Performance Boat Shop - High Performance Boats Knowledge Base

High Performance Boats Knowledge Base

How much is the markup on high performance boats? I'm looking at starting a high performance boat dealership long term (Cigarette, etc.) Obviously, very few boats are sold in this market so what markup can i expect on these boats. If you have experience in this field, is there any money in this. Thanks

do you need a licence for to drive high performance boats? for example donzi or cigarette high performance v boats

Pratical use of automobile engines in boats ? what are the differences for rust, corrosion protection? I'm always dreaming up wild ideas, and I had one for a new breed of high performance personal watercraft - the Tube boat. I want to put a V-8 engine into a very stretched Seadoo-type watercraft, and just use a simple propeller shaft off the back of the engine, with maybe a simple clutch mechanism to engage/disengage the power to the shaft. Anyway, that all said, I know boats use automobile-type engines, but use special water-cooled exhaust manifolds, etc. What other Boaterizing is done to an automobile engine to make it into a "marine" engine? Any special gimmicks to prevent the corrosion of dissimilar metals inside the motor? If I chose to use a straight car engine, with the watercooled boat manifolds, how long would a motor last without any other mods? Obviously a boat style cooling system as well would be installed <duh>. So other than radiator, coolant, and exhaust manifolds, what else would normally be changed?

Anyone know where to find a Myspace Boat Layout? Anything that has to do with boats like Donzi, Hustler, Fountain, and Outerlimit Or any other high performance boats.

where can I find someone who wants to swap a muscle car for a speedboat? I have a 21 foot latemodel high performance boat all in perfect condition (as new) and would like to aquire a ford cobra kit car or any gm muscle car or a t-bucket

Life jacket preference - Lifeline, Mustang, Stearns, others? For high-performance boating, what are your preferences? Best retailers for purchase?

What are the fastest 5 dinghy boats? High performance and general purpose or whatever, though not cats. If you can can you tell me how much they cost though im not hugely worried about that.

How do you clean inside of fuel tank without removing it? I have a jet boat with a high performance 455 olds.make is Wriedt The fuel tank needs cleaning badly, the problem it's built into the bow of the boat. Can it be cleaned without removing it? Can I do it or do I have to have it done? Cost?

A tall, dark and hansom Italian ask you to join him on his boat for a weekend. What do you do and expect? you have seen this person because you watch high performance boat racing. Because it is a "glory sport" and he is well known women are no problem for him.

How important is it to change outdrive fluid every year? My boat is a couple of years old and I'm wondering how important changing the outdriver oil every year is. I've previously done it just because the manual says too but as a typical summer weekend boater I"m wondering how much abuse the gear lube actually takes. I have an Alpha drive and run High Performance Merc gear lube. I'm not due for an impeller change this year.

Will using a higher octane gasoline produce better performance (speed) when used in a boat?

Can Graham obtain a decree of specific performance? Chiu agreed to sell his custom-built sailboat to Graham for $60,000. Before delivery, Chiu received another offer for $68,000 and wrote to Graham that he had decided not to sell his boat after all? My questions-yes or no 1. Can Graham obtain a decree of specific performance? 2. Would a suit for money damages completely satisfy Graham? 3. Can Chiu avoid Graham's suit by claiming that he was merely selling to the highest bidder?

92 nitro190dc 150 evinrude. Just recently my live well stop filling up it .And my speedometer stop working.? I am the 2nd owner i really never figured out the proper way to fill up the live well.Most of the times i would turn on the freshwater switch on manual to fill the live well slowly and other times it just fills up on its own.The fresh water switch works on recirculate only not manual and when i am ready to drain the live well i shut off the main fuel switch and it usally drains.My other promblem is that my speedometer doesn't work at all.What can i do to try to solve these promblems without taking it to a dealer? I am also looking for a original manual for this boat it's a 1992 nitro bass boat 150 evinrude high performance. I thank you very much for any information that you can provide.Thanks again,Joe.

Can someone help in choosing a small, affordable boat? Hey everyone. I'm looking for a small boat, prefferably AROUND 20' (give a little take a little, doesn't matter.). A good beginner boat would be great. The usuage of this boat would be STRICTLY fresh water for skiing, tubing, cruising, ect. ect. I do not fish either. I have no prefferance as far as inboard or outboard. I don't need anything too high performance just a good reliable boat but don't get me wrong, I love horse power. As far as price goes, I would love to stay around 20,000, less being great and more being managable. I've looked at the Glastron GXL 205, but that's a bit much, the Sea-Doo 150 Speedster which I am a bit interested in, and a dealer recently got me interested in the 2008 Tahoe Q4 SS because of a great price and it's a good beginner boat. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks!

can i play fsx on these setting listed below with this pc? Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) ) Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB ) Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand ) Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - 2GB - Single Card ) Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue ) Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready ) Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit ) Video Card Brand ( === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA ) Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] ) fsx settings i want to play Graphics- ultra high aircraft-ultra high level of detailed radius-large mesh complexity-100 mesh resolution-19 texture resoltion-60 water effects-max 2.x scenery complexity-extremely dense autogen density-very dense special effects-high weather-ultra high traffic airline traffic density-0 general aviation-0 airport vehicle density- high road vehicle, ships and ferries, boats-0

Can i play fsx on the settings below with this pc? Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) ) Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB ) Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand ) Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - 2GB - Single Card ) Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue ) Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready ) Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit ) Video Card Brand ( === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA ) Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] ) fsx settings i want to play Graphics- ultra high aircraft-ultra high level of detailed radius-large mesh complexity-100 mesh resolution-19 texture resoltion-60 water effects-max 2.x scenery complexity-extremely dense autogen density-very dense special effects-high weather-ultra high traffic airline traffic density-0 general aviation-0 airport vehicle density- high road vehicle, ships and ferries, boats-0

can i play fsx with these settings listed below with this pc? Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) ) Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB ) Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand ) Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - 2GB - Single Card ) Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue ) Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready ) Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit ) Video Card Brand ( === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA ) Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] ) fsx settings i want to play Graphics- ultra high aircraft-ultra high level of detailed radius-large mesh complexity-100 mesh resolution-19 texture resoltion-60 water effects-max 2.x scenery complexity-extremely dense autogen density-very dense special effects-high weather-ultra high traffic airline traffic density-0 general aviation-0 airport vehicle density- high road vehicle, ships and ferries, boats-0

Can i play fsx with these settings listed below on this ibuypower computer? Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) ) Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB ) Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand ) Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - 2GB - Single Card ) Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue ) Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready ) Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit ) Video Card Brand ( === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA ) Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] ) fsx settings i want to play Graphics- ultra high aircraft-ultra high level of detailed radius-large mesh complexity-100 mesh resolution-19 texture resoltion-60 water effects-max 2.x scenery complexity-extremely dense autogen density-very dense special effects-high weather-ultra high traffic airline traffic density-0 general aviation-0 airport vehicle density- high road vehicle, ships and ferries, boats-0

Can i play fsx with these settings listed below with this pc? Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) ) Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB ) Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand ) Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - 2GB - Single Card ) Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue ) Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready ) Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit ) Video Card Brand ( === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA ) Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] ) fsx settings i want to play Graphics- ultra high aircraft-ultra high level of detailed radius-large mesh complexity-100 mesh resolution-19 texture resoltion-60 water effects-max 2.x scenery complexity-extremely dense autogen density-very dense special effects-high weather-ultra high traffic airline traffic density-0 general aviation-0 airport vehicle density- high road vehicle, ships and ferries, boats-0

Can i play fsx on these settings listed below with this pc? Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) ) Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB ) Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand ) Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - 2GB - Single Card ) Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue ) Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready ) Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit ) Video Card Brand ( === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA ) Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] ) fsx settings i want to play Graphics- ultra high aircraft-ultra high level of detailed radius-large mesh complexity-100 mesh resolution-19 texture resoltion-60 water effects-max 2.x scenery complexity-extremely dense autogen density-very dense special effects-high weather-ultra high traffic airline traffic density-0 general aviation-0 airport vehicle density- high road vehicle, ships and ferries, boats-0

can i play fsx on these settings with this pc? Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) ) Motherboard ( Asus P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB ) Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Value or Major Brand ) Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 - 2GB - Single Card ) Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue ) Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready ) Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit ) Video Card Brand ( === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA ) Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] ) fsx settings i want to play Graphics- ultra high aircraft-ultra high level of detailed radius-large mesh complexity-100 mesh resolution-19 texture resoltion-60 water effects-max 2.x scenery complexity-extremely dense autogen density-very dense special effects-high weather-ultra high traffic airline traffic density-0 general aviation-0 airport vehicle density- high road vehicle, ships and ferries, boats-0

1979 Johnson 70hp 3cyl. Excellent cond. hood is removed! maintenance and upgrade tips please!!!!!? I'm 15 and I LoVe my Boston Whaler. It's a 1975 15ft. Whaler Sport. My father let me use his alumnacraft last year. He gave it to my uncle for his house up north, leaving me without a boat. All my neighbors and practically everyone in our yacht club have whalers. Ironically, our neighbors were selling theirs so my dad bought it for me! I love engines n high performance. Alot of people on our lake have smaller whalers, mostly 13 footers with 25-50 hp motors on them. not mine! I got 70! The kid's like to race eachother and stuff. People always made fun of my crappy tin boat. But im more respected with my whaler. I recently installed a whale tail stabilizer fin. Now its really fast. tops out at 48mph. So far I have the fastest whaler. I've never lost a race with it yet. In a few weeks, I'm going to take it out and restore it. - redo the wood finish - add seat cus

I had a 2.4-2.5 GPA in high school and plan to enroll in Honors at my community college? In over my head? Because I was lazy and unmotivated in high school, I now plan to take college much more seriously. I know that sounds ambitious, but I think that starting at a later hour (thus more sleep), taking classes I'm genuinely interested in, and truly being motivated to do well are all things that will make my academic performance much better. Are there any people who were in the same boat who can give me some tips? Anyone in a community college honors program who can give me some tips? I'm attending West Valley College in Cupertino, California, by the way.

