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Rhodes scholars and an old pun


 On an episode of CHEERS, uneducated farmboy Woody and overly educated Frasier Crane are talking.  Frasier mentions that he was a Rhodes scholar. 

Woody looks fascinated. He asks, "Why does the asphalt on roads have so many different shades?"

Frasier (long pause): "I was out sick that day."

Woody: "Ah! And now it's come back to haunt you." 

Comments

  1. Good! I am closer to Woody than Frasier. Never knew the origins of Rhodes Scholarships. Guess I was just not interested enough in an opportunity that was beyond my reach or potential. Over the years, though, I have grown a little, intellectually. Mostly happy in this old skin.

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  2. "Road Scholar is an American not-for-profit organization that provides educational travel programs primarily geared to older adults." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_Scholar

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    Replies
    1. So maybe one of them will figure out the asphalt thing....

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  3. Replies
    1. On the origin: Cecil Rhodes was a successful wheeler-dealer in diamonds and in the mines that produced them -- behind what we know as the De Beers empire. He became so prominent in southern Africa at the peak of British colonialism that "Rhodesia" bore his name. Upon his death in 1902 he left a bequest for an international scholarship that would allow deserving young men an education at Oxford University. It is the oldest philanthropic scholarship program in the world.

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  4. Very good, Christopher! Very good, indeed.

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