How did the myth about the moon being made out of cheese start? --Yoshi1009, via AOL
Dear Yoshi:
This is the problem with being a smart-ass. You unload some priceless bon mot and 400 years later, out of context, you sound like an idiot. Here's an early green cheese citation from John Heywood's Proverbes (1546): "The moon is made of a greene cheese," greene meaning new, unaged. One can find similar quotes in the works of Francois Rabelais and Thomas More. I'm hearing sarcasm here, but in that era before ;-) one can't be sure. Other citations are clearer: "You may as soon persuade some Country Peasants, that the Moon is made of Green Cheese (as we say) as that 'tis bigger than his Cart-wheel" (Wilkins, New World 1, 1638), the implication being that Luna's non-cheesiosity was not a matter regarding which even the rustics were in doubt.
4 comments:
Who decided it was made of cheese? I've always wanted to know who made that up.
maybe someone who liked Swiss cheese...
here is a more educated guess... gotta love the info you can find on the internet...
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/990723.html:Dear Cecil:
How did the myth about the moon being made out of cheese start? --Yoshi1009, via AOL
Dear Yoshi:
This is the problem with being a smart-ass. You unload some priceless bon mot and 400 years later, out of context, you sound like an idiot. Here's an early green cheese citation from John Heywood's Proverbes (1546): "The moon is made of a greene cheese," greene meaning new, unaged. One can find similar quotes in the works of Francois Rabelais and Thomas More. I'm hearing sarcasm here, but in that era before ;-) one can't be sure. Other citations are clearer: "You may as soon persuade some Country Peasants, that the Moon is made of Green Cheese (as we say) as that 'tis bigger than his Cart-wheel" (Wilkins, New World 1, 1638), the implication being that Luna's non-cheesiosity was not a matter regarding which even the rustics were in doubt.
Do you have the RENT soundtrack? If you do, will you please bring it to your house next week? Oooh, one week!
No, I don't... but I'm hoping to get the full 2 CD movie soundtrack for Christmas... so if I do it will be at my house and it WILL be playing... ;-)
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