# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 207
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4123 "2025-03-28T23:38:10Z")
Reminds me of a bad joke from Ye Badde Olden Dayes of Yore. Airliner crashes into cemetery near airport. A few days later the authorities have recovered the bodies of over 4000 crash victims and are still finding more. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4124 "2025-03-28T23:47:46Z")
I took a solo train trip cross-country this winter, and hung out with a huge Amish family. The patriarch was explaining the geology of the desert cliffs we were passing through, and turned to me, pointing: _“See those rocks there? Those very white ones on the northern edge there? Those are off the Moon.”_ “Wait, what? All those rocks were meteorite…” _“Every single one of those white ones are off the Moon.”_ "No, wait, they can’t be lunar rocks… you’re saying they’re off the Moon?!? " _“Well, they’re not ON the Moon…”_ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4125 "2025-03-29T00:33:10Z")
Amish dad jokes; the reechest kind. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4126 "2025-03-29T00:54:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Amish dad jokes I accused “The Ol’ Guy” of that, and the rest of the family (who thought it was HI-lar-i-ous that he’d trapped an ‘Englishman’ in his joke) said “No, it’s a _Great-Grand_-Dad Joke!” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4127 "2025-03-29T00:59:32Z")
Great story; thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4128 "2025-03-29T02:21:16Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > How many animals did Moses bring on the ark? I’d genuinely like to know because Genesis seems to say that he brought two of some kinds of animals and seven (or seven pairs?) of others. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4129 "2025-03-29T02:26:35Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’d genuinely like to know because Genesis seems to say that he brought two of some kinds of animals and seven (or seven pairs?) of others. Psst… how many animals did _Moses_ bring on the ark? Or, to put it another way, how many Israelites did Noah save by parting the Red Sea? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4130 "2025-03-29T02:43:38Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Amish dad jokes; the reechest kind. “You’re allowed to watch the TV all you want… Just don’t turn it on!” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4131 "2025-03-29T03:50:43Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’d genuinely like to know because Genesis seems to say that he brought two of some kinds of animals and seven (or seven pairs?) of others. But if you are curious about Noah, there seem to be two different stories of Noah’s ark that were intertwined when the Bible was canonized. In one, he brings a pair of each species. In the other, he brings a pair of most species, and 7 pairs of kosher animals. There are a lot of other differences – like the amount of time spent aboard. I think the two version are suppose to be J and P (of the four main texts hypothesized to have turned into the Torah) but I studied this decades ago and could well be misremembering. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4132 "2025-03-29T05:08:03Z")
> **[Terror Bird](https://xkcd.com/3069/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/terror_bird.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/terror_bird.png) “There has long been debate about Big Bird’s species, with some experts claiming he was a canary, but recent genetic analysis places him firmly in Cariamiformes.” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4133 "2025-03-29T16:35:18Z")
Isn’t there some debate about whether the “terror birds” were in fact carnivores and hunters? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4134 "2025-03-29T16:45:42Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > In one, he brings a pair of each species. In the other, he brings a pair of most species, and 7 pairs of kosher animals. Whi h is impressive since the kosher rules didn’t get defined until after Noah’s time ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4135 "2025-03-29T17:16:55Z")
The term used in Genesis is usually given in English as “clean” and “unclean”. Is the Hebrew word the same as later used for kosher? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4136 "2025-03-29T17:29:39Z")
I’m honestly not sure. They seem to be closely related, but could be distinct. It’s certainly tempting to read “clean” as “kosher” - but I’m not Jewish or an expert on Hebrew, so I can’t really say. When I was looking for details I did run across this passage from Genesis: > The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.’ **Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.** So at least this part of Genesis has righteous folks eating a non-kosher meal (meat and milk) with messengers from God - presumably because this is before (at least some of) the kosher laws have been given. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4137 "2025-03-29T18:49:15Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > So at least this part of Genesis has righteous folks eating a non-kosher meal (meat and milk) with messengers from God - presumably because this is before (at least some of) the kosher laws have been given. Technically, the laws do not say you can’t eat milk and meat together. Or at least the Torah doesn’t say that. The whole meat-milk rule is based on the law: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” which is given in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. Later rabbis expanded and elaborated on this to come up with the law about not eating milk products and meat in the same meal. In the scene you quoted, the calf was not boiled in its mother’s milk, so it was perfectly kosher. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4138 "2025-03-29T18:52:31Z")
I think so. In my Bible, in Leviticus, where God tells Moses and Aaron which animals they can eat, the translation uses the word “unclean” for most of the animals Jews aren’t supposed to eat. (Pigs, camels, rabbits…). The other word that’s used (to describe shellfish and some birds) is translated “abomination” . Yeah, that’s the same word that’s used to describe man-on-man sex. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4139 "2025-03-29T18:58:31Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > > [@Andy\_L](#): > > > > So at least this part of Genesis has righteous folks eating a non-kosher meal (meat and milk) with messengers from God - presumably because this is before (at least some of) the kosher laws have been given. > > Technically, the laws do not say you can’t eat milk and meat together. Or at least the Torah doesn’t say that. The whole meat-milk rule is based on the law: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” which is given in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. Later rabbis expanded and elaborated on this to come up with the law about not eating milk products and meat in the same meal. In the scene you quoted, the calf was not boiled in its mother’s milk, so it was perfectly kosher. Also, it was a calf and not a kid. So there. Nyah! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4140 "2025-03-29T19:04:21Z")
Thank you ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4141 "2025-03-29T20:01:05Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > The whole meat-milk rule is based on the law: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” which is given in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. Since no one has rules against things that nobody does, that presumably refers to a cooking recipe that was extant at the time? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/4142 "2025-03-29T20:15:25Z")
It’s believed to have been a religious ritual of a competing sect at the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=206) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=208)