The7thDave
38 posts
Feb 14, 2010
9:01 AM
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My wonderful wife bought me a Manji for V-Day, and I was oddly compelled to read the insert. I noticed the following item under the "Caution" heading:
"Don't swing your harmonica around.
You may hurt yourself or your friends."
One has to wonder if this dire warning is the result of some past litigation experienced by the Suzuki Corporation; and, if so, what sort of tragic event might have been at its root.
This notice also confirms my suspicions about the the terrible--but oft-neglected--potential for the use of the harmonica as a weapon.
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Stickman
193 posts
Feb 14, 2010
9:21 AM
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potential for the use of the harmonica as a weapon.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20091008_318_0_aboero9452
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The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
Last Edited by on Feb 14, 2010 9:39 AM
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jonsparrow
2280 posts
Feb 14, 2010
9:24 AM
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dont forget manji is from japan. those guys over there are very weird. but its also one of the coolest countries. i like weird.
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Greg Heumann
297 posts
Feb 14, 2010
10:00 AM
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Everyone is so terrified of litigation these days, it has gone way too far. Last year I brought home a cheap "market" umbrella for the garden. You know, pre-assembled, just snap the upper tube into the lower tube and you're good to go. The instructions told me to wear safety glasses when I put it together, or serious injury might occur! Safety glasses? For a freakin' umbrella?
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/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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The7thDave
39 posts
Feb 14, 2010
10:00 AM
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Stickman: I wonder what kind of harmonica it was.
Jon, did you know that 'manji' is the Japanese word for swastika? Just a "coincidence," of course.
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jonsparrow
2281 posts
Feb 14, 2010
10:04 AM
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no i did not know that. thats kinda weird.
edit: like i said....those guys are weird over there.
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Last Edited by on Feb 14, 2010 10:05 AM
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The7thDave
40 posts
Feb 14, 2010
11:19 AM
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Greg: pretty ridiculous. On the other hand, I nearly put my eye out while pulling weeds a couple weeks ago. Just think what could happen to your eye if you or a friend were swinging a harmonica around in close quarters. Hey, maybe this is why Rod Piazza always wears sunglasses...
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walterharp
232 posts
Feb 14, 2010
11:22 AM
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i am pretty sure someone who wrote that was making a joke, i certainly laughed the first time reading it. the japanese do have a sense of humor :-)
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The7thDave
41 posts
Feb 14, 2010
11:44 AM
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Walterharp: we can always hope, can't we?
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Bluzdude46
469 posts
Feb 14, 2010
12:24 PM
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:::canceling plans for a harp loaded crossbow:::: Just not the same without the surprise factor.
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The Original Downtown Philadelphia Fatman... Accept No substitutes!
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Stickman
196 posts
Feb 14, 2010
1:52 PM
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"Did you know that 'manji' is the Japanese word for swastika? Just a "coincidence," of course."
I'm not so sure about that. The swastika is the German name for a very ancient symbol that was used in many ancient cultures with a variety of meanings. Since the Japanese symbol probably existed before the 3rd Reich, one could argue that "swastika" is the German word for the Japanese symbol "Manji"
http://members.at.infoseek.co.jp/japanpage/themanji.htm
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The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
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Andrew
900 posts
Feb 14, 2010
2:13 PM
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Now if I had some CGI software, I'd get that scene in Goodfellas where Henry pistol-whips his fiancée's attacker and replace the gun with a harp, but I haven't.
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Kinda hot in these rhinos!
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jonsparrow
2287 posts
Feb 14, 2010
2:14 PM
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how does one swing a harp around any way? do you have to tie it to a rope first?
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javajoe
98 posts
Feb 14, 2010
2:23 PM
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Is that what it really means when you hear, "
When it comes to Harmonica, you've got to swing it!"
"Learn Self- Defense. Take Harmonica Lessons"
Last Edited by on Feb 14, 2010 2:27 PM
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nacoran
1127 posts
Feb 14, 2010
3:08 PM
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Jon- I bet it's people with those little mojo style bags swinging the harp around inside. Some of them have strings to cinch the bag closed.
Of course, you could do a whole Goodfellas skit with a chord harmonica. (Actually, that could be kind of funny, a bunch of blues guys sitting around, deciding how to divide up the jazz, blues and rock rackets...
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DutchBones
343 posts
Feb 14, 2010
4:36 PM
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"Did you know that 'manji' is the Japanese word for swastika? Just a "coincidence," of course."
I'm not so sure about that. The swastika is the German name for a very ancient symbol that was used in many ancient cultures with a variety of meanings. Since the Japanese symbol probably existed before the 3rd Reich, one could argue that "swastika" is the German word for the Japanese symbol "Manji"
Stickman is right about that... Manji is a symbol you can find at every shrine (temple) in Japan and its history can be traced many centuries back. The manji symbol is also used on maps to indicate where a shrine is located... One big difference in terms of design, is that the manji is not tilted like a swastika but angled like a regular cross....
So Manji is not the Japanese word for swastika... at the very most,,..swastika is a German variation of the Manji....
As far as as the "caution" ... if it's so easy to hit a draw bend or a blow bend right out of the box... well, I guess it's also easy to hit an innocent bystander with your Manji... up till now it was easier to hit bystanders with your harp, than hitting those bends.....
Trivia... the first name of the president of Suzuki is Manji.....
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DutchBones Tube
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The7thDave
42 posts
Feb 14, 2010
5:33 PM
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Well, yeah, I was being silly. The swastika was, of course, a sacred symbol in Buddhism (and elsewhere) long before 1920, which is when the Nazi party appropriated it. By the way, the word swastika is actually from Sanskrit; the main German term for it is hakenkreuz.
I think Jonsparrow may be on to something with the rope idea. A harmonica bullroarer would probably sound pretty cool.
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Hollistonharper
163 posts
Feb 14, 2010
5:40 PM
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Shame on you Dutchbones, for nipping a perfectly good conspiracy theory in the bud, and double shame on you, 7th, for fessing up!! If you start letting facts get in the way of a ridiculous belief system, what then?
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RunsWithScissors
4 posts
Feb 14, 2010
6:08 PM
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For those of you wanting to continue warped warnings
just google "ridiculous product warnings" and you'll get an evening of reading. If not, here is one link to entertain;
http://www.ewealth.com/showthread.php?t=7016
Enjoy
Ciao4now
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jonsparrow
2288 posts
Feb 14, 2010
7:16 PM
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i like those buckets that have a picture of a baby drowning head first in a bucket with an X over it. implieing that babies can drown if put in head first.
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Bluzdude46
476 posts
Feb 15, 2010
11:32 AM
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Ok is no one bothered but me that Jon is trying to actually figure out a way to pull this off? Jon? do you have one of those Wile E Coyote drawings on how long of a rope at what arc to befell the Road Runner???
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The Original Downtown Philadelphia Fatman... Accept No substitutes!
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