Fri Apr 13, 2012, 10:23 PM
onehandle (35,501 posts)
Gun Makes Men Look Taller And Stronger, Air Force Study Shows
Source: Huffington Post
With gun in hand, a man of any size appears bigger, an altered notion that probably occurs at a subconscious level, a new study suggests. The research, funded by the U.S. Air Force, reveals a seemingly simple mechanism that was even in the brains of Neanderthals, and possibly common even to chimpanzees, to measure whether they would win or lose a fight with an aggressor. "There's nothing about the knowledge that gunpowder makes lead bullets fly through the air at damage-causing speeds that should make you think that a gun-bearer is bigger or stronger, yet you do," lead study author Daniel Fessler, an associate professor of anthropology at UCLA, said in a statement. "Danger really does loom large — in our minds." Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/gun-men-weapon-taller-holding-bigger_n_1423190.html Explains a Lot.
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59 replies, 5101 views
| Author | Time | Post | |
| onehandle | Apr 2012 | OP | |
| Cirque du So-What | Apr 2012 | #1 | |
| Major Nikon | Apr 2012 | #13 | |
| sakabatou | Apr 2012 | #19 | |
| LongTomH | Apr 2012 | #51 | |
| razorman | Apr 2012 | #25 | |
| baldguy | Apr 2012 | #38 | |
| fightthegoodfightnow | Apr 2012 | #2 | |
| Union Scribe | Apr 2012 | #18 | |
| fightthegoodfightnow | Apr 2012 | #29 | |
| NutmegYankee | Apr 2012 | #32 | |
| Fumesucker | Apr 2012 | #39 | |
| NutmegYankee | Apr 2012 | #42 | |
| Fumesucker | Apr 2012 | #44 | |
| NutmegYankee | Apr 2012 | #45 | |
| Fumesucker | Apr 2012 | #46 | |
| NutmegYankee | Apr 2012 | #48 | |
| Fumesucker | Apr 2012 | #49 | |
| NutmegYankee | Apr 2012 | #50 | |
| fightthegoodfightnow | Apr 2012 | #55 | |
| NutmegYankee | Apr 2012 | #56 | |
| petronius | Apr 2012 | #3 | |
| Grassy Knoll | Apr 2012 | #4 | |
| petronius | Apr 2012 | #6 | |
| siligut | Apr 2012 | #37 | |
| Namvet67 | Apr 2012 | #20 | |
| Kolesar | Apr 2012 | #23 | |
| Hoyt | Apr 2012 | #33 | |
| TheCowsCameHome | Apr 2012 | #24 | |
| Sancho | Apr 2012 | #47 | |
| bluedigger | Apr 2012 | #5 | |
| xchrom | Apr 2012 | #7 | |
| Rozlee | Apr 2012 | #8 | |
| Atypical Liberal | Apr 2012 | #9 | |
| Tom Ripley | Apr 2012 | #10 | |
| ManiacJoe | Apr 2012 | #12 | |
| onehandle | Apr 2012 | #26 | |
| LAGC | Apr 2012 | #36 | |
| Threedifferentones | Apr 2012 | #54 | |
| PavePusher | Apr 2012 | #57 | |
| fightthegoodfightnow | Apr 2012 | #30 | |
| Hoyt | Apr 2012 | #34 | |
| Fastcars | Apr 2012 | #11 | |
| EFerrari | Apr 2012 | #15 | |
| tavalon | Apr 2012 | #59 | |
| Poll_Blind | Apr 2012 | #14 | |
| petronius | Apr 2012 | #17 | |
| enough | Apr 2012 | #28 | |
| JDPriestly | Apr 2012 | #16 | |
| boomerbust | Apr 2012 | #21 | |
| Becka2515 | Apr 2012 | #31 | |
| DCBob | Apr 2012 | #22 | |
| sofa king | Apr 2012 | #27 | |
| Fumesucker | Apr 2012 | #40 | |
| sofa king | Apr 2012 | #41 | |
| Vidar | Apr 2012 | #35 | |
| onehandle | Apr 2012 | #43 | |
| rusty fender | Apr 2012 | #52 | |
| Honeycombe8 | Apr 2012 | #53 | |
| rocktivity | Apr 2012 | #58 |
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 10:26 PM
Cirque du So-What (8,914 posts)
1. 'Bigger' as in 'taller'
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or in another sense?
