Dad stories"Do anything good for your birthday?" one of your friendly B3TA moderator team asked in one of those father/son phone calls that last two minutes. "Yep," he said, "Your mum." Tell us about dads, lack of dad and being a dad.
Suggested by bROKEN aRROW
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Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 25 Nov 2010, 11:50)
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A Vagabond's post triggered a flashback...www.b3ta.com/questions/dad/post991018
...to my Dad teaching my brother and I the principle of 'grasping the nettle'. In which you firmly and assertively grip the stem of the nettle, thereby squashing the stinging hairs and enabling you to hold the thing with impunity.
Science bit dealt with, Dad approached the nettle, manfully extended his right arm, and clutched the nettle. Now clearly, in front of his two boys, and imparting a valuable life lesson, nothing was going to go against the plan.
A slight clenching of the jaw and , in a slightly strained voice, "there. See. Nothing to it. Now why don't you two run off and find where the dog's gone". Dashed off to find the dog, and glanced back just in time to see him desperately casting about for a dock leaf, nursing a clearly quite badly stung hand, uttering words which, even under his breath, I identified as being those which we shouldn't admit to knowing at that age.
Life lesson learned - don't try and grasp nettles. There's very little point. Either leave well alone, or take a strimmer to the bastards.
I think I was about 30 by the time I admitted to having seen that. He remembered the incident very clearly, and was gutted, even the best part of two decades later, when he realised I'd busted him.
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barryheadwound Mul-ti-pass? Multipass!, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 12:42,
9 replies)
Don't you have to grasp them in an upwards direction?(
Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 12:43,
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Yep.The chemical weapon bit is contained in hair-like structures, so if you follow the direction in which they lie - away from the ground, toward the leaf-tip - you stand less of a chance of bursting them.
Just going and grabbing them looks like an invitation to stings.
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Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 12:48,
closed)
Whoops! Inadvertently clicked I like this to your response Enzyme!The actual theory of it is of little relevance to me, since no way am I going to make the same mistake of trying to show that to my kids!!
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barryheadwound Mul-ti-pass? Multipass!, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 13:45,
closed)
Oh, well - that makes it OK, then.I might still be at the bash on Saturday, btw: if the snow looks horrid, I'm not going to risk the journey to Lincs. Hurrah!
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Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 14:29,
closed)
In reality nettle stings don't hurt that much.I think everybody should just mtfu.
(, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 14:50, closed)
I agree.I lost a leg in Iraq. Didn't hurt - couple of paracetamol and it grew back.
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Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 15:50,
closed)
I doubt there is any safe way of grasping a nettleIts covered in stingy bits. Who would actually think there is a surefire way of grasping them or care enough to try? Wear gloves.
The whole point of the "grasping the nettle" figure of speech is you know you're going to get hurt tacking some problem but you do it anyway even with that foreknowledge.
(, Wed 1 Dec 2010, 19:21, closed)
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