Monica Hamburg, who is quite an amusing blogger, often writes about the curious comments she receives on the streets of Vancouver. Today, she wrote about an alcoholic who warned her, “Take laundry seriously!”

On the streets of Vancouver, one often runs into activists, whether they are egg-throwing anti-abortionists, Tibetan-supporting dreadlocked granola munchers, pro-pay increase nurses or brain-hankering zombies. Of course, Monica assumed this was a pro-laundry movement.

However, a commenter suggested a different analysis of the alcoholic’s warning:

Perhaps she was missing a comma. Like, “Take laundry, seriously!” Perhaps you should be stealing people’s undies.

This laundry talks reminds me of a joke that only I, as a quarter-Russian, can tell:

A panty company studied the international underwear habits of women across Europe.

A company rep asked an English woman how often she changed her underwear.

“Why, every day,” she said.

The company rep also asked a French woman how often she changed her underwear.

“Never,” she said. “I don’t wear panties.”

The company rep then sought out a Russian woman to ask her how often she changed her underwear.

“Twelve times,” answered the Russian woman.

“Twelve times?” asked the company rep in amazement.

“Yes, twelve times: January, February, March, April, May….”

My friend David recently published an op-ed piece for the LA Times:

It seems that the LA Times Editorial Dept. was kicking around the idea early last week that an American who had left the country for Canada due in some part to the reelection of Bush in 2004 might have some potentially humorous commentary on the fact that that they now live in a country with a Conservative Prime Minister while the US has since elected a Democratic majority in Congress.

David and his wife Pam moved to Vancouver in July 2005 from Boston. They were the first set of Bush-detesting US immigrants I’ve met and the ones whose adoration of this city put the rest of us locals to shame. Well-educated, cultured and kind, the Druckers have proven to be formidable Scrabble opponents.

David has, not unexpectedly, gotten some flack from the usual suspects, including one nutjob who seemed sane until he typed this sentence: “I believe we need to be confrontational with the Islamicists, and then after we’ve whipped them, help them into the 21st century through access to all kinds of education and technology.”*

David’s article has even been the most emailed on the LA Times website!

David posted the whole article here.

Great job, David!

*I do believe I am one of a very small number of laypersons who reads psychology textbooks for fun; the art of persuasion recommends a very different tactic for bringing people around. Besides, hasn’t this whipping method proven to be a troublesome hydra so far?