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Response to Cirque du So-What (Reply #1)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:10 AM
Major Nikon (9,723 posts)
13. The bigger the gun...
Response to Major Nikon (Reply #13)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 03:29 AM
sakabatou (29,098 posts)
19. Just like "The longer the car..."
Response to Major Nikon (Reply #13)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 12:26 PM
LongTomH (3,999 posts)
51. The shorter the......?
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Response to Cirque du So-What (Reply #1)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 08:29 AM
razorman (1,250 posts)
25. But, a gun actually DOES make me taller and stronger.
Response to razorman (Reply #25)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 11:35 AM
baldguy (30,551 posts)
38. Sorry about your penis.
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 10:29 PM
fightthegoodfightnow (7,042 posts)
2. Supports My Theory About Guns
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Thet're all about the insecurity of men.
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Response to fightthegoodfightnow (Reply #2)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 03:11 AM
Union Scribe (4,724 posts)
18. And women shooters? nt
Response to Union Scribe (Reply #18)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 09:19 AM
fightthegoodfightnow (7,042 posts)
29. What about them?
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They exist......but hardly in the same numbers....
Ask yourself if having a gun is for security, why are there not more women gun owners? Maybe most women are secure that they have no need to be 'taller and stronger.' |
Response to fightthegoodfightnow (Reply #2)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 09:58 AM
NutmegYankee (4,833 posts)
32. Please explain.
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The study indicated that a person with a weapon is perceived as larger, a function of our brains warning us of danger that developed long before firearms existed. Why do you think guns are all about insecurity? And when answering, how is it that rural American culture makes them more insecure?
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Response to NutmegYankee (Reply #32)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:06 PM
Fumesucker (31,602 posts)
39. Who was the most worried about "terrorism" after 9/11?
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Not people in big cities, even NYC, it was the suburban and rural folks who went absolutely nuts over terrorists and terrorism.
I remember during the anthrax mailing terrorism reading a news story of a bakery in a small town, someone found white powder on the floor and the building was evacuated, hazmat team and cops were called, they were terrified it was anthrax White powder in a bakery, who ever imagined you could find such a thing there? |
Response to Fumesucker (Reply #39)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 03:15 PM
NutmegYankee (4,833 posts)
42. I can't say that was my experience.
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We (co-workers/neighbors/me) generally felt safe, figuring that terrorists would attack cities.
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Response to NutmegYankee (Reply #42)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 09:10 PM
Fumesucker (31,602 posts)
44. Which areas are the most paranoid about Muslim terrorists?
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Those that vote Republican or those that vote Democratic?
With some exceptions, like through Alabama for instance the red areas are rural and the blue more urban. ![]() |
Response to Fumesucker (Reply #44)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 10:26 AM
NutmegYankee (4,833 posts)
45. There sure is a lot of purple on that map
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Ironically, if you look at Massachusetts and Vermont, there are bright blue rural areas.
But you didn't prove your correlation. Rural does not equal republican. Also note that many Democrats own firearms. |
Response to NutmegYankee (Reply #45)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 10:47 AM
Fumesucker (31,602 posts)
46. That's why it's called Purple America..
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I even mentioned in the post you replied to that the correlation isn't perfect, the blue band through Alabama for instance is largely comprised of black voters who vote Democratic for the most part. Obama spoke of the political gap between rural and urban in his last campaign and got hammered for accidentally telling the truth. http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2008/04/obama_they_clin.html |
Response to Fumesucker (Reply #46)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 11:31 AM
NutmegYankee (4,833 posts)
48. The culture here is gun friendly -
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Even in Connecticut, which has well known wealthy suburbs to the west, but an often unknown poor rural east. The 2nd Congressional District in the east is a very tight district, having voted Democratic by less than 200 votes in 2006. Many people here own firearms and are members of sportsman clubs. Hunting is big in the region and many people practice shooting rifles and shotguns at the clubs. We are surrounded by turkeys and deer, the food from which has helped feed several local families through the winter. Many including myself own handguns and shoot in competitions, such as knocking down bowling pins or 25 yard target shoots. It's a fun sport to rural folks, a chance to meet others in friendly competition,and we won't give it up. The President was right that we cling to guns - It is something we enjoy that cannot be taken from us, unlike economic security, which has been a horror story.
My frustration is that more urban centered DUers see the need to attack the rural voters and make insinuations that they are "insecure" or are lacking in "size of certain appendages". The crime rate is so low here that many people don't lock their doors at night. We do not live in fear that terrorists will attack us in the night. |
Response to NutmegYankee (Reply #48)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 12:01 PM
Fumesucker (31,602 posts)
49. I'm not exactly urban..
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I'm on a piece of property you would think is rural farmhouse if you just stood in the yard in the summer when the trees are in leaf but we are surrounded by upper middle class McMansion type suburbs.