Should I live in Austin or Dallas? I have a new opportunity to take a job in TX. I now live in Indianapolis, IN and can choose between Austin and Dallas. My wife and I are 36 and have 2 kids in Jr high and 1 in elementary. We live a fairly active lifestyle and enjoy outdoor activities. We spend a fair amount of time biking, hiking, boating, camping, etc. We tend to be pretty social as well, so we'll definately be searching out local night-life activities. Having lived in Indiana my whole life, I would like to settle in a place that has some topographical diversity. We value education, so local school performance will likely drive our decision as well. Thanks!

Just a joke .....................................? An American automobile company and a Japanese auto company decided to have a competitive boat race on the Detroit River. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance. On the big day, they were as ready as they could be. The Japanese team won by a mile. Afterwards, the American team became discouraged by the loss and their morale sagged. Corporate management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A Continuous Measurable Improvement Team of "Executives" was set up to investigate the problem and to recommend appropriate corrective action. Their conclusion: The problem was that the Japanese team had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, whereas the American team had 1 person rowing and 8 people steering. The American Corporate Steering Committee immediately hired a consulting firm to do a study on the management structure. After some time and billions of dollars, the consulting firm concluded that "too many people were steering and not enough rowing." To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the management structure was changed to "4 Steering Managers, 3 Area Steering Managers, and 1 Staff Steering Manager" and a new performance system for the person rowing the boat to give more incentive to work harder and become a six sigma performer. "We must give him empowerment and enrichment." That ought to do it. The next year the Japanese team won by two miles. The American Corporation laid off the rower for poor performance, sold all of the paddles, cancelled all capital investments for new equipment, halted development of a new canoe, awarded high performance awards to the consulting firm, and distributed the money saved as bonuses to the senior executives.

Why can't I sell my 17ft Bass Pro Targa Tracker Boat for $16000? 2001 Tracker Targa 17ft 4inches Deep "V" Big water w/ 4 Stroke 75 hp Mercury. Comes with Trailer, ores, night lights, gages (fuel, speedometer, tachometer, voltmeter, water pressure, and trim), walk through windshield, side storage, Dual Console, 30 gallon built-in tank(you won't have to fill up, it has plenty already-FULL), 2 bait wells, divided acrated 50" livewell w/ flow-rite aeration timers and remote drain controls, Tracker 12 volt 52 LB thrust 50" foot-controlled trolling motor, Radius tempered glass walk-thru windshield, AM/FM cassette stereo, extra-wide carpeted gunnels for large downriggers, aft aerated livewell, 2 large aerated baitwells w/ liftout stainer, in floor storage, storage shelf under console, all welded hull, bow storage, bow panel w/ trim recirculation and courtesy light switches, locking storage on console, wheel lug locks on trailer tires and spare tire, lock for swing away tongue, and lock so people can't drive away with it. Also comes with boat cover, battery charger, plus 4 seats that can be removed (can be moved to the front or back for easy fishing and to be able to get the anchor which there are two for different bottoms) plus all weather stand up Convertible top w/ side and aft curtains, side lockable storage for up to 7ft fishing rods, ship to shore radio with extra high atten.(Horizon-Standard VHF Marine Radio model #GX1265S Plus portanle ICOM Waterproof VHF Marine Radio model #IC-M2A) Garmin GPS Map 172C Color GPS Cahrt Plotter, Ritchie X-15 and Ritchie S53 surface mount lighted compasses, 3 Sospenders High Performance Inflatable Life Vests, tilt steering wheel, cup holders, ski storage, glove box, gas fill vent combo, hand rails, 2 60 watt speakers, and safety features. Has not been on water for 2 years. Has been shrink-wrapped and winterized each year. I have never been on a more stable boat. 37 mph top speed. It was designed for big water. Many extras that did not come with the boat. Cash or certified bank from local bank. (the picture of the deep V 18 is just like the 17ft but one foot longer both are Deep V)

Car engine in boat? I cracked the manifolds and block on my 305 mercruiser. Can I use a high performance 350 automotive engine block and swap the rest of the parts?

What would you get???? I am looking to get a boat since I live at the beach. But I am having a hard time deciding what type to get. I like the center consoles, but you can't hang on the boat comfortably. The sencond is a open bow, but You can't really take out of the inlet into open oceans. The third is a high performance, but I can't go wake boarding with it. It's a hard decision. I am trying only to spend $30,000. What do you think???

9.9 racing propeller? i have a 1995 johnson 9.9 2-stroke that i put on a 8'6'' inflatable boat. last year i got a refurbished stock michigan prop for it. with me in the boat the thing fly's at about 25mph. i was wondering if anyone knew what brand of propeller would make a high performance or racing propeller for the 1995 johnson 9.9.

83 Sportster Voltage Regulator? After installing a new battery, it would not turn motor over after a few weeks. Put it back on 1.5 amp trickle charger and juiced it back up. Same thing happened again. Recharged battery, checked voltage with bike at 2000 rpm and with bike not running. When running, it was reading less than when off. Tested generator, and it is putting out current. I checked with 4 or 5 places and find prices from a low of $25.00 to high of $125 for a voltage regulator. What would be the difference in one brand than another. Hey, the bike is a boat anchor and will only beat something that has less than a 250cc motor, so high performance is not a reqirment.

eMachines t5088 not compatible with Windows 7? I was trying to upgrade my OS from Windows Vista Home Basic to Windows 7 Ultimate. I verified on Microsoft site that this a valid upgrade and I ran compatibility adviser from Microsoft. Compatibility check showed no issues and I uninstalled whatever programs it told me were uncompatible. Since I had Windows Vista I tried an upgrade. Everything seemed to go smoothly and then my pc reboot and it asked me to setup a user name and password. It also allowed me to setup my timezone. Then it told me that it did not recognize my HDD I told it to retry. It did this 3 times and then reboot. Upon rebooting the eMachines recovery program came on and I ended up having to reinstall factory settings to Vista. I then downloaded a gazillion updates and finally was up to SP2. I decided that a clean install (custom) would do the trick. I ended up running a clean install and running the Easy Transfer program. Ended up in the same boat! I tried Live Chat on eMachines site and they freakin told me that this system is "not compatible" with Windows 7?!! WTF?! LOL....I refuse to believe that. It is...afterall...just a PC. Is this possible? Has anyone updated this particular model to Windows 7? Anywhoo....here are my specs directly from eMachines site. Hope the Yahoo! community is of much more use to me than the eMachine outsourced tech support. T5088 Support Information Specifications CPU :Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 641 Hyper-Threading and Intel® EM64T Technology (Operates at 3.20GHz | 2MB L2 Cache | 800MHz FSB) Operating System :Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Chipset :Intel® 945GC Memory :512MB DDR2 Memory, Dual-Channel Capable (1 × 512MB), 533MHz (PC4200) Expandable to 2GB 2 DDR2 Slots (Total), 1 DDR2 Slot (Available) Hard Drive :160GB SATA II (7200rpm, 2MB Cache) Optical Drives :DVD±RW 16x Multiformat Dual-Layer Optical Drive Up to 8.5GB with Dual-Layer Media Write max: 16x DVD±R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 4x DVD+R DL, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW Read max: 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CD-ROM Media Reader :High-Performance 15-in-1 Digital Media Manager™ xD-Picture Card™, CompactFlash® I (CF), CompactFlash® II, Secure Digital™ (SD), Mini Secure Digital™ (Mini SD™), Multi Media Card™ (MMC), Reduced Size MMC (RS-MMC), MMC Mobile, MMC Plus, Memory Stick™ (MS), Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro®, Memory Stick Pro® Duo, SmartMedia, IBM Microdrive™ Video :Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Up to 224MB Shared Video Memory PCI-Express® (PCI-E x16) slot available for upgrade Sound :6-Channel (5.1) High-Definition Audio Amplified Stereo Speakers (USB-Powered) Communications :56K ITU v.92-ready Fax/Modem (RJ-11 port) Intel® 10/100Mbps Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port) Peripherals :Multifunction keyboard, 2-button wheel mouse (PS/2) Ports/Other :6 - USB 2.0 Ports (2 Front, 4 Rear) 1 - VGA 1 - Parallel port 1 - Serial port 2 - PS/2 ports (keyboard and mouse) 3 - Audio (rear): Line-in/Side (Stereo), Front/Headphone (Stereo), Microphone 2 - Audio (Front): Microphone, Front/Headphone (Stereo) 1 - RJ-45 Ethernet port 1 - RJ-11 Modem port

