No. 258: "Swiss Dis"
Fill in the blank
as Christian Levrat assesses Sunday's referendum on asylum seekers: "There is a
side to Switzerland that is very generous, giving millions to refugees, and a
stricter side that wants to make sure that people coming in are not
____________."
Send
your answer by noon ET Tuesday to [email protected] .
Thursday's
Question (No. 257)--"Big 'n' Sturdy":
Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan's team from the National
Science Foundation and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography was surprised by
the extent, thickness, and persistence. Of what?
"Deepak Chopra's toupee."-- Gina Duclayan
"Jenna
Elfman's hips."-- Larry Amoros
"Rejection letters regarding grant requests."-- Herb Terns
"The
belly lox at Barney Greengrass."--Bill Scheft
"The
cloud of doom over Lamar Alexander's campaign."-- Daniel Radosh ( Peter
Carlin had a similar answer.)
Click
for more answers.
Randy's
Wrap-Up
The worst part about the sea, as Ramanathan and the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography must both lament when it comes time for
their annual talent show, is that nothing amusing ever takes place beneath it.
Which you certainly couldn't say about Errol Flynn. Which is why Noël Coward
set so few of his plays underwater. James Bond, on the other hand, is always
poking about in some villain's undersea lair, and his attempts at repartee are
just parody bait. When the diving suits go on, the witty banter stops.
Something to do with all those air hoses, like trying to be witty at the
dentist. It is impossible to name a single amusing movie that takes place
beneath the waves. Just look at dolphins, the very model of marine
sophistication, a creature whose intelligence we're always called upon to
admire like some horrible precocious child. They're frequently found at Sea
World, performing in shows whose dialogue will not be quoted later at dinner.
In some countries, they'd be the dinner. The dolphin, not the precocious child.
Although it's a thought.
There are, of course,
many elegant and flirtatious scenes set on yachts. Clearly, wit operates best
on the surface.
Vast Polluted
Answer
Ramanathan announced the discovery of a vast haze,
3.8 million square miles, about the size of the United States, hanging over the
Indian Ocean. "It appeared as if the whole Indian subcontinent was surrounded
by a mountain of pollution," he said.
The problem with this haze, blown over the water by
winter winds from the Himalayas, is that it blocks out sunlight, lowering the
temperature.
The prevailing winds
reverse in late spring, blowing the haze north over the land, where its
particles combine with monsoon rains and fall to the earth, dissipating the
cloud. But that's bad too, because the haze-sodden precipitation is just the
sort of acid rain that plays havoc with both terrestrial and marine life.
Entangling
Alliances Extra
Below, a dozen putative
unions from this past Sunday's New York Times "Wedding" page. Which is
true, which is false?
1. Dentist marries lawyer.
2. Lawyer marries other lawyer.
3. Law partner marries law firm chairman.
4. Yale law school marries Yale law school.
5. Princeton marries Princeton.
6. Web designer marries other Web designer.
7. Actor in Les Mis marries other actor in
Les Mis .
8. Morgan Stanley marries ING Barings.
9. Consultatio Asset Management marries Hicks Muse
Tate & Furst.
10. Unit manager for VH1 marries line producer for
Great Performances .
11. Psychotherapist marries ob-gyn.
12. Aerobics instructor
marries funeral director.
Answers
All are true.
Best
Career
"The
bride, 31, is the special assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Management
and Budget for the New York City Police Department. She is also a cabaret
singer."
Worst
Career
"She
is the assistant to the writer and comedian Al Franken."
Common
Denominator
Comical foreign names, nautical penises.
