# You're TV has an OFF Button **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 6, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428 "2005-01-06T19:12:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/41 "2005-01-07T08:22:00Z")
> [@jinwicked](#): > > So yeah, they are the same animal. But they’re not. And none of that really takes away from the fact that the producers of this show are still condoning the abuse of both domestic rats, snakes, and whatever other animals they put in these gross-out little stunts of theirs. I agree with you completely on this. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/42 "2005-01-07T10:04:27Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > Sorry for the off-topic reply, but, > > Welcome back, **jinwicked**! We missed you! Did you now? :dubious: Well, I missed you too. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/43 "2005-01-07T10:13:25Z")
Re The Thread Title I am against the use of the off button. Change the channel. Watch something that has been recorded on any of the fine media available. Certainly, you don’t have to watch a program you dislike. BUT, the off button should only be used if you are- leaving the house, going to take a shower, or immediately prior to falling asleep. It’s important to leave the television on so that the electron love guns fill your house with healthy cathode rays. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/44 "2005-01-07T10:30:12Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > What I’d like to know is, where is the Fear Factor in eating gross stuff? Afraid of barfing? Afraid of eating crap and still not winning anything? Afraid of getting rat hair stuck between your teeth? I think they should change the name of the show to “Gross Factor” and just be done with it. A dear friend of mine who keeps kosher and whose father was a leading kosher authority in Miami for many years says that it’s “Fear of G-d Factor – if you fear Him, you can’t play!” She’s got a point. I think just about every possible rule of kashrus was violated with the rat frappe. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/45 "2005-01-07T10:46:14Z")
**TeaElle** I’ve said that many times about Fear Factor and Survivor. The fact that I have never heard of an Orthodox Jew suing them for discrimination, or demanding that the shows be made kosher makes me deeply proud. They can discriminate against us all they want. If we feel the need to eat something unspeakably disgusting, we’ve got borscht, shav, herring in cream sauce, and chicken soup just the way bubby made it- with matzoh balls and chicken feet. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/46 "2005-01-07T17:09:22Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I think they should change the name of the show to “Gross Factor” and just be done with it. Snap! “Gross Factor” is exactly what i’ve been calling it since it started. > [@Austin Aitken](#): > > NBC is sending the wrong message to its TV watchers that cash can make or have people do just about anything beyond reasoning… Apparently, “just about anything” includes filing ridiculous lawsuits. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/47 "2005-01-07T19:04:05Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > If we feel the need to eat something unspeakably disgusting, we’ve got borscht, shav, herring in cream sauce, and chicken soup just the way bubby made it- with matzoh balls and chicken feet. What’s wrong with borscht? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/48 "2005-01-07T22:48:13Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > If we feel the need to eat something unspeakably disgusting, we’ve got borscht, shav, herring in cream sauce, and chicken soup just the way bubby made it- with matzoh balls and chicken feet. What’s wrong with herring in cream sauce? And chicken soup with chicken feet and matzoh balls sounds good. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/49 "2005-01-07T23:39:08Z")
Borscht- I hate beets. I always have. Big beet chunks floating in beet juice, whether served hot, cold, with sour cream, with meat or any combination of the above is one of the foulest foodstuffs I’ve ever encountered. Herring in cream sauce- It’s the visual that does it for me here. Chicken soup with feet- I’ve neved had the chance to try it. I suspect it may actually be good. But, I think the average American finds the idea of feet in their soup disgusting. Y’know, I have an idea for a show- Goy Factor. We’d find extremely gentile contestants and have them eat Jewish food. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/50 "2005-01-07T23:43:47Z")
Just curious… is a paid interview situation different from a paid interview? Reminds me of the TV weatherman I once saw who cautioned motorists to be careful when driving “during night-time conditions”. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/51 "2005-01-07T23:48:22Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Y’know, I have an idea for a show- Goy Factor. We’d find extremely gentile contestants and have them eat Jewish food. And don’t forget the gefilte fish! I’ve talked to a number of converts to Judaism who don’t like gefilte fish. One described it as being like cat food. (Funny enough, the Neville kitties agree- they think gefilte fish is very tasty cat food) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/52 "2005-01-08T00:08:16Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Borscht- I hate beets. I always have. Big beet chunks floating in beet juice, whether served hot, cold, with sour cream, with meat or any combination of the above is one of the foulest foodstuffs I’ve ever encountered. > \ My family version of borscht (Mennonite-style) is not made with beets. It’s more like a vegetable soup, with cabbage and summer sausage and dill and all kinds of garden vegetables in it. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/53 "2005-01-08T00:19:15Z")
**FeatherLou** I’ve never heard borscht used to mean that before. Then again, I don’t really travel in Mennonite circles. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/54 "2005-01-08T02:58:21Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > **Borscht Hijack** Band name! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/55 "2005-01-08T05:01:12Z")
I suspect that borscht is basically the Eastern European word for “soup with stuff in it”. My families versions of borscht are cumst borscht and zumma borscht - cabbage borscht and summer (sausage) borscht. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/56 "2005-01-08T05:21:31Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I suspect that borscht is basically the Eastern European word for “soup with stuff in it”. It’s from an old Russian word for “cow parsnip”. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/57 "2005-01-08T06:47:37Z")
> [@Kat](#): > > Can we make that a class action lawsuit? Sounds more like a no-class action lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/58 "2005-01-08T16:42:42Z")
> [@Sample\_the\_Dog](#): > > It’s from an old Russian word for “cow parsnip”. Well, close enough. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/59 "2005-01-08T16:52:27Z")
[minor nitpick/hijack] I would like to point out that the fact that the initial complaint is handwritten isn’t as big of a deal as some of y’all are making it out to be. For those of you who have never filed a lawsuit on your own (not involving a lawyer), you go to your local federal courthouse and pick up a packet containing all the necessary paperwork. They’re not available (at least, in the areas I know of) on computer, so unless you have/have access to a typewriter, you have to hand-write all the necessary information. The initial complaint I filed in my lawsuit was handwritten, and when I hired a lawyer they re-did it in lawyerspeak on their computers. But just because the initial complaint was handwritten doesn’t make my lawsuit any less viable or important (in fact, it remains an admissible document in the case)… it just means I didn’t have a lawyer before filing suit. So while the guy in the OP is a total pinhead who should not only have his suit dismissed but should also be forced to ingest rat smoothies on national television, there really isn’t a reason to make a big deal out of the handwritten thing. Not when there’s plenty of material ljust from the article. [/minor nitpick/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428/60 "2005-01-08T17:55:59Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > And don’t forget the gefilte fish! If you’ve tried them, you couldn’t possibly forget. I’ll take a good haggis any day. Speaking from experience, there’s nothing as good as a good haggis, and nothing as bad as a bad one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-tv-has-an-off-button/283428.md?page=4)