Vmk deep sea pin S.O.S? im stuck on the question of the deep sea pin where it says "find a stage where you can hop on if your not shy while people can watch you performance from way up high Hint: It's on a boat!" Ans i went to fantasy lansd in the sky but nothing happens :( please help me S.O.S

Does anyone else think the Dark Knight was overrated? I mean the script was pretty sloppy. Some parts like where the joker cuts the guy's face were sort of unnecessary and only added in to revolve around Ledger's performance (not that it wasn't good it's just he wasn't the main character). Harvery Dent was pretty bland and boring. Did we really need a mobster for every ethnic organized crime branch? A lot of the action sequences were contrived like where Dent kills the Mob Boss in the car (I don't think the odds would be high enough to ensure a kill by making the car go out of control) and how the hell did the Joker manage to get all those bombs in the hospital and boats without getting noticed. Also, when Batman catches Rachel when she's falling, it is totally ridiculous that he would survive the all, nomek survival suit or no nomek survival suit. A lot of the dialogue is a little on the nose. Like when the Joker meets with Harvey Dent in the hospital and describes himself as "an agent of chaos" he's explicitly explaining the concept of the joker as an evil being for evil's sake. Michael Caine's monologues and Jim Gordon's monologue at the end are similarly defective. Lastly, the part where Batman flips over the truck is such a ripoff of the Empire Strikes Back Hoth Battle. Update: I thought Heath was great it's just the movie relied to much on his performance. There's a reason he's called a supporting actor.

What would be a better choice of motorcycle? I am a 20 year old dude I am 6'2 160 pounds, I have my driving permit for a motorcycle I am going to get my M1 license soon I am looking to get a small fun two wheeled motorized transportation for riding around town mainly and commuting, and I also look for some performance, comfort and give rides to passengers around town when I get enough experience. I found a couple of great deals on craigslist.org The first one is a good condition 1973 KAWASAKI F7 175cc 4 spd manual street legal enduro 2-stroke with 4,420 original miles and It had a complete engine rebuild two years ago, the only downside is it need new tires, and the lights for some reason don't work and it might need a new headlight, other than the engine runs perfect it starts on first kick, all the gears shift smooth, the clutch is very stiff(maybe it just needs some lube). I test drove it and it shift good, and its very light and maneuverable and the lowest the seller would take for it is 800.00. But like I said it needs tires and none of the lights work. The second one is a 1986 Honda Elite Deluxe 150cc liquid cooled 4 stroke engine, it has 9,950miles on it and its been well maintained by an this really nice, honest, loyal, elderly man in his can't0's to early 70's looks to me like the scooter is also in really good condition and I bet the engine is also good and its selling for only $600.00 and it comes with 2 helmets. I cain't decide which one would be a better choice for me? I would have got the Kawasaki but if it din't need any fixing but 800.00 bucks is not bad but what if something else goes wrong even if I fix the lights and put on new tires which would probably cost like around $200 for the tires and to get all the lights to work I think its something wrong with the electrical system or the battery because all the bulbs have been changed. The scooter probably does not need anything replaced but if i find out theres like two problems with it than I back in the same boat as the Kawasaki. SO my major question to you is honestly which of these 2 good choices is a better choice the 1973 Kawasaki 175cc Enduro or the 1986 Honda Elite Deluxe 150cc? Either one of these can probably top out to 60mph I heard even the kawasaki 4spd. when it gets to 55-60mph the engine rpms get high reving and its maxed out. The seller told me the highest she's taken it was around 60mph tops but she weighs like 210 to 220pound I weigh less then 160pounds. And for the honda Elite 150 I heard they can go around the same 55-60 I did gear they can cruise at 65mph. I would say the kawasaki 175cc would have more power cause its a 2-stroke but the Honda is more smoother but slower in acceleration but I heard its fun to drive even though its a scooter which usually are less maneuverable and under powered and get less respect. I cain't decide but all I know is After I found out that the kawasaki needs new tires and the none of the lights work I am begginning to question of what else could go wrong in the future? I mean I would want to spend up to $500.00 to ge the enduro street legalized so it would be $1300-1400.00 motorbike. But if I can get the Honda Elite 150cc for $600.00 and nothing is wrong with it and everything works then would that make it a better choice? So it 1986 Honda Elite Deluxe 150 Vs. 1973 Kawasaki 175 F7 Enduro? Which one would truely be worth it, and is worthy to take around town and have fun? I can only pick one I cain't have both I just don't want to get something that I will regret later on, cause I want to be able to spend more time on the road then in the shop? I am sure both of these are pretty reliable Japanese engines except one is two stroke auto mixing and the other liquid cooled 4 stroke? I can can go on forever describing each one But I have to make a dicision, and ounce again my main question to you is Which one of the 2 do you think I should get without any regret? Give me your complete honest answer, I will truelly appreciate it. Thank For your time.

R&P: IS your cock big enough? Is your brian small enough? For you to be a Rockstar...Once upon a time a punk band -The Dead Kennedys- were invited to play to play their hit California Über Alles at the 1980 Bay Area Music Awards (or Bammies). They ended up singing this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pull_My_Strings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdmFXNtOAck I'm tired of self respect I can't afford a car I wanna be a prefab superstar I wanna be a tool Don't need no soul Wanna make big money Playing rock and roll I'll make my music boring I'll play my music slow I ain't no artist, I'm a business man No ideas of my own I won't offend Or rock the boat Just sex and drugs And rock and roll Drool, drool, drool, drool, drool, drool My Payola! Drool, drool, drool, drool, drool, drool My Payola! You'll pay ten bucks to see me On a fifteen foot high stage Fatass bouncers kick the shit Out of kids who try to dance If my friends say I've lost my guts I'll laugh and say That's rock and roll But there's just one problem [Chorus] Is my cock big enough Is my brain small enough For you to make me a star Give me a toot, I'll sell you my soul Pull my strings and I'll go far And when I'm rich And meet Bob Hope We'll shoot some golf And shoot some dope Is my cock big enough? Is my brain small enough? [Repeat chorus, etc. etc.] Hilarious! Don't you think? That performance easily earned a place on my favorite bands list. Any thoughts? BQ: Favorite Dead Kennedys song? BQ2: Can you think of any other bands that could have(or actually have) pulled a stunt like this?

