Ask Jen

Trey wants to know, "So, what are the British doing with those three 0's?"

Well, I'd hate to be Boring Girl, so I'll skip over any tiresome explanations for it. The truth of the matter is, they're using the extra 0s to buy hair mousse for Prince William the Only Royal Family Member People Actually Want to Have Sex With--plus Corgi food. That or it's to do with the exchange rate between dollars and pounds.

Jim who comments and asks a lot of questions and is therefore my favorite Atlanta blogger writes, "Where does the phrase 'in like Flynn' come from?"

Popular thought is that this comes from describing Errol Flynn's powers of seduction; the phrase certainly became linked to him in use in the 40s, but possibly preceded his celebrity status.

Tim asks, "How is it that Daylight Savings Time saves money/fuel? Why don't we just adjust our schedules instead of playing a game with the clock?"

Well, the thing is, Tim...I like sunlight. Sunlight makes me happy. I don't want it to be sunny too early or too late, however, because then I'll miss it. So let's just keep it the way it is, please. (Oh, and sunlight nicely illuminates things like roadways so we don't have to use electric lights as much--which saves electricity.)

Reader Shawna wants to know, "Why does the UN suck so bad?"

Ah, yes. America's new favorite whipping boy. The thing is, the United Nations have always been impotent. It's a design flaw. In June 1945 the UN was chartered, with a General Assembly made up of delegates from each member country as well as a Security Council. The Security Council has eleven members--China, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States were given the five permanent seats. The other six seats are voted on for two-year terms. Any actions the UN take have to be approved unanimously by the five permanent members of the Security Council.

As you can imagine, getting complete agreement with those particular five nations can be a bit tricky. This setup made the UN a place for discussion rather than a real military or diplomatic power.

There's a little more history on the United Nations in the extended entry.

Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up. (Hint: history, trivia, and phrase origin questions tend to get more serious answers. No guarantees, though.)

Following WWII, atomic weapons were a major concern. Shortly after the UN was chartered, there was a proposal to set up an inspection team. This commission would inspect nations with atomic weapons and oversee the weapons' destruction. The Soviet Union vetoed this action with their veto power in the Security Council.

The Cold War was on and a precedent of impotence was set. It wasn't until the first Gulf War that the UN became "useful" once more, and we all know how well that turned out.

Posted by Jennifer at March 26, 2004 08:11 AM