
**Author:** ![BlueMerle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@BlueMerle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMerle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/7 "2018-01-04T01:14:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > …I don’t get it. I assume that this is one of a long line of pranks of tricking someone into saying something that sounds naughty, but I can’t see what’s naughty about “Ah Clem”. Yeah, it’s no Mike Hunt. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/8 "2018-01-04T09:29:54Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Long ago, before there were celly phones and battery-powered drum dusters, whenever I was in an airport or shopping center, I’d have the information person page “my Vietnamese friend” Ah Clem. These days, you can’t get people paged anywhere. If you have a celly phone with Siri you can tell her “This is worker speaking. Hello.” and she will then refer to you as Ah Clem. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/9 "2018-01-04T11:21:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > …I don’t get it. I assume that this is one of a long line of pranks of tricking someone into saying something that sounds naughty, but I can’t see what’s naughty about “Ah Clem”. It’s a Firesign Theatre reference. (From _I Think We’re All Bozos On This Bus_.) It’s not gonna make sense if you don’t know Firesign. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/10 "2018-01-04T11:25:10Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > “Oh, man, you broke the President!” Kid, you’re hip like a Zip, let’s take a trip. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/11 "2018-01-04T14:14:22Z")
“Why does the porridge bird lay its eggs in the air?” How is a porridge bird going to find a vacuum, let alone live long enough to lay an egg? ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/12 "2018-01-04T14:19:00Z")
Go ahead, give the wheeze a squeeze. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/13 "2018-01-04T15:48:42Z")
He’s no fun, he fell right over. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/14 "2018-01-04T19:24:05Z")
I say live it, or live with it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/15 "2018-01-04T23:13:44Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > He’s no fun, he fell right over. If you push something hard enough, it will fall over — Fudd’s First Law of Opposition. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/16 "2018-01-05T01:31:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I say live it, or live with it. “Yes, living in the complex world of the future is a lot like having bees live in your head, but like the lady said, …” ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/17 "2018-01-05T21:15:25Z")
Well, Mr. President, it’s the bees and spiders again! They stole my food stamps, and sold ’em to the rats. And I tried to get down to my car, for to honk the horn for help, but the snakes has gotten it for the cockroaches. I go back upstairs, but the spiders has jammed the police lock! I ain’t been inside for a week, and I know that my wife is sleepin’ with the bees! Could you state that as a question, please? Well sure, Mr. President! Where can I get a job?! ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/18 "2018-01-05T23:11:47Z")
Many busy executives ask me: What about the job displacement market in the city of the future? Well, count on us—”Jim!”—to be there! Because if we’re successful tomorrow—we won’t have to answer questions like yours, ever again. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/19 "2018-01-05T23:37:49Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > He’s no fun, he fell right over. Wait a minute, didn’t I say that on the other side of the record? Let me check… ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488/20 "2018-01-06T01:46:49Z")
That reminds me. How did that slimy weasel Rococo get into this, and, how do I make my voice do this? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488.md?page=2)