Author Archives: Kelly Mettler

Prank – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Primary Language: English

For this prank to work, you need one very gullible person. It also helps if you have several people around who are quick on the uptake. Everyone should be seated at a table—preferably at a social gathering where there are objects such as salt, pepper, and butter on the table. The person performing the prank turns to the gullible person and says, “Did you know that butter lets off heat?” At first, the gullible person is pretty doubtful of this phenomenon, but the other people around the table will feed off of what the prankster is saying, ad libbing comments like, “Oh yeah, I’ve felt it before! It’s really weird. You know, I think margarine actually works better for this than butter…etc.” Eventually, the gullible person concedes and places their hand over the top of some butter, attempting to feel heat radiating from it. The prankster tells the gullible person that their hand needs to be just a little bit closer to the butter. When the prankster has hold of their hand, pretending to move it gradually downwards in order to feel the imaginary heat coming from the butter, the prankster smashes the victim’s hand into the butter, and everyone at the table laughs at how gullible the person was, and how ridiculous the claim had been: butter does not emit heat.

Sam picked up on this sometime during high school. I actually got the chance to see him perform this at a church gathering—I could kind of see it coming, and it was really funny when the girl had her hand covered in butter. I was also able to witness his brother perform this prank on three different people while on a school trip in France.

I recall hearing another version of this prank, although it is very similar. Rather than telling a person that butter alone emits heat, the prankster tells the gullible person that putting salt on butter results in an exothermic reaction, releasing heat that you can feel with your hand. I think this version would work especially well if the prankster is someone who is known as being good at science (specifically, chemistry). This way, the victim and the onlookers have reason to believe his claim. However, Sam was able to make this prank work without the inclusion of any “extra ingredients.”

A major factor of this prank is peer pressure. Especially if the prankster is able to get the onlookers to join in and make the claim that butter emits heat more plausible, the victim will feel more compelled to try it so that he or she isn’t viewed as “weak” or even distrustful by the rest of the group. Trust is important in this prank. The victim must trust the prankster enough to believe that he or she will not be made a fool by believing that butter emits heat; what the victim doesn’t know is that she or he will certainly not be made a fool by believing or disbelieving that butter emits heat—the victim becomes a fool when she physically trusts the prankster to adjust his or her hand positioning above the butter dish. Essentially, two kinds of trust are evident in this prank: mental and physical. The framework of the prank involves building up both of these trusts, then breaking them. Mentally, the prankster gets the victim to believe that butter does let off heat. Physically, the victim must trust the prankster when he or she guides their hand so that it is in the “optimum” position for feeling the heat from the butter. By the end of the prank, the victim knows that butter does not emit heat, and the victim’s physical trust is (at least temporarily) broken with the prankster.

Proverb – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: January 30, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.

I first came across this in a school yearbook during high school—someone had written it down, and I thought it was clever. I have not yet been able to use this statement in everyday conversation, but I’ve kept it tucked in the back of my mind.

When I initially saw this proverb, I thought it was funny. Eagles usually have a positive connotation as somewhat righteous creatures, while weasels are recognized as the exact opposite, lying and cheating to get themselves ahead. These ideas are largely propagated through fables, and also through the national identity of U.S. citizens. The eagle is a national symbol, making its way onto the Seal of the United States, effectively displaying a positive image (at least, in this country).

In this proverb, the eagle presents itself as a noble creature, especially due to the word choice with respect to “soar.” The eagle is presented someone grandly in the first part of the statement, but this comes to a screeching halt once the second part of the statement is examined. To me, this proverb seems to say that while being noble is nice, it won’t necessarily get you ahead. Rather than possessing desirable traits that are characteristic of the American connotation of the eagle, behaving more like a weasel might ensure you success in the long run. Instead of being sucked into a jet engine and suffering a painful (but probably brief) death, the weasel will presumably meet a happier end.

Taken further, this proverb might be saying that a person’s great achievements might also be his or her downfall. Instead of merely being “noble” or “righteous,” a person’s actions might be their downfall. In real life, it would be in the act of soaring (flying) that an eagle would get sucked into a jet engine. If the eagle was just standing on a tree limb or sitting in a nest, then the likelihood of being sucked into a jet engine goes down significantly. By being in the air and flying around, the eagle is far more susceptible to being a victim of an airplane accident.

In terms of the weasel, this proverb appears to be saying that lying, cheating, and trickery—that is, stereotypical characteristics of a weasel—may be better in the long run. At first, this idea may be surprising…wouldn’t it be better to be a respectable eagle? However, American culture continues to show that in order to get ahead, you may need to abandon being an honest person. One example of this that comes to mind happened a few months ago in December 2007. A six-year-old girl wrote an essay for a contest: the grand prize was a pair of tickets to a Hannah Montana concert (Hannah Montana is a wildly popular singer/actress among children and young teenagers). Her essay about her father who served and died in Iraq was a very touching story, and she won the contest. Later, the media discovered that the girl had been lying. Because she was caught, the prize was taken away from her; however, if she had managed to keep the truth of her story under wraps, she would have reaped the reward for her efforts as a “weasel.”

Proverb – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: January 31, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: French

The early bird catches the worm, but the late worm doesn’t get caught.

