Am I getting stupider?

[scorrpio]

Might wanna ask yourt oversmart kids the following, if they are such experts: Why are crazy people often called 'fruitcakes', and lazy people - 'vegetables'.

[MilDoc]

The difference between a fruit and a vegetable confuses most people, me included. The popular usage is often incorrect. But do I care? Not really. "Fruits & vegetables" are the same food class according to the FDA and nutritionists. So, eat what you like and call the whole mess plants.

[Bruce Cohen]

I usually try to avoid vegetables, as they grow in dirt.

Think about it for a while.

Bruce

[cabinetman]

Bruce

I'm with you. Nothin' beats fresh kill.

[MilDoc]

So, cabinetman, does that apply to fresh road kill too? Or do you shoot fruits (the plant kind)?

[cabinetman]

Paul

Road Kill ain't fresh. As for shootin' fruits, they make good targets (as you described).

Actually huntin' is more fair (and fun) bare handed.

[Ed62]

The kids and the teachers can call it a fruit, but if they're eating at my table, peas become vegetables. No two ways about it.

Ed

[Tom Slick]

if you want to fire one back at them ask what an almond is. it is not a nut, it's actually a stone fruit pit (peach, plum, nectarine) but it doesn't grow much fruit and has a sweet pit.

btw strawberries have seeds, but they are genetic freaks and have their seeds on the outside of their fruit.

[Copper]

Oklahoma just decided everything for us. This is from the AP today:

Okla. Declares Watermelon State Veggie


Apr 17, 10:35 PM (ET)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma already has the strawberry as its official fruit, so the state Senate cleared the way Tuesday to declare the watermelon the state vegetable.

The measure was introduced in the House by Democratic Rep. Joe Dorman of Rush Springs, site of an annual watermelon festival in August.

Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton, sponsored the bill in the Senate.
"The controversy on whether watermelon is a fruit or vegetable has been officially decided by the Oklahoma Legislature," Barrington said. He said watermelon comes from the cucumber and gourd families, which are classified as vegetables.

Others are not convinced. Sen. Nancy Riley, D-Tulsa, said her dictionary refers to the watermelon as a fruit.
"I guess it can be both," Barrington conceded.
The bill now goes to Gov. Brad Henry.

[dlminehart]

From Wikipedia:

Botanically speaking, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant: a fruit or, more precisely, a berry. However, from a culinary perspective, the tomato is not as sweet as those foodstuffs usually called fruits and it is typically served as part of a main course of a meal, as are other vegetables, rather than at dessert. As noted above, the term "vegetable" has no botanical meaning and is purely a culinary term.
This argument has led to actual legal implications in the United States. In 1887, U.S. tariff laws that imposed a duty on vegetables but not on fruits caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. The U.S. Supreme Court settled this controversy in 1893, declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, using the popular definition which classifies vegetable by use, that they are generally served with dinner and not dessert. The case is known as Nix v. Hedden (149 U.S. 304). Strictly speaking, the holding of the case applies only to the interpretation of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, and not much else. The court does not purport to reclassify tomato for botanical or for any other purpose other than paying a tax under a tariff act. However, the USDA also considers the tomato a vegetable.

[scmhogg]

I remember when the govt. decided catsup was a vegetable for the school lunch program.

Steve

[germdoc]

I'm going to compose a joke right here on the spot in honor of this controversy, to prove that my brain is still functioning well.

In his young days, Mr. Tomato was quite a character. He loved to party and smoke and drink to all hours. Some people thought he might have been a little "fruity", but he laughed it off.

As the years passed his dissolute behavior caught up with him. Some people say it was his seedy lifestyle, some say he hit the sauce a little too much. A few years ago he suffered a massive stroke and lived out the rest of his life as a complete vegetable.

[BearPipes-1]

or even all of the 10 commandments (did they slip another in while I wasn't looking? what does it mean to "covet"?)

I like the definition (see #10) from the latest Veggie Tales movie:

1. Y'all have no other gods b'fore Me.
2. No makin' idols.
3. When y'all use my name, y'better mean it.
4. Lay off the trail one day a week.
5. Mind yer ma and pa.
6. No killin' folks.
7. Dance with who brung ya.
8. No swipin'.
9. No lyin'.
10. No hankerin' for things that ain't yours.

[gsmittle]

I'm going to compose a joke right here on the spot in honor of this controversy, to prove that my brain is still functioning well.

In his young days, Mr. Tomato was quite a character. He loved to party and smoke and drink to all hours. Some people thought he might have been a little "fruity", but he laughed it off.

As the years passed his dissolute behavior caught up with him. Some people say it was his seedy lifestyle, some say he hit the sauce a little too much. A few years ago he suffered a massive stroke and lived out the rest of his life as a complete vegetable.

You are a sick, sick man. Keep up the good work!

g.