26 February 2006

Pancake Day Is British

Just so you know.

The women of Olney have even been having Pancake Races on Shrove Tuesday since about 1445 and obviously eating the damn things for years before that, as is repeated HERE in a Kansas publication, calling it 'International Pancake Day'. I'm fine with that.

I must admit, however, that I was more than a little gobsmacked to see the latest at Snopes - which says that an American chain are giving away free pancakes on 'National Pancake Day'.

Excuse me? IHOP are getting a bit beyond themselves. That takes some brass bloody neck, I tell you. 'National Pancake Day' doesn't exist. Its like saying 'The World Series' exists, it goes way beyond a superiority complex or even xenophobia to the implication that America is the world.... at least the only world worth knowing about.

Anyway HERE's the link. If you can eat the pancakes and nothing else, then leave, I would like to suggest that everybody goes at least twice a day for the entire duration of the offer and does just that, and taked them for every penny possible. If not, if its a con, a free offer of a tiny amount of flour and milk to get you to pay through the nose for something else - may I politely suggest you boycott them. Whatever you do, do it because they are either bigots or ignorant, in the first place.

Grrrrrrrrrr Ooh the nerve.

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For those in any doubt, this is a sarcastic post.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

I’m not sure I follow your anger on this one Cheryl.

I don’t think that IHOP was trying to express some nationalistic false pride over the pancake, as much as they were displaying their apparent lack of understanding surrounding a certain adjective.

When one reads the IHOP advert, it is clear that there is a blaring misnomer. One can not employ the adjective “national” to a pancake day that “has a rich history that stretches back centuries”; at least not in the United States.

What really troubles me is Snopes’ apparent inability to recognize the fact that national and international are not synonymous.

Scary...really

Cheryl said...

Hugs to you!
You're a really nice fella, but you don't get my sense of humour.

Yes I agree with your last statement entirely, but I am chuckling in disbelief at the enormity of it. Bloody brass necks, haven't they.

This is the second time you have assumed I was angry when I was having a sarcastic dig, so maybe its a communication thing.

jane said...

Pancakes sure do sound good to me right now. Hey, we've got a National holiday for every damn thing under the sun. I'm sure we probably have a National Belly Button Lint Day. If not, then I'm submitting that we do have one!
I may just go there & have some pancakes...though it does say a short stack, which I think is 2.

Cheryl said...

So after all that the offer is of next to nothing? Yet it made it to snopes as a 'wow can it really be true' type thing?
Typical!
We don't stack out pancakes here because we don't put raising agent in them - just pour them out to be about 8" diameter (width of a good heavy pan), sprinkle with whatever and roll them up like little carpets.
Best eaten off a warm, oval steak plate so the outer ones don't have bits hanging off the plate. :-)

Cheryl said...

Jane, it just gobsmacks me that in a nation where you can't say 'Happy Christmas' in the mall in December for fear of offence, theres no problem with co-opting and claiming other people's history. Its a mad world.

Jennifer said...

We can't say Merry Christmas at the mall in December, and it only stands to reason that we can have a National Pancake Day. Are you blind? It's all about losing our religion, which given the current state of world affairs is the only reasonable thing to do!

Fat Tuesday in Michigan is typically celebrated with Paczki, by the way. They're the most hideous jelly-filled pastry imaginable. Seriously, hell on the pancreas, and another good reason to denounce organized religion.

Oh, you're delightful when you're a smartass, Cheryl.

Cheryl said...

ROFL Zilla!
No I don't get it. Losing your religion would involve failing to observe Shrove Tuesday at all, by sneakily encouraging American people to eat pancakes all the time.
Oh. Oops.

Unknown said...

...and all this time I thought you hated us Yanks. Why did you have to go and ruin it for me?

ella m. said...

I do eat pancakes all the time, which I guess fits with the two of you's logic as being truely religionless :D


A lovely snarky (my very favorite kind) post, with also entertaining comments.

Cheryl said...

Well ladies!
If we're snarky enough for the Queen of Snark we are getting somewhere!
No holds barred (and several encouraged) at Ella's......
Thanks, E!

ella m. said...

No, thank you Cheryl..... because the last time I was called anything involving the word queen it was a rather unkind reference to my being forced to wear a ~involuntary shudder~ "feminine" outfit. :D

All jokes aside that's high praise from someone who writes like you do.....especially since I consider my unrelenting snark an outgrowth of my rather unfortunate character flaw of lacking the ability for internal monologue (whatever pops into my head comes right out of my mouth, no matter how evil or innappropriate)

Cheryl said...

Sorry Ella!
This is Britain
Our Queens are traditionally more into inspecting armies these days, but previously: running armies, going to war with armies, having individuals sent to the Tower, maintaining rule in the face of a bunch of slimy chauvenist pigs etc.
Boadicea had some nice chariot accessories I beleive.

Sorry - forgot about the Disney sugar-coating influence in the US. Certainly didn't mean it that way!