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The Straight Story

(48,121 posts) Thu Mar 28, 2013, 01:51 PM Mar 2013

English school (briefly) bans triangular desserts, citing food-fight shuriken risks

Castle View School in Canvey Island, Essex, England, briefly banned triangular flapjacks (not pancakes; the English call granola-bar-like food "flapjacks&quot after a student sustained an injury when another student threw a cornersome flapjack at him. The school authorities required that all flapjacks must be served in rectangular portions, to increase the safety of food-fights.

The ban did not stand very long. Public mockery seems to have killed it.

According to one report, in 2011 British MP and Education Secretary Michael Gove was prevented from taking flapjacks into a cabinet meeting, after officials cited similar safety concerns. That is the only report of that alleged incident, however—although Gove was (and is) the Education Secretary, there does not appear to be any other evidence that he was ever frisked for flapjacks or that even the British government has actually classified them as a security risk.

http://boingboing.net/2013/03/27/english-school-briefly-bans.html

9 replies

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Highlight:

English school (briefly) bans triangular desserts, citing food-fight shuriken risks (Original Post) The Straight Story Mar 2013 OP

Playing ninja assassin with their food pscot Mar 2013 #1

Dummies sharp_stick Mar 2013 #2

From now on they will serve only spongy, sphereical food Orrex Mar 2013 #5

Duhhhh.... pipi_k Mar 2013 #3

"Can you over-react with knee-jerk hyperprotective nanny-ism?" Orrex Mar 2013 #4

Granola bars are really only effective as a weapon within ten feet or so. Buns_of_Fire Mar 2013 #6

The only thing that stops a bad kid with a granola bar is a good kid... NightWatcher Mar 2013 #7

Precisely Sherman A1 Mar 2013 #8

Some school administrator is having a dumbass attack. backscatter712 Mar 2013 #9

pscot

(21,024 posts)

1. Playing ninja assassin with their food

Reply to The Straight Story (Original post)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 01:56 PM

Mar 2013

Very creative in an anti-social sort of way.

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)

2. Dummies

Reply to The Straight Story (Original post)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:03 PM

Mar 2013

didn't they realize they were just making it worse.

Squares have four corners instead of the triangular three making it an extra deadly flapjack.

Orrex

(63,173 posts)

5. From now on they will serve only spongy, sphereical food

Reply to sharp_stick (Reply #2)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:06 PM

Mar 2013

And it must be eaten whole, to minimize the possibility of dangerous edges when bitten.

pipi_k

(21,020 posts)

3. Duhhhh....

Reply to The Straight Story (Original post)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:04 PM

Mar 2013

I wonder if they realized that even rectangles have corners.

In all the food fights my sisters and I ever had, we always formed our weapons into the shape of circles or balls.

And really, the fights were way more fun when the food we used was soft and mushy and splattered on contact.

Like mashed potatoes. Or tuna fish with mayonnaise.

Orrex

(63,173 posts)

4. "Can you over-react with knee-jerk hyperprotective nanny-ism?"

Reply to The Straight Story (Original post)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:05 PM

Mar 2013

"Shuriken!"

Buns_of_Fire

(17,159 posts)

6. Granola bars are really only effective as a weapon within ten feet or so.

Reply to The Straight Story (Original post)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:21 PM

Mar 2013

Outside of ten feet, I always rely on a hard-boiled egg. Never failed me yet.

NightWatcher

(39,343 posts)

7. The only thing that stops a bad kid with a granola bar is a good kid...

Reply to The Straight Story (Original post)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:34 PM

Mar 2013

with a granola bar...or a healthy appetite.

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)

8. Precisely

Reply to NightWatcher (Reply #7)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:36 PM

Mar 2013

backscatter712

(26,355 posts)

9. Some school administrator is having a dumbass attack.

Reply to The Straight Story (Original post)

Thu Mar 28, 2013, 02:38 PM

Mar 2013

Instead of say increasing the level of supervision in the lunchroom, or cracking down on kids who throw food, he seems to think that cutting flapjacks into squares instead of triangles will somehow improve things.

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