Some asshole was shooting here at 11:30 pm Friday Night, I'm pretty sure it was from the McMansion area because I know all the rural types on our little patch and none of them would have been that irresponsible. Here's my post where I mention it.. http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002561760#post12 |
Response to Fumesucker (Reply #49)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 12:18 PM
NutmegYankee (4,833 posts)
50. The urban comment wasn't directed at you.
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The original post that started this thread bears the DC flag, and i have been in similar discussions where I was called a republican or stupid because I chose a rural area to live.
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Response to NutmegYankee (Reply #32)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 07:01 PM
fightthegoodfightnow (7,042 posts)
55. Nah
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....perhaps you are right......it's about their brains.
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Response to fightthegoodfightnow (Reply #55)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 07:12 PM
NutmegYankee (4,833 posts)
56. How so?
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 10:29 PM
petronius (19,665 posts)
3. Wouldn't it depend on whether the gun was held
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horizontally or vertically?
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 10:36 PM
Grassy Knoll (4,278 posts)
4. Warning: Object in photo appears to look bigger....
![]() |
Response to Grassy Knoll (Reply #4)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 10:47 PM
petronius (19,665 posts)
6. Hah! The oompa-loompas will never get Violet to the juicing room...
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(Not till the ammo runs out, anyway.)
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Response to petronius (Reply #6)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 10:47 AM
siligut (11,144 posts)
37. So bad and so funny!
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Response to Grassy Knoll (Reply #4)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 07:20 AM
Namvet67 (111 posts)
20. Too funny with that video!!!!!!!!!.....he has a BMI of 23 when he puts the gun down....hahahaha
Response to Grassy Knoll (Reply #4)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 07:53 AM
Kolesar (29,332 posts)
23. If big boy didn't have diabetes, he wouldn't have erectile dysfunction
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On the plus side, he can backstop the recoil from an elephant gun with all that chunk.
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Response to Grassy Knoll (Reply #4)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 08:26 AM
TheCowsCameHome (27,714 posts)
24. Not only taller, but wider, too........
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Response to Grassy Knoll (Reply #4)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 10:53 AM
Sancho (2,399 posts)
47. DUzy fo sho!!
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 10:41 PM
bluedigger (10,580 posts)
5. Well, that's pretty misleading.
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When people look at otherwise similar images of other people holding various items, they classify them according to relative threat, and then conflate that with the size of the person subconciously. Sounds like a normal survival skill that predates our tool using capability to me.
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 11:38 PM
Rozlee (1,373 posts)
8. Guess that only goes for men.
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I'm five foot nothing and when I was in the Army, holding an M-16 or an M-4 that was bigger than me didn't make me look like Xena the Warrior Princess. More like GI Smurfette.
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 11:38 PM
Atypical Liberal (5,412 posts)
9. Probably true for a person holding any kind of weapon.
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I bet stone-age men thought the same thing of men holding rocks. Or spears. Or swords.
A man with a weapon has always seemed larger than life. |
Response to Atypical Liberal (Reply #9)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 11:40 PM
Tom Ripley (2,648 posts)
10. Bingo!
Response to Atypical Liberal (Reply #9)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:03 AM
ManiacJoe (5,581 posts)
12. The study confirmed that too.
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Holding a knife hand the same effect as holding a gun, according to the study.
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Response to ManiacJoe (Reply #12)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 08:48 AM
onehandle (35,501 posts)
26. And yet the 'knife lobby' isn't sweeping hundreds of conservatives into office...
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...as a side effect of obsessions to make one look 'bigger.'
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Response to onehandle (Reply #26)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 10:17 AM
LAGC (4,554 posts)
36. Maybe we should quit giving the "gun lobby" more ammo. (n/t)
Response to onehandle (Reply #26)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 05:37 PM
Threedifferentones (869 posts)
54. You mean the anti-knife lobby isn't pissing off millions of people period?
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Ya, we know...
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Response to onehandle (Reply #26)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 09:28 PM
PavePusher (15,374 posts)
57. Hopefully people like you will not make it neccesary for them to try to do so.
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But if you press the issue...
http://www.kniferights.org/ They are ready and waiting and already active. Good luck. |
Response to Atypical Liberal (Reply #9)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 09:22 AM
fightthegoodfightnow (7,042 posts)
30. Larger than Life?
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LOL
No romancing a gun there! |
Response to Atypical Liberal (Reply #9)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 10:04 AM
Hoyt (12,148 posts)
34. And that's what gun marketers bank on -- they know many gun carriers want to be "larger" than life.
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Fri Apr 13, 2012, 11:52 PM
Fastcars (163 posts)
11. I have noticed
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That dogs will cower when you point a gun (always a toy in my personal experience) at them.
