I need to ask ... is there some British joke about Belgium? From Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe, and Everything: "Just showbiz talk," shrugged the girl. "He's just won an award at the Annual Ursa Minor Alpha Recreational Illusions Institute Awards Ceremony, and was hoping to be able to pass it off lightly, only you didn't mention it, so he couldn't." "Oh," said Arthur, "oh, well I'm sorry I didn't. What was it for?" "The Most Gratuitous Use Of The Word `Fuck' In A Serious Screenplay. It's very prestigious." "I see," said Arthur, "yes, and what do you get for that?" "A Rory. It's just a small silver thing set on a large black base. What did you say?" "I didn't say anything. I was just about to ask what the silver ..." "Oh, I thought you said `wop'." "Said what?" "Wop." (via PJP Memorial Computer) Apparently, for fear of offending us, the American release changed the phrase to, "The Most Gratuitous Use of the Word 'Belgium' In a Serious Screenplay". And, frankly, I find it funnier that way. The joke becomes even more absurd. But I never thought much about why Belgium? And then, this morning, I accidentally encountered the Belgian Farting Pig. My first thought, of course, was, "What the hell is wrong with these people?" Mind you, the pig might be old news by now, but until this week I've been deprived of a regular internet connection for over a year. So in whatever network time I could scrounge, I must admit that "Belgian Farting Pig" were about the last three words that ever would have occurred to me to combine for a Google search. After I recovered from the spectacle, I paused to wonder if maybe there was some reason Adams chose the word "Belgium". But, yeah. Apparently, this pig is children's fare. Americans are such philistines. We never got stuff like this as kids.
What, you mean you even get censored versions of Douglas Adams? If the change was made by a USA'ian with no knowledge of us here in the UK, it was probably done more by stupidity than anything else. If it was changed by someone with full knowledge of British culture, you might think they were trying to shoehorn a joke in there somewhere. You see, here in the UK it has been a standing joke for years that the only famous Belgian was Hercule Poirot, from Agatha Christies books. The joke presumably being that Belgium is such a small, inconsequential place that actually mentioning it is something out of the ordinary.
Ah. I see. So ... the farting pig is still inexplicable? Thank ye for the insight. On Edit: If you check into the alt.fan.douglas-adams FAQ, section E.4 details the change. (We actually got more text as a result, as I understand it.) Just click the link and use your browser find to search for "Belgium", if you're so inclined.
Please to remember that Douglas Adams began his hitch-hiking on British radio (which I listened to). Later came the books (which I have not read). On the radio, "Belgium" was used as a swear-word. "Fuck" would not have been acceptable on the British airwaves in those days. I believe Adams was an opponent of the Belgian Empire (otherwise known as the European Community).
Ahhh, that would explain it then. Its a while since I have seen the radio scripts. On the other hand, the Belgian empire included bits of Africa and large scale genocide. The EC is certainly not the Belgian Empire.
Margaret Thatcher was known, among her staff (including my cousin David Willetts), to refer to the EC as the Belgian Empire. I borrowed. I believe the good lady herself also tended to use the word "Belgium" in preference to "Fuck". Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
People on the American side of the Pond tend to view Thatcher as either a godsend to the English people or else a cheap Reagan knockoff. However, as an American, my most enduring notion of Thatcher is Roger Waters' "Southhampton Dock". When we went to Iraq, the melody played over and over in my head: "Georgie, what have ye done?" Given all that-- --doesn't surprise me as much as it amuses the hell out of me.
belgian just sounds funny imo. like in austin powers, dr. evil's parents were belgians. random enough to be funny.
