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LOL. That reminds me of when, some years back now, Stuart and I were planning a touring trip to the US.

We had out the map and I'd be going, "Oh, look, that's interesting; we can visit that in the morning and then go here in the afternoon and..." And Stuart would be looking at me askance and going, "Do you know how many miles there are between those two places?" And I'd be going, "But, look, they're right next to each other!"

Yes, geography and map reading were never my forte, it has to be said. I think if it had been left to me we'd have had three months of travel crammed into a week.

LabRat

Now here's a post that's on topic.

In 'Virtually Destroyed,' during Clark and Lois's conversation in the virtual reality where he reveals that he's a 'v- v- very patient man,' Lois implies (she does not state) that she's had several intimate relationships with men. She doesn't name names in this episode, but if we accept her dating history (Paul in college, Patrick of the Irish eyes, and Claude the story thief), it seems that she has indeed had several intimate experiences. She also didn't hint to Clark that Claude, her most recent 'close' boyfriend before the Kansas Hayseed, was her first intimate boyfriend. I think it would be reasonable to surmise that Lois has quite a checkered history prior to Clark.

But, as MLT has said so well, we can each write our stories the way we want them to be, because my observations above are not absolute fact. If an author decides that Claude the clod was her first, I certainly don't have a problem with that. And you won't get any argument from me on the subject.

Yes, I read that one, too. And I think that there is some wisdom in it.

And I was led to believe that many Americans spoke one foreign language or other, most commonly Spanish...

I have to agree with Terry. Lois's conversation where they discussed Clark's virginity and her lack thereof was specifically about her sexual history. It was strongly implied (at the least) that Lois had been physically intimate with several men; whether or not every federal disaster involved sex is up for debate. The thrust of her conversation was that every physical relationship she'd ever had was a federal disaster.

I'm not so sure that she had sex with the Irish guy. Is there any evidence for that? She was 17 at the time, and if she was calling Paul her first crush, it sort of implies no previous crushes. That implies no sex before college, as Lois doesn't seem to be the sort to have sex without at least romanitc feelings...

I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading all of your comments and responses. I hate to admit, but I'm am just not that good at keeping track of all the particulars. I'm am certainly not the expert. Thanks for all the cooking references! I stand corrected. I think all that we can be certain of is that Lois had previous sexual experience, we don't have a list. It's up to interpretation.

Are there any other things that are considered canon by fan fiction authors that have no basis in the show? I think this is a fascinating topic.

Rhea

Rhea, yes there's lots... it even has a name, FoLClore, here's at least one of the discussions that we've had about it before: FoLClore

I find it really fascinating as well. I'm always amazed at how little things in the show, or ideas from other versions of Superman, and even from completely outside the fandom, can grow into something else in the hands of authors.

Helga

Olympe wrote:
Many Americans do speak a second language if you're just counting noses, but the percentage of US citizens who speak something other than English is low compared to most European countries.

Many US citizens feel this way about it. (please forgive tne incorrect punctuation)

A Swiss citizen rents a car in New York and can't find his way around. Knowing that New York is famed for being a cosmopolitan, multi-cultural center, he spots two men in business suits standing beside the street and pulls over, rolls down his window, and calls out, "Se habla Espanol?"

They stare back blankly.

"Parla Italiano?"

More staring.

"Sprechenze Deutche?"

Still more blankness.

"Parlez-vous Francais?"

More stares, even blanker than before.

In disgust, the Swiss citizen rolls up his car window and speeds away. One American says, "You know, maybe we ought to learn another language."

"What for?" asks the second man. "That guy knew four languages and it didn't do him a bit of good."

It does say in the pilot that she slept with Claude. Clark asks her if she broke the no sleeping with co-workers rule, and she tells him about Claude.

Good one, Terry. It is true that a large portion of "blue collar" Americans are somewhat against foreign influence, whether it be languages, culture, etc.

Just a quick thank you to Helga for posting that link. I hadn't read that discussion before and it is quite interesting.

Thanks again!

Rhea

I think speaking one language is enough for some US citizens, because almost everyone with another native language has learned English in school. When you know that where ever you will go, someone will understand you then why should you bother with other languages? I mean, I guess I wouldn't have tried to learn German if my parents hadn't been so kind to teach me how to speak that.

And the fact that there are more people in Europe speaking foreign languages does not necessarily mean anything. English speaking people who visit Germany often address you in English. And I've heard that a lot people in France don't like it too much when you don't ask them in French if you want to know something. (That rumor might be wrong though. I've never been to France.)

Which is funny for a "nation of immigrants"

It's true, though. I think the reasoning behind that one is, "We left the old country for a *reason* and don't want all that old stuff dragged over here to follow us." Which can be unfair at times, but nobody's perfect.

The ethnic history of America is something I've found fascinating. If anyone's interested, there's a really good essay by Walter Russell Mead -- The Jacksonian Tradition . It might help explain why Americans can act so erratically.

One quote from the essay:

PJ
(hey, just realized my initials could also stand for "proud Jacksonian"! Cool. )

I've heard that one, too. And what is strangest about French people is that little children are the ones you can understand best. I didn't believe it when I first heard it, but I had to find out that it is true.