Real estate Legal advice? I agreed on a purchase price for a home for $500,000.00. I had a home for sale for the same price. I was wanting to wait to move into the new home after I sold my house. The owner was adamant I moved into the new home in April 1, 2008. We agreed on a price of $10,000.00 a month which I started paying in December of 2007, and have every month since. So I have paid $100,000.00. I went to his lawyers office which is in the same office as my lawyer. I asked my lawyer if it was ok to sign the Buy Sell agreement. He said it was a basic agreement. I knew I had to get financing by 12/15/08, or I would lose my money paid toward the purchase of the new house minus some Interest. The seller moved out of his house and left everything but their personal photos. The seller is regarded as a multimillionaire. I thought it odd he and his wife would move out and leave everything and move into a 14'x60' mobil home! The agreement listed in the Buy Sell agreement the purchase price of the furniture for $20,000.00. He was insistent we move into his home on April 1, 2008. We did. A few months later the sheriffs office started attempting to deliver papers to the Seller. They left a set of papers with my wife for us to deliver to the Seller. I couldn't help but read this suit. It was for the sum of almost $500,000.00 for a personal guarantee they made on a loan with a major US bank. I called my lawyer, he told me to return the papers to the sherriffs office. The next day, the sherrifs office came back to my home to drop off more papers. I returned the papers to the sherrif. The officer replied they had several more to serve to the Sellor and his wife. I hired a lawyer to investigate this situation. It was found Sellor was being sued for about $1,000,000.00. The house I am paying $10,000.00 a month on also had up to a $50,000,000.00 attachment for a real estate deal he was doing on condo construction. He denied he was being served papers. He said they were someone elses. I saw the paper. They were his! Since, Sellors sister told me Sellors condos have a huge note on them, and the loan has been called. Sellors sister was concerned because her father built a new home and the same Sellor of my home, still owns the land fathers house is built on. Sister went to court house and said all of the property my new house, and her fathers house is on is tied up with the called note. I also found out he has a Line of Credit of $350,000.00 tied up in my home also. Sister found out Sellor has been taking $10,000.00 out of fathers account, as he has POA. Sellor has started building a new home, but construction has stopped with bricks 4' high. So I knew something was wrong with his finances. He has been urging, even calling banks and setting up appointments for me to go and try to get financing on the home Sellor owns. I cant get financing on this home, because I havn't been able to sell my house. I am in the process of moving out, as Sellor has put everything he has up for sale. Sellor called me and told me I can move out, but this house is mine. I would have to keep making the $10,000.00 payments however until I sell Sellors house. I am out $100,000.00. My lawyer and I met today, and he said the Buy Sell contract I signed didn't have the usual terms in it to give me an out if I couldn't get financing. The lawyer didn't see this and didn't advise me it needed to be in the contract before I signed it. Sellor is saying he will sue me for Specific Performance. I have moved out the furniture from Sellors house, as the 1st two payments went to purchase of the furniture. I also had a banker who was wanting to finance Sellor's house for me, but it was found the 20' of lake front was retained by Sellor. My banker informed me he couldn't finance the property because the property had to go to the lakes edge.Seller told me I had a nice boat landing on the water. He didn't say I could use it, that it was his! What are my options if any except pay for the Sellors house? My lawyer told me I can't list the home because I don't own it. Do I have any other options? Any Recommendations? Thank you all very much.

Office etiquette: giving donations/signing cards? I have worked at my new job 5 months and discovered there is high turnover in this dept because of a clique of 5 people (out of 9). The "ringleader" is an older woman who apparently has to have a target for the clique to dislike. The current target is me, the new person (I don't care as long as they don't interfer with my job performance). One of the 5--a student worker--is graduating college and leaving. Not once has she assisted or spoken to me, even when asked and spoken to, but I have heard her make disparaging remarks about me (HR acknowledges there is a problem but since the dept manager takes no action, feels their hands are tied and just keeps transferring people wanting out or accepting resignations.) The dept is taking a monetary collection for a present for this young woman, signing a card, and taking her to lunch. My inclination is to say "No, thanks." But should I participate just to go along and be a "team player" and not "rock the boat"?

Is your Coke big enough? Is your Brain small enough? For you to be a Rockstar...Once upon a time a punk band -The Dead Kennedys- were invited to play to play their hit California Über Alles at the 1980 Bay Area Music Awards (or Bammies). They ended up singing this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pull_My_Str… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdmFXNtOA… I'm tired of self respect I can't afford a car I wanna be a prefab superstar I wanna be a tool Don't need no soul Wanna make big money Playing rock and roll I'll make my music boring I'll play my music slow I ain't no artist, I'm a business man No ideas of my own I won't offend Or rock the boat Just sex and drugs And rock and roll Drool, drool, drool, drool, drool, drool My Payola! Drool, drool, drool, drool, drool, drool My Payola! You'll pay ten bucks to see me On a fifteen foot high stage Fatass bouncers kick the **** Out of kids who try to dance If my friends say I've lost my guts I'll laugh and say That's rock and roll But there's just one problem [Chorus] Is my cock big enough Is my brain small enough For you to make me a star Give me a toot, I'll sell you my soul Pull my strings and I'll go far And when I'm rich And meet Bob Hope We'll shoot some golf And shoot some dope Is my cock big enough? Is my brain small enough? [Repeat chorus, etc. etc.] Hilarious! Don't you think? That performance easily earned a place on my favorite bands list. Any thoughts? BQ: Favorite Dead Kennedys song? BQ2: Can you think of any other bands that could have(or actually have) pulled a stunt like this? Coke obviously isn't coke but I had to change it coz Y!A wouldn't post the question. haha Haha. Great stuff Migh!

How to make the change, what should I do? So I'm 24, about 6'1'' 210pounds I'm not "fat" but I'm not thin either. My resting heart rate is a little high at 95, and thus my blood pressure is effected as well. Im in the process of quitting smoking However, my biggest problem right now is getting healthy again and losing weight and increasing my cardio performance. The problems: I am in College fulltime and work full time, thus equalling over 80 hours a week, this causes the root of my problem. I have to eat out almost daily and have no time to excercise. I used to be extremely active (played competitive Hockey, Lacrosse and Soccer, and skateboarded daily in my teens) Now, I need to develope a plan and routine to limit fat intake, fit in some cardio, and change my diet signifigantly. Anyone who has been in a similar boat and gone through this change, please let me know how you did it, any suggestions is appreciated.

Give me tips for my essay? It is the moment that every player wants. Last year, it was Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. His name was called, and it will forever be remembered in history. He won the Heisman trophy. He became the 74th Heisman trophy winner, following Tim Tebow of Florida. Looking at this year, many consider there to be many candidates. The front runners are considered to be Colt McCoy of Texas, Tim Tebow of Florida, Toby Gerhart of Stanford, Mark Ingram of Alabama, and CJ Spiller of Clemson. Colt McCoy finished second in the voting last year. Last year, McCoy completed over 77% of his passes. He also threw for over 3,800 yards and 34 touchdowns. As of right now, he has thrown for 3,024 yards and 23 touchdowns. His passer rating is also down 20 points, from 173 to 152. Also, he has the Texas Longhorns at 11-0 with two games left, Texas A&M and the Big 12 championship game. Tim Tebow was the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner. He is trying to be only the second player to repeat, the other being Archie Griffin of Ohio State in the mid 1970s’. Tebow has thrown for over 1,900 yards, which is less than he has thrown the previous two years. In 2008, he threw for 2,746 yards and in 2007, he threw for 3,286 yards. Tebow has also thrown for fewer touchdown passes. This year he has thrown for only 14 touchdowns while last year he threw for 30 touchdowns and in 2007, he threw for 32 touchdowns. This year, Tebow has rushed for 706 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. Toby Gerhart, a running back from Stanford, is second in the nation in rushing yards. He has rushed for 1,531 yards so far with a game against Notre Dame left. Gerhart has rushed for 23 touchdowns, he is also averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Gerhart is considered to be a main reason why Stanford has made a turnaround. Stanford was 5-7 last year, right now they are 7-4. Last year, Alabama was one win away from making the National Championship. This year, they are in the same boat except they are two wins away. Many say that Mark Ingram is a major contributor to this. He has rushed for 1,399 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has also caught 25 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Ingram is averaging 6.8 yards per carry this year. His best performance came against South Carolina where he rushed 24 times for 246 yards and one touchdown. Earlier this year, sports analysts were saying Mark Ingram was the front runner. Much was expected from CJ Spiller coming out of high school because he was the number one player in Florida and the number eight player in the country. Spiller has rushed for 894 yards and seven touchdowns. Also, he caught 29 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns. As a returner, he has four touchdowns, one on a punt return and three on kick returns. Spiller has also passed for one touchdown. Spiller is considered the best all-purpose player in the league. On December 14, 2009 one player will be named the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner. Their name will go down in history and be mentioned with some of the great players including Tony Dorsett, Archie Griffin, Doug Flutie, and Billy Sims. These players all still have at least one more game to make their case.

