Toad Head Serious Helium Debates are televised debates over serious issues, but the participants must wear character heads from The Wind In The Willows and talk in a helium rich environment. This means that the debaters are totally disguised, in both voice and appearance and the viewer can concentrate on the actual substance of the arguments, and not the personality or manner in which they are delivered.-- xenzag, Aug 20 2015 Toad https://s-media-cac...a3594df7e45aa63.jpgAbout to make a point of great merit. [xenzag, Aug 20 2015] Didn't work for Nigel Farage.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 20 2015 // Didn't work for Nigel Farage //
However, it's been an outstanding success for Vladimir Putin ...-- 8th of 7, Aug 21 2015 If Putin did the helium thing would he be known as "Vlad the Inhaler"?-- AusCan531, Aug 21 2015 ^ <cymbal sting>-- 8th of 7, Aug 21 2015 It was the 'Putin in the bubble' images combined with the thought of him encountering the combover clown Trump that started me thinking.....-- xenzag, Aug 21 2015 You know, it's already such a circus I'm not sure any alteration could make it better/funnier/ or more well understood. It's just a damn mess, any way you look at it. Tonight a stadium will be filled with Trumpets. I need a rock to crawl under.-- blissmiss, Aug 21 2015 I want a bobblehead trump which combover bobbles up when the head bobbles down.-- FlyingToaster, Aug 21 2015 This is so toadally baked... in the frog-licking sense.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Aug 21 2015 [bliss], you should move to the UK (but bring warm clothes). Here, we have no significant politics; there are the Tory conservatives, the Labour conservative, the UKIP conservatives and the Green conservatives.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 21 2015 I just may. You wait and see.-- blissmiss, Aug 21 2015 According to the Jewish tradition Moses (Hebrew: Moshe) was a stutterer, had a lisp and also a slow-speech defect. For exactly the same reason. To concentrate on the content and not on the voice or looks of the speaker. This may have been instrumental in the Pharaoh's decline to let the Israelite people go.
Interestingly in the recent elections in Israel, the left's candidate Isaac (Yitzhak Boozhy) Herzog was attacked for and possibly lost votes because of his nasal high pitched voice and horrible uncontrolled body-language on stage.
Moses' speech defects are mentioned in the scriptures:
* When Moses says "Also yesterday, also today, also since you've spoken to me things only got worse for this nation..." which in Hebrew transliterates to "Gum tmol, gum shilshom, gum meaz dabercha elie herra laam haze" - gumggem is to stutter.
* When Moses says "send whoever you send for heavy in mouth and heavy in tongue I am".
* I don't remember the hint for this in the scriptures but there is a Medrash - a fable expanding the text, that tells of Moses as a baby, being tested by the Egyptians, who suspected through magic that this seemingly Egyptian baby was a future Israelite leader, and showed him a plate of gold and a plate of boiling hot coals. He tended to go for the gold but an angel pushed his hand to the coals and he instinctively brought his hand to his mouth. That is how he got his lisp and other speech defects, saving his life at the same time.
There are many words which are repeated in his written speech which would be hard for a stutterer and lisper to say:
* Moses is ordered to go before the Pharaoh and say: So said Jewe: Send my people (known as "let my people go") - in Hebrew it is transliterated Shallahh Eth Aammee. three words, with all the possible pitfalls: The Sh and Th would both be distorted. The guttural hh and aa would be impossible and the 'all' 'amm' would be repeated. th tha thal thal thalah eth eth umm umm umm...
* Moses is ordered to tell the elders: Accounting and accounted-for shall G-d be of you from this. In Hebrew these are two words: Paquod Yifquod Lohim Mizeh. Which would of course be stuttered: Pak Pak Pak Pakkod... (incidentally mentioned in Moby Dick)
Stuttering in fact happens:
* With exactly the words of sending (send my people), in his request "My master, Send it in the hands of whoever you send it" which transliterates: Shlahh Naa Byad Tishlahh.
* When Moses requests the Lord to have mercy on the Israelites (the sons of Israel) he says: Please forgive this nation... in Hebrew transliterated: Sslahh Naa Laam Hazeh... (the Shlahh Naa is replaced with Sslahh Naa)
* When Moses tells in his first speech listed in Deuteronomy about his coming to the people of Israel he begins: And the Gods (singular) told me Accounting and accounted-for shall your Gods be from here - Hebrew: Vayomer Lohim Eleii Paquod Efqoud Ethkhem. (Traditionally, according to another Medrash, this is specifically to show that the receiving of the tablets caused the healing of all defects for the nation).
* During the impeachment attempt by Korah it is said that they were imitating Moses' speech. I'm not sure where this is.-- pashute, Aug 24 2015 random, halfbakery