I honestly have no idea where I first heard this statement. Nor do I remember when I first heard it, but if I had to guess, I suppose I probably heard it sometime during middle school or early high school. I thought it was an interesting twist on the more popular version, “The early bird catches the worm,” and it just stuck with me. The more widely recognized version places value on being on time or early. More deeply, it places value on being able to prioritize and get things done so that you don’t have to miss anything. Always be ready to go, ready for action. The popular phrase is often used in an effort to encourage someone to hurry with a task so that he or she can move on to the next one, and avoid missing out on future opportunities.

If we examine the statement above, we can note that two different ideas are being expressed: one from the worm’s perspective, and one from the bird’s perspective. For the worm, being “late” means learning from others’ mistakes. That is, let someone else go first and fail (be eaten, in this case), and hopefully their mistakes will indicate what is necessary to succeed. For the bird, one could say that the lesson is that good things come for those who wait. Perhaps the late worm would have been more delicious and satisfying; however, since the bird acted so quickly and caught a worm right away, the bird was unable to have the choice worm because it had already eaten. If the bird had not been so early, it might have been able to scope out its options a bit more and select a more delicious worm.

The first time I heard this phrase, I think it was as a response to the proverb “The early bird catches the worm.” Rather than putting a positive emphasis on being early, the phrase is turned on its head, and the worm benefits instead of the bird, being late instead of early. When I discussed this proverb with a friend, he told me that lazy people probably came up with the second half, that “the late worm doesn’t get caught.” This phrase would benefit lazy people—rather than being a proactive bird who surely catches a worm, they are able to remain an inactive worm who is “late” but doesn’t get caught.

Proverb – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 49
Occupation: Piano Teacher, Staff Assistant
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: April 21, 2008
Primary Language: English

The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Tracy Mettler states: “I’m not sure exactly when I first heard this phrase. It seems like I was reminded of these words when I was learning to assert myself and get answers and problems solved on my own—maybe 12 to 13 years old. This phrase basically means keep pursuing the answer until your problems are solved.”

Here, the tone of the proverb is positive, a kind of comment about the value of perseverance. However, when my mother first told this proverb to me, it had a negative connotation. Throughout high school, I participated in cheerleading. Certain members of my squad were sort of obnoxious, and their technique wasn’t very good. These were the girls who got the most feedback from the coach. Here, I encountered two different kinds of “squeaky wheels.” First, the kinds who are obnoxious, loud, and whiny, begging for attention and “grease.” Second, the kinds who stick out for their ineptitude and thus need “grease” to function properly and do well. When I complained to Mom about my situation, that the other cheerleaders were getting more attention from the coach, she told me this proverb. Before hearing the proverb, I was concerned that the coach didn’t like me (who knows, maybe she really didn’t). After listening to what my mom said, I decided that it made sense that the “squeaky wheels”—the annoying ones—were given more attention from the coach.

This quote is interesting because it is a good display of the American worldview, where standing out from the crowd is a good thing. Standing out from the other wheels, even if it’s because you’re squeaky, will grant you grease, a great reward. This proverb is stating that being unique and standing out will get you special, better treatment.

Hacker, Carol A. The High Cost of Low Morale…and What to Do About It. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1997.

Page 193, describes how this proverb can relate to individuals in the workplace.

Simile – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 49
Occupation: Piano Teacher, Staff Assistant
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: April 21, 2008
Primary Language: English

Happy as a clam at high tide!

Tracy Mettler states: “I may have first heard this phrase when talking to my mom. We were probably talking about somebody else’s disposition. Instead of just saying that person was so happy or excited [this phrase] seemed to be fitting of their mood. All the clam digging enthusiasts look for indications of a low tide so they can dig their limit of clams. This means that when it’s a high tide, the clams are “happy” that they won’t be dug up and taken to a boiling water bath to eventually be eaten!”

Just as my mother recalls first hearing this from her mother, I think I remember first hearing this phrase from my grandmother as well. Personally, I don’t use this phrase very often. If I do, it’s somewhat jokingly just because it sounds kind of silly. Plus, not everyone will understand what it means for a clam when it’s “high tide.” I do recall hearing my grandmother omit the “at high tide” portion of the phrase from time to time.

Many people have heard the simile “happy as a clam,” but few have heard the latter portion, “at high tide” (according to an informal poll during class). For people unfamiliar with the process of clam digging, the inclusion of “at high tide” has no significance, and if anything makes the phrase a bit confusing due to the lack of meaning. Having the qualifier “at high tide” helps to provide an explanation as to why a clam would be happy. Otherwise, we as humans have no ability to ascertain how a clam would be able to experience happiness. Since high tide keeps the clam from being dug up and eaten, a clam would surely be happy during this tidal situation, if clams could feel emotion.

If we really look into this idea of “high tide” as being a reason for the clam’s alleged happiness, does the simile suggest that the clams are happy as a result of having survived a clam digging expedition? Basically, does this added thought of survival change the meaning of the simile at all? Does it imply that the simile should only be used when referring to a person experiencing relief at having avoided a difficult, potentially dangerous, situation? Generally, when I’ve heard this simile, there hasn’t been any deep thought put into its use, in terms of a person having survived a difficult situation. Mainly, it’s the “happy as a clam” portion that’s important, and the “at high tide” is just thrown in, somewhat as an afterthought.