Cigarette smoking and TOS

[treknician1701]

Well, following that logic, if your lungs want to expel the smoke, and when you first drink anything, your stomach also wants to vomit out the horrible tasting substance, that should tell you something. People who have taken drugs describe just the reverse, saying how great LSD or coke made them feel! Strong, invincible, and immortal. It all really makes me just scratch my head!

Greg Stone

 

[T'Girl]

Actually those "No smoking at anytime on bridge" signs were directed toward the consoles. It was an attempt to keep them from catching fire during battles. It didn't work.

My old theory is that in the Federation there is a race called Smoking, they are the under class of the Federation, everyone looks down upon them. They do janitorial work around the academy and starbases, they're not very smart and have been known to accidentally get themselves beamed aboard orbiting starships where they sometimes break things.

The man vacuuming the floor at the academy outside the simulator room in TWOK was a Smoking, did you see the look Kirk gave him?.

Just as there used to be signs that said No Jews or No Blacks or No Mexicans, in the 23rd century there are signs that say No Smoking.

It's really very sad.

I know it's not TOS, but another piece of evidence that shows smoking is not dead in the future is TNG's A Fistful Of Data's, where Deanna enjoys a toke.

We also saw Data smoking Holmes pipe on the holodeck ... ( but was it stuffed with the "special tobacco" kept in Holmes' Persian slipper?).

You would think that the holocharactor Vic Fontane would be be seen occasionally smoking, and his lounge would have a constant cloud of smoke hanging in the air.

And I remember people smoking in the bar (TSFS) where McCoy goes to hire a ship to take him back to Genesis.

 

[Robert Comsol]

The man vacuuming the floor at the academy outside the simulator room in TWOK was a Smoking, did you see the look Kirk gave him?.

Just as there used to be signs that said No Jews or No Blacks or No Mexicans, in the 23rd century there are signs that say No Smoking.

It's really very sad.

That's a bold but remarkable rationalization.

But outside the US tuxedos are referred to as "smokings" in some countries.

Thus, "No Smoking" could indicate that someone like 007 might have a hard time finding a transporter that would transport him somewhere while wearing his smoking/tuxedo.

Bob

 

[Maurice]

Okay, where do we start?

With citeable sources?

Simply put, Roddenberry was pressured to have Spock smoke ciggies by network brass; Roddenberry said 'Listen, they're not going to smoke in the future.'

^^^Like one for that.

BTW, here's an old original broadcast of the show from 1967 complete with commercials:

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[Hober Mallow]

"Join us next week for another exciting adventure in deep space on... STAR TREK! And now, a word from our heroes."

Kirk: Mister Spock, how is it you're able to maintain that that steady logic through even the direst of circumstances.

Spock: With an arduous mental discipline... and these.

Kirk: Chesterfields?

McCoy: So that's your secret.

Spock: (Passes out cigs. They light up.) Chesterfields keep my thoughts focused no matter the situation.

McCoy: (Puffing.) They keep my hands steady, too. In fact, I recommend them to all my patients.

Kirk: Well, Bones, this is something I never thought I'd see.

McCoy: What's that, Jim?

Kirk: You two agreeing on something.

McCoy: When it comes to Chesterfields, we can all agree.

(A Klingon enters smoking.)

Klingon: You got that right.

Spock: Chesterfields. They're the logical choice.

 

[Greg Cox]

Don't be silly. Everyone knows the best cigarettes come from Mother Russia. Chekov says so.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Don't be silly. Everyone knows the best cigarettes come from Mother Russia. Chekov says so.

I'm warning you not to encourage me; I will write another one.

 

[urbandefault]

LSMFT.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I thought that tobacco itself was a Russian invention.

 

[urbandefault]

I thought that tobacco itself was a Russian inwention.

I fixed that for ya.

 

[plynch]

The Flinstones sold Winstons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvt8skgm2l8

Bonus question for the advanced students: Akin to (cover your ears, Christopher) Star Trek's split infinitive that set grammarians' teeth to gnashing, there's a grammar boo-boo in the Winston jingle that caused proscriptive grammarians to freak out in the early '60s. Anyone catch it in the jingle? I think iirc Fred or Barney do not sing the jingle and merely speak it, but it's still the catchphrase in the ad.

 

[Christopher]

^Is that "Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should," when "proper" grammar would be "as a cigarette should"?

Of course, there's a long history of iffy and outright bad grammar in advertising. For instance, Tide detergent had a real howler in their slogan a few years back: "Style is an option. Clean is not." They probably meant "Clean is not optional," i.e. it's mandatory, but the way they phrased it works out to "Clean is not an option," meaning "Clean is unthinkable/impossible." And that's not even counting using the adjective "clean" as a noun.

And I cannot for the life of me figure out what "Imagine Greater" is supposed to mean. Will someone please get Syfy a noun??

 

[Hober Mallow]

Let's not forget the curious fad from, I think, the 50s and/or 60s of advertisers purposely misspelling words for no reason I've ever been able to figure out.

 

[urbandefault]

^Is that "Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should," when "proper" grammar would be "as a cigarette should"?

Of course, there's a long history of iffy and outright bad grammar in advertising. For instance, Tide detergent had a real howler in their slogan a few years back: "Style is an option. Clean is not." They probably meant "Clean is not optional," i.e. it's mandatory, but the way they phrased it works out to "Clean is not an option," meaning "Clean is unthinkable/impossible." And that's not even counting using the adjective "clean" as a noun.