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Response to Fastcars (Reply #11)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:38 AM
EFerrari (163,986 posts)
15. Dogs will cower when you point a finger at them if you do it with enough intention. n/t
Response to EFerrari (Reply #15)
Sat Apr 21, 2012, 11:45 PM
tavalon (25,696 posts)
59. Beat me to it!
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My dog is always sure he's in trouble, unless he's counter surfing, then he's Mr. Oblivious. LOL
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:15 AM
Poll_Blind (23,235 posts)
14. Fuck guns, ya ever see a guy holding a two-handed claymore?
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The dude goes on forever....
PB |
Response to Poll_Blind (Reply #14)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:52 AM
petronius (19,665 posts)
17. Different kind of sword, but you made me go back and reread the first few chapters
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of Snow Crash.
When they gave him the job, they gave him a gun. The Deliverator never deals in cash, but someone might come after him anyway–might want his car, or his cargo. The gun is a tiny, aero-styled, lightweight, the kind of a gun a fashion designer would carry; it fires teensy darts that fly at five times the velocity of an SR-71 spy plane, and when you get done using it, you have to plug it in to the cigarette lighter, because it runs on electricity.
The Deliverator never pulled that gun in anger, or in fear. He pulled it once in Gila Highlands. Some punks in Gila Highlands, a fancy Burbclave, wanted themselves a delivery, and they didn't want to pay for it. Thought they would impress the Deliverator with a baseball bat. The Deliverator took out his gun, centered its laser doo-hickey on that poised Louisville Slugger, fired it. The recoil was immense, as though the weapon had blown up in his hand. The middle third of the baseball bat turned into a column of burning sawdust accelerating in all directions like a bursting star. Punk ended up holding this bat handle with milky smoke pouring out the end. Stupid look on his face. Didn't get nothing but trouble from the Deliverator. Since then the Deliverator has kept the gun in the glove compartment and relied, instead, on a matched set of samurai swords, which have always been his weapon of choice anyhow. The punks in Gila Highlands weren't afraid of the gun, so the Deliverator was forced to use it. But swords need no demonstration. Kind of like your dude with a claymore... |
Response to petronius (Reply #17)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 09:08 AM
enough (6,922 posts)
28. A little Neal Stephenson in the morning -- better than coffee! (nt)
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:48 AM
JDPriestly (37,760 posts)
16. I wonder whether that applies to women also.
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 07:24 AM
boomerbust (2,158 posts)
21. Interesting
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It also adds 2-3 inches to a mans weiner.
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Response to boomerbust (Reply #21)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 09:40 AM
Becka2515 (58 posts)
31. Are you talking
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From personal experience?
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 07:36 AM
DCBob (14,773 posts)
22. It also makes one feel stronger and bigger.
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Its an andrenaline rush to hold and shoot a gun. I guess that one of the reasons many enjoy owning them.
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 08:53 AM
sofa king (8,707 posts)
27. That goes for the guns they're holding, too.
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I've seen rifles designed to shoot through tanks and naval guns that can level a house from twenty miles away, but the biggest gun I ever saw was a Raven .25.
Because it was pointed at my head, of course. |
Response to sofa king (Reply #27)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:08 PM
Fumesucker (31,602 posts)
40. Yep, a 22 barrel looks the size of the Holland Tunnel if it's pointed at you.. n/t
Response to Fumesucker (Reply #40)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:37 PM
sofa king (8,707 posts)
41. Oh yeah.
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I'd have been ticked if I had to two-putt into that barrel from where I was standing.
Another time, this drunk girl grabbed an un-checked .357, pointed it at me, and pulled the trigger four times before putting it to her head and pulling it twice. I can still see the glimmer of the cylinder turning, and hear the click-ping! click-ping! of the action. Ever seen Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, at the end with the four-foot long gun prop? That's what that looked like. ![]() |
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 10:11 AM
Vidar (18,335 posts)
35. That's why I always carry around a sub sandwich. One phallic symobol's as good as another.
Response to Vidar (Reply #35)
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 06:56 PM
onehandle (35,501 posts)
43. I've found that the ladies really love a big, big sandwich on a man. nt
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 02:22 PM
rusty fender (771 posts)
52. But two guns have the opposite effect, i.e.,
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Yosemite Sam.
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Response to onehandle (Original post)
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 03:53 PM
Honeycombe8 (18,012 posts)
53. No one has asked the obvious yet? Does a gun make a WOMAN looker taller & stronger? nt
Response to onehandle (Original post)
Mon Apr 16, 2012, 10:51 AM
rocktivity (36,631 posts)
58. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" Award
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The "To Figure This Out, You Had To Do A Freaking STUDY?" category.
Are they sure they're not confusing with "bigger" with "scarier?" rocktivity |