find washington rural country single mother to marry? thanks for the message, i think you catch my attention is not just by your looking, i prefer the women has her natural beauty in their heart. i am an adult and i do not believe in true love, but i trust life-long marriage. so my wish is my future wife is never married before, if they have children, that is fine, we can raise them up together with my own children. oh, my hobby is walking, reading and enjoy the good food. actually, my plan is after my marriage, i will give my wife 50% my salary, if we have children. i will give her another 10%, i need keep 40% my salary is enough, maybe 20% to support my mum and dad later, i think i just belong to the middle class, one house and one boat, two or three car, own my own land and some restaurant business, i want to open my own sushi bar later in San Francisco area. anyway, life is short, i will try my best, work hard and glory the God, help more people. i think i believe in god since i am a postgraduate student in england nottingham, i need do two part time restaurant job to survive, pay my rent and pay my tuition fee, life goes the hardest way, every night when i finish my night shift job, i pass by one 700 years old church, jesus picture is just there on the window, i pray him to give me some peace in my heart, Jesus is always ready to listen and he is a great father. i think i will follow his rule whole my life, i never married and so far i have no children, but i do not want divorce, i can sign contract with my lawyer, if i divorce due to my family affair, i am willing to pay 80% my salary to my children as penalty fee, i believe i am the only few can do this in Seattle area, haha.....nice talk to you, if you want to meet, i think i have time next week, by the way, if you really want to go step further on our future relationship, i think i do not need bother to date other women, i believe i am a honest man and i am a good family man too. best regards young ps: my resume 4748 19th AVE seattle, WA 98105, Tel: 206-816-5015 Email: yiyangprivate@hotmail.com / Gender: Male Education: Ph.D in University of Washington, focus on organisation design and financial management. (January 2006- present) Master degree in research (Mphil) in manufacturing engineering, manufacturing organization research group, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, England, UK. (Sep 2003- Dec 2005) Dissertation topic: Building a boundaryless leagile manufacturing organization through HITOP method. Advisor: Professor Neil Burns (editor of IJPR) ( Email: n.d.burns@lboro.ac.uk ) Master degree in Science (Msc) in Electrical engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK (Sep 2002-Sep 2003) Thesis topic: Extra high voltage (EHV) power transmission control in China three Gorges project using Newton Raphson method and Mathlab computer iteration method. Advisor: Dr Dave.Thomas (Email:dave.thomas@nottingham.ac.uk ) Bsc in Mechanical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian city, China (Sep 1990-July 1994) Thesis topic: Testing a new diamond cutting tool material performance in Japanese Sanyo Company through comparing with other traditional cutting tools. Advisor: Dr Hong Tao Zhang. (Head of cutting tools research group) Experience: Academic Research: I: I worked as a research Assistant at Wichita state university on the subject of Industry engineering. The main focus of the research is on lean and green manufacturing system design for Boeing Company in Wichita, Kansas. Since Boeing Company set the goal to be "100% lean and green company" in 2011, I as a researcher focused on waste management and energy conservation in order to achieve the goal. After years of experiment on a small motor workshop provided by private companies, we have achieved to reduce the waste and contamination by 35 percents. The quality of the motor increased by 25 percents by detail cleaning and better combustion technology.II: When I was completing my master in electrical engineering at University of Nottingham, I worked at fire-power station in England Nottingham city. I worked on power transfer through super-computer. The use of C++ and Java was needed and the station was responsible for providing power for more than three million people in the surrounding cities called East-Middle land area including Birmingham city, Nottingham city and south Manchester city. Working experience: 1: Electrical engineer: Seattle Trident seafood company, help solving the seafood manufacturing line mechanical and electrical problem.01/2008-Present. 2: Manufacturing supervisor: Japan Mabuchi motor company in Hong Kong china, in charge of one plastic injection molding workshop following ISO 9002/ 14001 standard. (Sep 1994-Nov 2001) This company has worldwide reputation on mini DC motor products and its customers include Sony, Toshiba, Sanyo, Sharp and HP, Ford companies, through Japanese Just-in-time management, my workshop quality has been improved from 67 percent to 95 percent, on October

porpoising problems with my bass boat? I have an older (1989) bass boat (16.5 ft fiberglass modified V w/ 90 hp outboard). The hole shot takes forever and the boat porpoises like crazy at medium to higher rpms. Also, I haven't opened it up all the way because I just had 2 pistons rebuilt, but it seems like my rpms are higher than they should be (5000 and still not wide open). Without buying trim tabs or a hydrofoil, what other options could I look at to improve performance. Also, I don't know what pitch the prop (black--aluminum?) is, because the stamp is too faint to read. Is there a way to measure the prop to find out what pitch it is?

What does this dream mean? David [the guy I like] and I, and some of his and my other friends were at a performance at the Performing Arts Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The show was great and enjoyable. It was a magic show, with some kickass bands as well. But about halfway through the show, we get an announcement that there is a crazy gunman shooting around in the building and it's unknown what part of the building he is in at the moment. They were trying to tell everyone to calm down and get into a line, but that wasn't going to happen. People were screaming and running all around. David and I got seperated. So I was with some other teenagers who I had no idea who they were. We decided to hide somewhere where we thourght the gunman couldn't find us... so we went into a little interactive display of Alaska in the basement. We were all huddled in the corner as quiet as could be... then we see a dark figure come in through one of the doors. It just so happens to be the gunman. I was about to scream and run for my life, but the other teenages told me to be quiet. So they basically had to force me to be quiet. The gunman went into the little plastic "cave" and shot... he had shot a pregnant mother... all of us ran quickly out to the higher level. As I was watching the gunman, I noticed he was very familer... he was the same guy who had shot my father and he had gone insane. But why was he at the Performing Arts Center? was he looking for me? Or one of my family members? I knew I had to get out... While up on the higher level, everyone got seperated, so I was standing in the crowd looking for a familer face, then I get grabbed from the waist and I freak shit out. It was only David... he had found me again, so David and I were trying to find a way out of the place but it was like a maze, it was impossible. We were in a low "crevice" with some other people attending the show and then we hear a commotion coming from the hall... and yep, a gunshot. David throws his backpack so that it breaks the window, so that we could get out... The problem is, not everybody could fit through it only smaller people, like me. He told me to go. I didn't want to, he told me to get out now. So I did as I was told. Once out of the building, he told me to catch a boat, so I scramble down the road alone in the dark. Once I get to the boat. I hear some girls talking... they are talking about David and how hot he is. They ask me if I think he's hot, and I'm just like... he's more than that, trust me. Then I board the boat. Then there is no more David, no more life. That same killer strikes my life once again, killing me a little bit on the inside. Yeah my dad got shot in real life.

How do I handle this situation,? I have a coworker whose responsibility it seems is to point out every one of my shortcomings to my boss, and this seems to not be the case for any other employee in my department, I know ive asked around. now these issues are becoming more and more frequent and this coworker is now picking and choosing which and what she wants to send to my boss, its beginning to make me feel very uncomfortable, and as my company has a clause in their employee contract that states you can be fired without cause, im really beginning to feel as though im being singled out. I was told earlier by my boss that this is not to be looked at in a negative light but that just doesn’t sound like an honest answer. Im about ready to let this co worker have much more than my two cents. And as I am scheduled to out on disability in a few days I cant help but think they are plotting to end my employ in a most deceitful manner, when my work performance is good, clients call my boss stating what a wonderful job I am doing, and I don’t see that reflected from the company, Is there any action I can take legal regarding this, but I don’t want torock the boat until I find something else, as this is a extremely small company. And news travels faster than IM I am very tight lipped around here and I really despise how this one coworker who is not higher than me in any way, has this “ability” to point out all my faults constantly. Please someone help

