Case in point: Did you know that today, November 3, is Bean Day? Even if you have a Fairly Mainstream Sense of Humor, beans make you think of, well...flatulence. (I love it when I can find a way to use that word in everyday conversation.)
Today is also Cliché Day. But I'm not gonna write about clichés, because Zebee and the gang over at Zooprise Party/Fiesta Zoorpresa already covered Cliché Day quite well.
What I am gonna do is quote Ms Martha Brockenbrough, from her Encarta article*, In Defense of the Cliché, where she starts right off with this fabulous bit of wisdom:
"Clichés are a bit like flatulence. Figuratively speaking, they can clear a room."
Ms Brockenbrough goes on to (briefly) discuss a bit more about the gaseous Bean Day by-product: quoting Hippocrates' thoughts on this frequently foul bodily emission, as well as mentioning The Fartiste, Joseph Pujol, who learned to use controlled airy expulsions from his backside to entertain surprisingly appreciative crowds at the Moulin Rouge in his day. To be fair, though the beginning of the article seamlessly weaves words and wind (to my eternal delight), the rest of the article is largely about cliches and their use and origins, and it is an enjoyable and enlightening read.
Clichés and flatulence. Words and toots. Who knew you could put those two together?
Yep. It's a Holiday Two-Fer. And in a nod to that upcoming well-known American holiday of Thanksgiving, my Slightly Warped Sense of Humor is very thankful!
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*Note: You'll have to trust me, I guess, on how fabulous Ms Brockenbrough's article was, because from the time I posted this originally, and two and a half hours later, the article is gone, and now all you see is an error message that says, "The MSN Encarta page you are trying to visit has been discontinued." Rats!
