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Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy... Ssssswwiiiinng batter!

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Today I learned two very important things about American culture.

First, in America they do not play the game of "pass the parcel"; I learned this after the Editor of my Web Parts book scratched a line through it when I had attempted to use it in an analogy.  I immediately jumped onto Instant Messenger to get it confirmed.  Yup!  Apparently it's true!

Pass the Parcel is a game played at children's birthday parties.  In it, a present is wrapped in wrapping paper and then additional layers of wrapping paper are added - each layer contains a small present.  The children who are involved in the game sit in a circle and the present is passed between them to music.  When the music stops, the child who is holding the present can remove a layer of wrapping and they get to keep the present for that layer.

The second thing that I learned was about baseball.  Remember the scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, when they they are at the baseball and Cameron and Ferris come out with the "batter, batter, batter, ssswwwwwwiiiiing batter" quote.  You can listen to it here:

    http://www.wavsite.com/sounds/17664/ferris41.wav

I always thought that the next line was saying: "Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy".  I thought that Kennedy must've been some legendary American batting great.  Apparently the words that are being said there are:

    "He can't bat; He can't bat; He can't bat"

Thanks to Rocky for the heads up on that one.

posted 12/5/2005 12:41:22 PM

 

Comments:

# Pretty Close
posted by Rocky on 12/5/2005 12:44:09 PM :

Hey Darren, Actually I think the words are: He Can't Hit, He Can't Hit, He Can't Hit... Although I'll be saving the .wav off as an error wav. :-) Thanks for the find.

# Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy
posted by Nemmeran on 3/18/2006 6:46:42 PM :

I still think that he is saying Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy as a reference to the Kennedy commercials when JFK was running for President. His was one of the first really effective television ads, and it featured a jingle made completely of the name "Kennedy" repeated over and over. It sticks in your head. Kinda annoying, but it works.

# I vote for "He can't hit"
posted by Chuck on 6/6/2007 9:25:59 PM :

I also originally thought Cameron was saying "Hey Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy", but Wikipedia confirms the line (which Alan Ruck actually ad-libbed) is indeed "He can't hit-he can't hit-he can't hit-he can't hit".

# Good post!
posted by xenocidic on 10/16/2008 6:18:54 AM :

I was trying to find the reason "Hey batter batter" is followed up with "kennedy-kennedy-kennedy"...anyways...I found my way here =)

By the way, the sound byte doesn't work for me?

-xenocidic

# Great
posted by Photography Studios on 8/10/2009 4:48:35 AM :

His was one of the first really effective television ads, and it featured a jingle made completely of the name "Kennedy" repeated over and over. It sticks in your head. Kinda annoying, but it works.

# mm...
posted by Spa Massage on 8/28/2009 12:51:21 PM :

MMMM... interesting info!!! i really like it, thanks

 

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