h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Wow! All I get to say is that my relatives were imports. No presidents. Lots of farmers, though! Which president?

well, he was only the president of a minor dairy company in minnetonka, min., but still...

That's better than being the guy who has to pick up all of the dung, I suppose!

i believe he had a good life...

...till he was buried in a giant butter cask

A giant butter cask? A casket made from butter? Flavoring the dead? That seems so strange to me...

just shows how much you know about the dairy business

I know nothing at all about the dairy business (I know, I cover it up well). So please enlighten me. What's a cask?

While you're at it, what actually is a quadratic equation? Could you give me an example? When you've finished that, I have this list of paper here next to me with several other questions...

Okay, I was kidding about that, but WOULD like to know about the cask.

according to my dictionary a butter cask is a small barrel to store butter in

and i don't now anything about dairy stuff either, so don't bother

Well, now I know as much about it as you, so I'm content. I could trade you with answers about the construction business, or the best way to hit a wall with your head. I know about that one, I've been practicing!

so have i. it's so nice when one stops doing it, right?

i used to be a bricklayer's assistant a while back - must have been 1971. 'twas a time hard on my liver as far as i remember

I didn't have a liver in 1971, though around Sept of '72, things started to look up for me (I was born). Never worked in bricklaying, but I've done a lot with concrete landscaping blocks, pavers, and natural stone among other things). Fairly well known for it, in fact (in some circles, antway). Now I'm doing remodels (kitchens, bathrooms, additions...stuff like that).

I, too, have had my times of liver abuse, though they slowed down greatly when my daughter was born. I'm thinking about taking it up again, however.

I am not much into liver abuse. Cooked, however, chopped in cubes and in a sauce with cream, a wee bit of mustard and such .

Calf's liver, usually, though

*makes notes*

Bathrooms, you say? I lack one.

you should go for one of them kidney shaped bathtubs

You lack a bathroom? Really? I'd offer to help you with that, but, well, I'd have to charge travel time and expenses. Might be pricey. I'd give you a nice discount on the labor, though!

Mmmyes, seems to be tricky.

How is it that you lack a bathroom? Seems like it would be standard equipment.

No, it isn't. I haven't had any since the year 2000.

Well, does that mean that you have one down the hall? Or is it like the cabin property my folks have in the mountains, where you have to walk down a path to the outhouse? Or am I completely failing to understand what the word means over there? Here "bathroom" means toilet, shower and/or tub, and a sink. Some combination of those things. Does it mean the same thing over there?