And I cannot for the life of me figure out what "Imagine Greater" is supposed to mean. Will someone please get Syfy a noun??

Winston parodied itself in a commercial that, as I remember it, had a stuffy Englishman correcting the grammar.

So, it seems, Winston tastes good as a cigarette should.

 

[plynch]

DINGDINGDING, Christopher, of course, it is you who knows Winston tastes good AS a cigarette should. A clause requires a conjunction before it, not a preposition.

It used to GRIND my mother's gears that the United Negro College Fund would say a mind is a terrible thing to waste. No, a mind is not a terrible thing in any sense. It is, however, a terrible thing to waste a mind.

And Christopher, I appreciate your forebearance in allowing my correct split infinitive reference to patiently go unchallenged. Live long and prosper.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

"Join us next week for another exciting adventure in deep space on... STAR TREK! And now, a word from our heroes."

Kirk: Mister Spock, how is it you're able to maintain that that steady logic through even the direst of circumstances.

Spock: With an arduous mental discipline... and these.

Kirk: Chesterfields?

McCoy: So that's your secret.

Spock: (Passes out cigs. They light up.) Chesterfields keep my thoughts focused no matter the situation.

McCoy: (Puffing.) They keep my hands steady, too. In fact, I recommend them to all my patients.

Kirk: Well, Bones, this is something I never thought I'd see.

McCoy: What's that, Jim?

Kirk: You two agreeing on something.

McCoy: When it comes to Chesterfields, we can all agree.

(A Klingon enters smoking.)

Klingon: You got that right.

Spock: Chesterfields. They're the logical choice.

That's creepily realistic.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Part of me hates to spoil this moment of gloating, but Merriam-Webster lists like as a conjunction, and goes on to say this:

Like has been used as a conjunction since the 14th century. In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries it was used in serious literature, but not often; in the 17th and 18th centuries it grew more frequent but less literary. It became markedly more frequent in literary use again in the 19th century. By mid-century it was coming under critical fire, but not from grammarians, oddly enough, who were wrangling over whether it could be called a preposition or not. There is no doubt that, after 600 years of use, conjunctive like is firmly established. It has been used by many prestigious literary figures of the past, though perhaps not in their most elevated works; in modern use it may be found in literature, journalism, and scholarly writing. While the present objection to it is perhaps more heated than rational, someone writing in a formal prose style may well prefer to use as, as if, such as, or an entirely different construction instead.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Part of me hates to spoil this moment of gloating, but Merriam-Webster lists like as a conjunction, and goes on to say this:

Like has been used as a conjunction since the 14th century. In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries it was used in serious literature, but not often; in the 17th and 18th centuries it grew more frequent but less literary. It became markedly more frequent in literary use again in the 19th century. By mid-century it was coming under critical fire, but not from grammarians, oddly enough, who were wrangling over whether it could be called a preposition or not. There is no doubt that, after 600 years of use, conjunctive like is firmly established. It has been used by many prestigious literary figures of the past, though perhaps not in their most elevated works; in modern use it may be found in literature, journalism, and scholarly writing. While the present objection to it is perhaps more heated than rational, someone writing in a formal prose style may well prefer to use as, as if, such as, or an entirely different construction instead.

Interesting. In some older literature I've also seen the construction "like as," although that was probably used as a preposition.

 

[Christopher]

Let's not forget the curious fad from, I think, the 50s and/or 60s of advertisers purposely misspelling words for no reason I've ever been able to figure out.

Because they can trademark the variant spellings, most likely. Also because it's distinctive and makes it clear they're referring to their products.

It used to GRIND my mother's gears that the United Negro College Fund would say a mind is a terrible thing to waste. No, a mind is not a terrible thing in any sense. It is, however, a terrible thing to waste a mind.

Huh? I don't see anything ungrammatical there. "Terrible thing to waste" means "thing that is terrible to waste." It's the same construction as "A hard row to hoe," say.

Part of me hates to spoil this moment of gloating, but Merriam-Webster lists like as a conjunction, and goes on to say this:

Like has been used as a conjunction since the 14th century. In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries it was used in serious literature, but not often; in the 17th and 18th centuries it grew more frequent but less literary. It became markedly more frequent in literary use again in the 19th century. By mid-century it was coming under critical fire, but not from grammarians, oddly enough, who were wrangling over whether it could be called a preposition or not. There is no doubt that, after 600 years of use, conjunctive like is firmly established. It has been used by many prestigious literary figures of the past, though perhaps not in their most elevated works; in modern use it may be found in literature, journalism, and scholarly writing. While the present objection to it is perhaps more heated than rational, someone writing in a formal prose style may well prefer to use as, as if, such as, or an entirely different construction instead.

No surprise. Just one more bit of allegedly "correct" grammar, like the so-called "split infinitive" rule, that's actually just a fantasy made up by prescriptivists so they could pretend their English was better than that of the masses.

 

[plynch]

Wow, that's cool. I am investigating this as we speak, and not all authorities I am finding are in agreement with your source. BUT never hesitate to spoil gloating with an actual citation. What Meriam-Webster book is it? Be well!