some more bizarre facts? happy reading lol. *According to sales, 17,000 individual 'smarties' are eaten every minute in the UK *The life of an eyelash is about 5 months. *Iceland, Europe's second largest island following Great Britain, boasts of having the world's oldest 'active' parliamentary body, Althing, which first met in 930AD. *The Turkish football club, Galatasaray, has an A for every other letter. *The tongue of a mature Blue Whale has approximately the same mass as that of an entire adult elephant. *The study, which tested telephones, desks, water coolers, doorknobs, and toilet seats, compiled 7,000 samples from major centers across the country. What they found, was that while phones ranked highest in bacteria levels, the office desk was a close second. *In England during World War I, many German names and titles were changed and given more English-sounding names, including the royal family's from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. Kaiser Wilhelm II countered this by jokingly saying that he was off to see a performance of 'The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.' *Both turdoid and turdine mean "belonging to the family turdus," Turdus musicus is the song thrush & Turdus viscivorus is the mistletoe thrush *Nearly a quarter of all mammals can fly; with a huge 985 known species, bats make up 23.1% of all known mammals by species *January is National Soup Month in the United States, January is the seasonal equivalent to July in the Southern Hemisphere; & on Jan 14th, 90% of New Year resolutions will be broken! *You use an average of 43 muscles for a frown and you use an average of 17 muscles for a smile, and they say every two thousand frowns creates one wrinkle *Baby robins eat 14 feet of earthworms in the first 14 nestling days of their life and that is not even their main food on the menu (14 feet a day is wrong) But parent robins make around 100 food visits to the nest every day! *The first man to die during planning & construction of the Hoover Dam was the father of the last man to die during its construction. December 20, 1922 with J.G. Tierney a Bureau of Reclamation employee who was part of a geological survey and drowned when he fell from a barge. Exactly 13 years later, in 1935, his son Patrick W. Tierney, fell to his death from an intake tower. * You will have to walk 80 kilometers for your legs to equal the amount of exercise your eyes get daily *The Chinese used fingerprints as a method of identification back in 700 *Sound travels 15 times faster through steel than it does through the air *A greenfly born on a Tuesday can be a grandparent by Friday *There are more mobile phones in UK than there are people *Termites are affected by music; the termites will eat your house twice as fast if you play them loud music *Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the extreme fear of Friday the 13th *One gallon of used motor oil can ruin approximately one million gallons of fresh water! *Christopher Trace, the first presenter of Blue Peter, was the body double for Charlton Heston in the film Ben-Hur *Thomas Edison got patents for a method of making concrete furniture and a cigar which was supposed to burn forever *A cubic mile of ordinary fog contains less than a gallon of water *If you think of the Milky Way as being the size of the continent of Asia, our solar system would be the size of a penny. *The chicken is the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurus Rex Myth or fact?? *The average driver will be locked out of their car nine times during their life time (yes, men are in the stats) *A Boeing 767 airliner contains 3,100,000 parts * Belief in the existence of vacuums used to be punishable under Church law * Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain *An owl can see a mouse moving from over 150ft away by a light no brighter than candlelight *The average person has walked 100,000 miles by the time they reach the age of 85. *Your hearing is less sharp after eating too much *In the course of a lifetime, the average person spends 2 years on the phone (I bet cell phones/mobiles were not taken into consideration when that fact was worked out!!) * Henry VIII was once served a loin of beef while visiting the house of a noble. He was so impressed with the beef that he asked for a sword and knighted it! Ever since, that particular cut of beef has been known as sirloin. ("Sir Loin").. This is a MYTH *In a lifetime, the average clean-shaven man will spend five months shaving and will remove 28ft of hair. *Beethoven was extremely particular about his coffee , he always counted 60 beans per cup. *In 1943, Navy officer Grace Hopper had to fix a computer glitch caused by a moth, hence the term 'computer bug'. *Jupiter is large enough to contain the other major 7 planets in our solar system. *The water pressure inside every onion cell would be sufficient to explode a steam engine. *Sunglasses were first worn by film stars, not to look mysterious, but to relieve there eyes from the dazzling glare of the early studio lights *If you take any number, double it, add 10, divide by 2, and subtract your original number, the answer will always be 5. *Over a 12 day period your body generates a whole new set of taste buds. (This process continues until you are in your 70's.) *Greyhounds can reach their top speed of 45 mph in just 3 strides *There is more sugar in 1kg of lemons than in 1kg of strawberries. *Paraskevidekatriaphobia, is a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Therapist Dr. Donald Dossey, whose specialty is treating people with irrational fears, coined the term. He claims, when you can pronounce the word you are cured. Friggatriskaidekaphobia has the same meaning. *American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class *Titan arum is probably the world's smelliest flower. Originating in the tropical rain forests of Sumatra, this huge, extremely rare flower is a giant lily. It seldom blooms, but when it does the smell is described as something like the dead carcass of an animal *A Viking tribe once raided England because they had run out of beer *Walt Disney World generates about 120,000 pounds of garbage every day. *Turtles can breath through their bottoms. *Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. *The buzz generated by an electric razor in America is in the key of B flat. In the UK, it is in the key of G. *Some of the most popular lipstick shades in Renaissance England were named, Rat, Horseflesh, Turkey, Blood and Puke. *When Thomas Eddison died in 1941, Henry Ford captured his dying breath in a bottle. *Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" was the first Hollywood film that showed a toilet flushing - thereby generating many complaints. *The first flying-trapeze circus act was performed by Frenchman Jules Leotard at the Circus Napoleon on Nov 12th 1859. He invented the garment now known as the leotard. *In 1972 when Gordon Brown (British Chancellor of the Excheque) was 21, he won a Daily Express competition for "A Vision of Britain In The Year 2000." *It is said, grapefruit scent makes middle age women seem six years younger to men (but it does not work the other way round). *The average elephant produces 50lb of dung a day. *The dinosaur noises in Jurassic Park came from slowing down the sounds of elephants, geese and horses. *The French invented the pop of the Christmas Cracker in the 19th century (Tom Smith bought the idea back to UK after holidaying in France) *The chances of hitting 2 holes-in-one during the same round of golf is one in 8 million *Victorian ladies tried to enlarge their boobs by bathing in strawberries *Until the 18th century, India produced almost all the world's diamonds *The ancient Egyptians thought it was good luck to enter a house left foot first *During their marriage, Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton bought an electric chair for their dining room * The average single man is one inch shorter than the average married man *Lightning strikes about 6,000 times per minute on this planet of which 80% are in-cloud flashes and 20% are cloud-to-ground flashes. *When screen lover Rudolph Valentino married Jean Acker (on Bonfire Day), she locked him out of their bedroom, the marriage lasted only six hours *160 cars can drive side by side on the Monumental Axis in Brazil, the world's widest road. On paper they can, as the road (actually it's an avenue) is 865 feet wide, but in reality they can't. *When a female horse and a male donkey mate, the off-spring is called a mule; but when a male horse and a female donkey mate, the off spring is called a HINNY *On average women speak 7000 words per day, where as men speak just over 2000 *Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair *While in Alcatraz, Al Capone was inmate No.85 *Disney World is bigger than the world's 5 smallest countries *A house fly hums in the middle octave key of F *Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor *In one gram of soil, about ten million bacteria live in it *A single ounce of gold can be beaten into a thin film covering 100 square feet *Before the 1800, there were no separately designed shoes for left and right feet *Paper was invented early in the second century by Chinese eunuch *The first person to receive a singing telegram was singer Rudy Vallee, in honour of his 32nd birthday, July 28th 1933. * The longest one-syllable word in the English language is screeched *In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes when