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Saturday, December 23, 2006

The Famous FiveIf there's one thing I like on a Friday night, it's an in-depth philosophical debate about one of life's important issues. Lisa and I spent the evening playing Facts in Five, an American game which is considerably older than me (and slightly older than Lisa), which I bought in 1994 when living in Burwell, a village surrounded by American Air Force bases, and therefore by charity shops full of their cast-offs.

We'd been playing for less than ten minutes when this particular debate reared its contentious head. Having been asked to name a board game beginning with 'H', I naturally went for the internationally famous (and uncompromisingly cerebral) Hungry Hungry Hippos, and sat back to bask in the glory of another point earned, welcoming the polite applause of my opponent. Or rather I didn't, because in a testament to the power of pedantry, Lisa refused to accept my answer, on the grounds that it's called 'Hungry Hippos' and not 'Hungry Hungry Hippos'.

I headed for the internet and showed Lisa the above Wikipedia entry, only for her to counter with this page from Amazon. A lot of research and some heated debate later, and it emerged that the original game which was launched in the USA in 1966, and continues to be produced there, is called 'Hungry Hungry Hippos', but for reasons unknown, the hippos lost their appetite en route to Britain, and on this side of the pond they're known simply as 'Hungry Hippos'. That's British restraint for you.

So do I get a point or not? To be honest, I think the debate hinges less on the addition of one extra 'Hungry', and more on the fact that Lisa's got PMT. I wish I'd said Huff and Puff now.

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