Unbagging the Cats 1

Unbagging the Cats 1

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Sound of One Hand Washing

Here are some words of wisdom that I learned at The Pony's middle school academic meet last night. Some of the knowledge imparted was impressive. The kids are math wizards without wands or calculators. They know their parts and participles of speech. The geography of the globe. But when it comes to proverbs, they have a bit of perfecting to do.

The question was, "Finish this sentence: 'One hand washeth...' "

Now, older than the hills am I. No spring chicken. Long in the tooth. It has been suggested that God signed my yearbook. That my social security number is "1". So of course, I was familiar with this expression. "One hand washeth the other, and both, the face."

The first team buzzed in. "One hand washeth...and the other taketh away." A unique take on beginnings and endings, but no match. Try playing that Concentration game some more.

The other team had a chance to steal the point. "One hand washeth...and the other dryeth." Cleanliness is next to point-scoring. Not.

All students seemed surprised by the real answer. Go figure!

6 comments:

stephen Hayes said...

Yes, go figure!

Linda O'Connell said...

Better answers than I'd have received at the inner city middle school I used to be at.

Sioux Roslawski said...

Val--Did you know that according to some cultures, "One hand washeth, and the other eateh," meaning one hand eats out of the communal bowl (without utensils) and the other is used for toileting purposes. That way, when a person had commited a crime, and gets a hand cut off, they're ostracized, because the same hand they toilet with, they also eat with. (Some people are aghast at that idea--cleaning without toilet paper--but the person who told me about this said, "In America we're must less sanitary. Go into a public bathroom and count how many leave without washing their hands."

Go figure.

Val said...

Stephen,
Those kids need to get a little more life under their nonexistent belts.

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Linda,
They did show originality, and a logical though process.

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Sioux,
I knew the first part, because before I met him, Hick worked for year in Saudi Arabia. He told me all about the left hand/right hand culture. But he didn't mention the hand-chopping stigma. Now I'm set if that ever pops up in a trivia contest.

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Being the one who cleaneth the restrooms, I can telleth you that most men washeth no hands ......
Lest you let your imagination runneth wild, this information cometh from the lack of soap and paper towles used ....... not a video or personal witnessing.

Val said...

Kathy,
Well, at least they are saving you money on the paper towels and soap.