you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase, "Goodnight, sleep tight." *There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball *A 75-year-old male driver received ten traffic tickets, drove on the wrong side of the road four times, committed four hit-and-run offenses and caused six accidents, all within 20 minutes, in McKinney, TX on 15 Oct 1966 [Worst driver: G. B. of Records] *The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards." *Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Shaghoopal *The word "trivia" comes from the Latin "trivium" which is the place where three roads meet. People would gather and talk about all sorts of matters. Also in medieval universities, the trivium comprised the three subjects taught first, grammar, logic, and rhetoric, AND the Roman Goddess, Trivia, is the goddess of crossroads, witchcraft and the harvest moon. *In 1935, the police in Atlantic City, New Jersey, arrested 42 men on the beach. They were cracking down on topless bathing suits worn by men. *During lunch breaks in Carlsbad, New Mexico no couple should engage in a sexual act while parked in their vehicle, unless their car has curtains. *The distance between cities are actually the distances between city halls. When you see a sign "Sheffield - 40 miles" it means it is 40 miles to the city hall of that city sign *The name of Canada is believed to come from the Iroquois Indian word "Kanata", meaning "village" or "community". The word Canada was first used in a 1534 text written by Jacques Cartier describing the Indian village of Stadacona. *The longest non-medical word in the English language is floccipausinihilipilification (29 letters), which means "the act of estimating as worthless." *Dominica, Mexico, Zambia, Kiribati, Fiji and Egypt all have birds on their flags. *Bees visit over 2,000 flowers and fly over 55,000 miles to produce just 1lb. of honey *Four out of every ten people who come to a party in your home will look in your bathroom cabinet *The taboo against whistling backstage comes from the pre-electricity era when a whistle was the signal for the curtains and the scenery to drop. An unexpected whistle could cause an unexpected scene change! *The sound you hear when macho people crack their knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting. *Francis Bacon died of hypothermia while trying to freeze a chicken by stuffing it with snow *Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Star Trek) fish was named Livingston *The WD in WD40 means "water displacement." The 40 in WD40 comes from the 40 attempts at creating this product. *Beethoven dipped his head in cold water before he composed. *Mice, whales, elephants, giraffes and man all have seven neck vertebra. * The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz." *American car horns beep in the tone of F. *The only food cockroaches won't eat are cucumbers. *China has more English speakers than the U.S. *Hong Kong has the world's largest double-decker tram fleet in the world *The words silent and listen have the same letters. Santa and Satan do too *You can tell the sex of a turtle by the sound it makes, A male grunts, A female hisses. *There are no public toilets in Peru. *Samuel Clemens [aka Mark Twain] was born in 1835 when Haley's Comet came into view. When he died in 1910, Haley's Comet came into view again *The pound sign is called a 'octothorp.' *In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, "They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run." On July 20, 1969, a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Gaylord Perry hit his first, and only, home run *"Dreamt" is the only word in the English language to end in "mt." *The Queen termite can live up to 50 years and have 30,000 children every day *The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging," eveything else was allowed. *A Dalmatian is the only dog that can get gout *The male gypsy moth can smell the virgin female up to 1.8 miles away *A male emperor moth can smell a female emperor moth up to 7 miles away *The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet out of the body. *A puff of smoke, such as when someone is smoking a cigarette or a pipe is called " a lunt " *The name "Pinocchio" is from Tuscany, Italy and means "pine nut" or "kernel". *Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy *It was the left shoe that Aschenputtel (Cinderella) lost at the stairway, when the prince tried to follow her. It was originally the right, but the translator messed up again. *Cinderella's slippers were originally made out of fur. The story was changed in the 1600's by a translator. *Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour & if you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee *For 47 days in 1961, the painting "Matisse's Le Bateau (The Boat)" was hanging upside down in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. None of the over 116,000 visitors seem to have noticed. *Walt Disney named Mickey Mouse after Mickey Rooney, whose mother he dated. *Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Animal Kingdom." *The magic word 'Abracadabra' was originally intended for the specific purpose of curing hay fever. *The phrase "rule of thumb" was popularized by an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb top to first joint. (a thumb measurement is an inch) *More redheads are born in Scotland UK than in any other part of the world *The Sanskrit word for 'war' means - "desire for more cows". *The average bed is home to over 5 billion dust mites. *Only female wasps, bees, and mosquitoes sting. *Las Vegas means "The Meadows" in Spanish. *Born on November 2, 1718, British politician, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, is credited with naming the 'sandwich.' He developed a habit of eating beef between slice of toast so he could continue to play cards uninterrupted. *Ice hockey was first played in 1885 by British soldiers stationed in Canada *Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute. *Your fingernails grow 4 times faster than your toe nails *Pain travels faster than 3000 feet per second *A cow produces 200 times more gas a day than a person *About 10,000,000 people have the same birthday as you *The snail mates only once in it's entire life, also a snail has 4 noses *The Coca-Cola company is the biggest consumer of sugar in the world *The dot that appears over the letter "i" is called a tittle. *All major league baseball umpires must wear black underwear while on the job (in case their pants split) *Captain Kirk never said "Beam me up, Scotty," but he did say, "Beam me up, Mr. Scott" *The word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnazein which means to exercise naked *Everyone thought Albert Einstein suffered from dyslexia, because he couldn't speak properly until he was 9 years old. *Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots *The nation of Monaco on the French Riviera, is smaller than Central Park in New York. Monaco is 370 acres and Central Park is 840 acres *Gweneth Paltrow's nickname for Steven Speilberg is "Uncle Morty." Steven Speilberg calls Gweneth Paltrow "Gwynnie the pooh." *You can't kill yourself by holding your breath. *The sorcerer's name in Disney's Fantasia is Yensid, which happens to be Disney backwards. *Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy *The world's longest name is: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Shermasn Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorft Sr. *Shirly Temple received 135,000 presents on her 8th birthday. * When Christopher Columbus and crew landed in the New World they observed the natives using a nose pipe to smoke a strange new herb. The pipe was called a "tabaka" by the locals, hence our word tobacco. *Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day. *The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly. *Hitler and Napoleon both had only one testicle. *Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie. *In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt. *Queen Victoria [UK 1837-1901] eased the discomfort of her monthly cramps by having her doctor supply her with marijuana. *The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night. [usually in our sleep] ~ this is a MYTH *If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough energy is produced to create an atomic bomb *Sugar was first added to chewing gum in 1869 by a dentist (William Semple). One way to assure business!! *The Ramses brand condom is named after the great phaoroh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children. *The names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru: See no evil, Mikazaru: Hear no evil, and Mazaru: Speak no evil. *The Spanish word esposa means "wife." The plural, esposas, means "wives," but also "handcuffs." *23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts. * There was one U.S. state that no longer exists? In 1784 the U.S. had a state called Franklin, named after Benjamin Franklin. But four years later, it was incorporated into Tennessee. *The clinical term for a hairy buttocks is "daysypgal." *A duck's quack doesn't echo, and ... no one knows why.~ MYTH everything echoes. University students have recorded a ducks echo. It is usually so quiet we cannot hear it. *"The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language. ??? Maybe if said fast. *Clans many many years ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them, burnt their houses down - hence the expression " to get fired." !!

