"These are called 'saracen olives'," I said. "After the North African pirates who terrorized the Mediterranean in the sixteenth century under their leader Khair-ed-Din, called 'Barbarossa'--the original 'Red Beard'."
"I thought the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I was the original 'Barbarossa'," said the twelve-year-old.
"Is this topic of general interest?" said the nine year old.
"I didn't know they had olive pitters in the sixteenth century," said Ann Marie. "Let me guess. These were the only olives at the olive bar that were pitted, right?"
"Right."
"And the different kinds of olive were all the same price, right?"
"Right. I don't mind paying nine dollars a pound for olives, if they are good enough. But I draw the line at paying nine dollars a pound for olive pits..."
"I did not mean to imply that being an economist is a bad thing... "
When was the olive pitter invented? By whom? And where?
Posted by DeLong at September 19, 2002 07:11 PM | Trackback'Is this topic of general interest?'
Your 9-year old is a genius, Brad. I knew very few college students who phrased things in this manner.
Posted by: Jason McCullough on September 20, 2002 11:47 PMThere's an old joke about this.
"A moron was eating a bag of olives. A passerby noticed that he was eating them pits and all, and asked him why. He said "I paid a dollar a pound for these olives, and I can't afford to throw anything away."
How old is this joke? It's from a book translated (by Budge) as "Laughable Stories" by Gregory Abu Faraj Bar Hebraeus, a Jacobite (Monophysite) Christian bishop who flourished in Mongol-ruled Persia around 1300 A.D.
I like your family...
Posted by: Martin Wisse on September 24, 2002 08:28 AMThere are more than a few fans of Myrna Loy among college students, which would get them there eventually.
Susan Strasser probably knows when the olive pitter was invented (or, at least, when it was introduced to the West).
Posted by: clew on October 3, 2002 01:57 AM