the world produces better idiots...

This post over at Boobs, Injuries, and Dr Pepper reminded me of an overheard conversation here the other day. The roomies had some friends over, and were (apparently) talking about kids and folks hang-ups about them. The overheard comment? "Yeah: the entire female side of her family thinks breast-feeding is unnatural"...

I pop through the door, absolutely incredulous: "Y'all said WHAT?!?". Much laughter ensues "Yeah... Strings heard "breast" and had to find out more. Heh, heh, heh"...

But yes... I had heard rightly. Seems this young lass of my roomies' acquaintance has a long string of female ancestors who believe Gog the cavewoman had a Playtex nurser to feed Oog. They had some other beautiful beliefs: her mother asserts that she doesn't defecate (ever), as it's not lady-like (not even gonna START on that one)...

Of course, there are a number of folks (or were, when I was around 6) still telling their daughters "You get pregnant by kissing boys". A statement that completely ignores the predatory nature of the adolescent male: while the logic of "if they don't kiss, they won't get worked up and go farther" looks good on paper, it doesn't translate well to real life. Witness what happened to one friend of my sister, where the exchange (I was present, don't remember why) went like this:

Daughter: "Mom... I'm pregnant"
Mom: "HOW?!?! Didn't I tell you..."
D: "But mom... I never kissed a boy! All I did was let them..."

Don't think I need to go any farther into that one: mother there was stunned, and sis and I were asked to leave rather abruptly...


Bedlamite is fond of the saying "Make something idiot-proof, and the world will produce a better idiot". Personally, I think the world just keeps "improving" 'em, on the off chance we might try to proof something against 'em...