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The coon caricature? The coon caricature is one of the most insulting of all anti-Black caricatures. The name itself, an abbreviation of raccoon, is dehumanizing. As with Sambo, the coon was portrayed as a lazy, easily frightened, chronically idle, inarticulate, buffoon. The coon differed from the Sambo in subtle but important ways. Sambo was depicted as a perpetual child, not capable of living as an independent adult. The coon acted childish, but he was an adult; albeit a good-for-little adult. Sambo was portrayed as a loyal and contented servant. Indeed, Sambo was offered as a defense for slavery and segregation. How bad could these institutions have been, asked the racialists, if Blacks were contented, even happy, being servants? The coon, although he often worked as a servant, was not happy with his status. He was, simply, too lazy or too cynical to attempt to change his lowly position. Also, by the 1900s, Sambo was identified with older, docile Blacks who accepted Jim Crow laws and etiquette; whereas coons were increasingly identified with young, urban Blacks who disrespected Whites. Stated differently, the coon was a Sambo gone bad. The prototypical movie coon was Stepin Fetchit, the slow-talking, slow-walking, self-demeaning nitwit. It took his character almost a minute to say: "I'se be catchin' ma feets nah, Boss." Donald Bogle, a cinema historian, lambasted the coon, as played by Stepin Fetchit and others: Before its death, the coon developed into the most blatantly degrading of all black stereotypes. The pure coons emerged as no-account niggers, those unreliable, crazy, lazy, subhuman creatures good for nothing more than eating watermelons, stealing chickens, shooting crap, or butchering the English language.1 The coon caricature was born during American slavery. Slave masters and overseers often described slaves as "slow," "lazy," "wants pushing," "an eye servant," and "trifling."2 The master and the slave operated with different motives: the master desired to obtain from the slave the greatest labor, by any means; the slave desired to do the least labor while avoiding punishment. The slave registered his protest against slavery by running away, and, when that was not possible, by slowing work, doing shoddy work, destroying work tools, and faking illness. Slave masters attributed the slaves' poor work performance to shiftlessness, stupidity, desire for freedom, and genetic deficiencies. The amount of work done by a typical slave depended upon the demands of individual slave owners and their ability to extract labor. Typically, slaves worked from dawn to dusk. They were sometimes granted "leisure time" on Saturday or Sunday evenings; however, this time was spent planting or harvesting their own gardens, washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning. A slave owner wrote: "I always give them half of each Saturday, and often the whole day, at which time...the women do their household work; therefore they are never idle."3 Slave owners complained about the laziness of their workers, but the records show that slaves were often worked hard -- and brutally so. Overseers were routinely paid commissions, which encouraged them to overwork the slaves. On a North Carolina plantation an overseer claimed that he was a "'hole hog man rain or shine," and boasted that the slaves had been worked "like horses." He added, "I'd ruther be dead than be a nigger on one of these big plantations."4 After the closing of the African slave trade, the price of slaves went up, thereby causing some slave owners and their hired overseers to be more careful in their use of slaves. "The time had been," wrote one slave owner, "that the farmer could kill up and wear out one Negro to buy another; but it is not so now. Negroes are too high in proportion to the price of cotton, and it behooves those who own them to make them last as long as possible."5 Slaves are generally associated with the harvest of cotton; however, slaves worked in many industries. Almost every railroad in the ante-bellum South was built in part by slave labor. Slaves worked in sawmills, fisheries, gold mines and salt mines. They were used as deck hands on river boats. There were slave lumberjacks, construction workers, longshoremen, iron workers, even store clerks. Slaves monopolized the domestic services. Some slaves worked as skilled artisans, for example, shoemakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, mechanics, and barbers. These artisans were generally treated better than the slaves in the cotton and tobacco fields; therefore, it is not surprising that the artisans did better work. They included "many ingenious Mechanicks," claimed a White colonial Georgian, "and as far as they have had opportunity of being instructed, have discovered as good abilities, as are usually found among [White] people of our Colony."6 The supporters of slavery claimed that Blacks were a childlike people unequipped for freedom. Proslavers acknowledged that some slave masters were cruel, but they argued that most were benevolent, kind-hearted capitalists who civilized and improved their docile Black wards. From Radical Reconstruction to World War I, there was a national nostalgia for the "good ol' darkies" who loved their masters, and, according to the proslavers, rejected or only reluctantly accepted emancipation. In this context, the conceptualization of the coon was revised. During slavery almost all Blacks, especially men, were sometimes seen as coons, that is, lazy, shiftless, and virtually useless. However, after slavery, the coon caricature was increasingly applied to younger Blacks, especially those who were urban, flamboyant, and contemptuous of Whites. Thomas Nelson Page, a White writer wrote this in 1904: Universally, they [White Southerners] will tell you that while the old-time Negroes were industrious, saving, and when not misled, well-behaved, kindly, respectful, and self-respecting, and while the remnant of them who remain still retain generally these characteristics, the "new issue," for the most part, are lazy, thriftless, intemperate, insolent, dishonest, and without the most rudimentary elements of morality....Universally, they report a general depravity and retrogression of the Negroes at large in sections in which they are left to themselves, closely resembling a reversion to barbarism. 7 At the beginning of the 1900s many Whites supported the implementation of Jim Crow laws and etiquette. They believed that Blacks were genetically, therefore permanently, inferior to Whites. Blacks were, they argued, hedonistic children, irresponsible, and left to their own plans, destined for idleness -- or worse. It was not uncommon for Whites to distinguish between Niggers (Coons and Bucks) and Negroes8 (Toms, Sambos, and Mammies), and they preferred the latter. Racial caricatures are undergirded by stereotypes, and the stereotyping of Blacks as coons continued throughout the 20th Century. The pioneer study of racial and ethnic stereotyping in the United States was conducted in 1933 by Daniel Katz and Kenneth Braley, two social scientists. They questioned 100 Princeton University undergraduates regarding the prevailing stereotypes of racial and ethnic groups. Their research concluded that Blacks were consistently described as "superstitious," "happy-go-lucky," and "lazy." The respondents had these views even though they had little or no contact with Blacks.9 This study was repeated in 1951, and the negative stereotyping of Blacks persisted.10 The Civil Rights Movement improved Whites' attitudes toward Blacks, but a sizeable minority of Whites still hold traditional, racist views of Blacks. An early 1990s study conducted by the National Opinion Research Center found that the majority of the White, Hispanic, and other non-Black respondents displayed negative attitudes towards Blacks. For example, 78 percent said that Blacks were more likely than Whites to "prefer to live off welfare" and "less likely to prefer to be self-supporting." Further, 62 percent said Blacks were more likely to be lazy; 56 percent said Blacks were violence-prone; and 53 percent said that Blacks were less intelligent than Whites.11 Stated differently: the coon caricature is still being applied to Blacks. Martin Gilens, a Yale University political scientist, argued that many White Americans believe that Blacks receive welfare benefits more often than do Whites and that "the centuries old stereotype of blacks as lazy remains credible for a large number of white Americans." He claimed that opposition to welfare programs results from misinformation and racism, with Whites assuming that their tax money is being used to support lazy Blacks. Gilens blames, in part, the media. "Pictures of poor blacks are abundant when poverty coverage is most negative, while pictures of non-blacks dominate the more sympathetic coverage."12 The coon caricature was one of the stock characters among minstrel performers. Minstrel show audiences laughed at the slow-talking fool who avoided work and all adult responsibilities. This transformed the coon into a comic figure, a source of bitter and vulgar comic relief. He was sometimes renamed "Zip Coon" or "Urban Coon." If the minstrel skit had an ante-bellum setting, the coon was portrayed as a free Black; if the skit's setting postdated slavery, he was portrayed as an urban Black. He remained lazy and good-for-little, but the minstrel shows depicted him as a gaudy dressed "Dandy" who "put on airs." Unlike Mammy and Sambo, Coon did not know his place. He thought he was as smart as White people; however, his frequent malapropisms and distorted logic suggested that his attempt to compete intellectually with Whites was pathetic. His use of bastardized English delighted White audiences and reaffirmed the then commonly held beliefs that Blacks were inherently less intelligent. The minstrel coon's goal was leisure, and his leisure was spent strutting, styling, fighting, avoiding real work, eating watermelons, and making a fool of himself. If he was married, his wife dominated him. If he was single, he sought to please the flesh without entanglements. Hollywood films extended the brutalization inherent in the coon image. The first cinematic coon appeared in Wooing and Wedding of a Coon (1905), a stupendously racist portrayal of two dimwitted and stuttering buffoons. Several notable slapstick "coon shorts" were produced in 1910-1911, including How Rastus Got His Turkey (he stole it) and Chicken Thief. In the blackface comedy Coon Town Suffragettes (1914), a group of domineering mammies organize a "movement" to keep their good-for-nothing husbands at home. These early coons laid the foundation for the "great" movie coons of the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1929 Fox film Hearts in Dixie, Chloe is married to Gummy, a "languid, shiftless husband whose 'mysery' in his feet prevents him from being of any earthly good as far as work is concerned, although once away from his wife's eye he can shuffle with the tirelessness and lanky abandon of a jumping jack."13 Chloe dies of swamp fever, and Gummy remarries. The new wife is portrayed as a shrew because she tries to force Gummy to work. This movie was a comedy, and most of the humor centered around Gummy's attempts to avoid work and his coon dialogue, for example, "I ain't askin you is you ain't. I is askin you is you is." The actor who played Gummy was Stepin Fetchit, the "greatest" coon actor of all time. Stepin Fetchit was born Lincoln Theodore Perry on May 30, 1892. A medicine show and vaudeville performer, he arrived in Hollywood in the 1920s. Perry claimed that he got the name Fetchit from a racehorse that won him money. However, he also told an interviewer that he came to Hollywood as a member of a comedy team know as "Step and Fetch It," and later adopted a variant of the name. His first featured movie role using the name Stepin Fetchit was in MGM's In Old Kentucky (1929). Whether as Gummy, Stepin Fetchit, or other names, he essentially performed the same role: the arch-coon. Daniel J. Leab, a cinema historian, said this: Fetchit became identified in the popular imagination as a dialect-speaking, slump-shouldered, slack-jawed character who walked, talked, and apparently thought in slow motion. The Fetchit character overcame this lethargy only when he thought that a ghost or some nameless terror might be present; and then he moved very quickly indeed.14 Fetchit was the embodiment of the nitwit Black man. As with the Zip Coon and Urban Coon, this old-fashioned coon character could never correctly pronounce a multisyllabic word. He was portrayed as a dunce. In Stand Up and Cheer (1934), he was tricked into thinking that a "talking" penguin was really Jimmy Durante. Fetchit, scratching his head, eyes bulging, portrayed the coon so realistically that Whites thought they were seeing a real racial type. His coon portrayal was aided by his appearance. According to Donald Bogle, a film historian: His appearance, too, added to the caricature. He was tall and skinny and always had his head shaved completely bald. He invariably wore clothes that were too large for him and that looked as if they had been passed down from his white master. His grin was always very wide, his teeth very white, his eyes very widened, his feet very large, his walk very slow, his dialect very broken.15 Fetchit's coon characters were racially demeaned and often verbally and even physically abused by White characters. In David Harum (1934) he was traded to Will Rogers along with a horse. He was traded twice more in the movie. In Judge Priest (1934), he was pushed, shoved, and verbally berated by Will Rogers; even worse, his character was barely intelligible, scratched his head in an apelike manner, and followed Rogers around like an adoring pet. In Black communities, Stepin Fetchit remains a synonym for a bowing and scraping Black man. In 1970 he sued CBS unsuccessfully for $3 million, charging defamation of character for the way he was portrayed in the television documentary Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed. "It was Step," he claimed, "who elevated the Negro to the dignity of a Hollywood star. I made the Negro a first-class citizen all over the world...somebody it was all right to associate with. I opened all the theaters."16 That statement is hyperbole; however, Stepin Fetchit was a talented actor who added depth -- albeit, slight -- to the movie coon's portrayal. What is his legacy? He was the first Black actor to receive top billing in movies, and one of the first millionaire Black actors. He spawned imitators, most notably, Willie Best (Sleep 'n Eat) and Mantan Moreland, the scared, wide-eyed manservant of Charlie Chan. In 1978 he was elected to the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. But he will always be remembered as the lazy, barely literate, self-demeaning, White man's Black. He attempted a comeback in the 1950s, but it was unsuccessful; his coon caricature then seemed merely embarrassing. In the late 1960s he converted to the Black Muslim faith. In 1999 Fetchit's name was again in the headlines. Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace included a character named Jar Jar. Critics claimed that Jar Jar, a bumbling dimwitted amphibian-like character, spoke Caribbean-accented pidgin English, and had ears that suggested dreadlocks. Wearing bellbottom pants and vest, Jar Jar looked like the latest in Black cinematic stereotypes. Newspaper editorials and internet chat room discussions repeatedly invoked Stepin Fetchit's name. For example, Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal described Jar Jar as a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen."17 This incident suggests that Fetchit's legacy is to be remembered as a coon caricature: lazy, bewildered, stammering, shuffling, and good-for-little except buffoonery.