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

...well that Bloke down the pub *he* said it was true



Another wonderful myth crushed mercilessly under the foot of plain fact.

Well, there is an old nintendo game where you smack the enemys using a yo yo But I also can't see how a yo yo could be used as a weapon. With such a short string I'd just bring a stick instead.

the word yo-yo comes from the ancient Philippines meaning "come back" and was a given to a weapon which look a bit like a great big yo-yo.

Thus when the toy became popular, circa 1800s, it got called yo-yo and the name stuck.

Anyway that's what I got told down the pub .........

Pubs have a lot to answer for! There was a game on the BBC micro called Frak. He was a caveman and used a yoyo to whack the baddies.

Yay! the monsters were motionless, one looked like some kind of bizarre furry onion...
I got told off for saying 'frak'. Another strange ban.

Well I suppose a yoyo provides some exercise but rather akin to using a joypad me thinks.


Incog.

We started using Frak instead of another four letter word begining with f, and no one complained.

You could also use flick. If written in capitals, it looks like the real thing.

OH FOR FLICKS SAKE!

Tch, wouldnt catch me doing that...

They're apparently not allowed to write flick in comics because of it

Really? Blimey. We wouldn't do anything like that on h2g2.

How can they have proper dialogues with usidng the word flick!?

On the subject of weirdos, I don't think kids are at any more risk than they were say fifty years ago. The difference is people talk about it more because there is no shame for the families. A good thing in a way, but now kids are wrapped in cotton wool and have to report back to their folks on mobiles regularly to say they're OK which I think is ghastly. How are they ever going to learn time keeping or independence? Abductions by strangers are rare - terrible when it happens to your child - but still rare. It would be useful if communities kept an eye out for each others' kids like they used to.

As to taking the fun out of playgrounds, that is so sad. Children will grow up with no idea of kinetic intelligence, no idea of how to look after themselves and all the allergies under the sun. What's the point of that?

Kinetic intelligence. What a fancy word.

On an earlier point on risk to children, the first quote at A676424 is relevant. The perception of risk tends to be a lot higher than the actual risk.

see also http://www.anxietyculture.mcmail.com/crimef.htm

...and also this article:
http://www.observer.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,772586,00.html

Oh, and http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006D9CA.htm

Replying to myself is such fun

I thank you....

just means general coordination and physical strength really....

Wow - I'm not clumsy I'm kinetically stupid...no wait that sounds worse

What a privileged childhood some of us had! Exploring the streets (Notting Hill in my case), alone or with friends (some just made for the day); going in any direction on the spur of the moment, having only to be back for meals; bombsites as adventure playgrounds; rock-climbing competitions on the playground wall; setting the world to rights during rambling walks home from school with friends - it's so sad what children can't do now.

And that none of us has the answer.

I'm grateful that our daughter was at least able to grow up in a building site (rebuilding our house). She's nimble, sure-footed and knows about things like scaffold-board safety. She learned early to use sharp kitchen knives properly; safer than blunt, unpredictable ones. (We knew when her friends had been round when we found neatly shaved lemons etc - they loved the novelty of sharp knives, and had slicing sessions under her supervision.)

Maybe that's one little thing we can do - make our homes dangerous instead!