Scrabble Players Unite!
This would have caused consternation to any number of U.S. adherents to the Nation of Islam and would have certainly precluded Riyadh as a venue for the Professional Bowlers Association matches.
“Will Saudis Ban the Letter ‘X’?
(My old electric Smith-Corona did this with much less fanfare.)
By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
January 15, 2007
The letter “X” soon may be banned in Saudi Arabia because it resembles the mother of all banned religious symbols in the oil kingdom: the cross.
The new development came with the issuing of another mind-bending fatwa, or religious edict, by the infamous Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice — the group of senior Islamic clergy that reigns supreme on all legal, civil, and governance matters in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The commission’s damning of the letter “X” came in response to a Ministry of Trade query about whether it should grant trademark protection to a Saudi businessman for a new service carrying the English name “Explorer.”
“No! Nein! Nyet!” was the commission’s categorical answer.”
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If Saudi censors ban the letter “X,” they will be cursed with the Herculean task of crossing out the letter–only to have to cross out the cross out…ad infinitum. While this may be a perfect fate for the obsessive-compulsive aspects of true piety in any religion, it would definitely defeat the purpose of the ban in the first place.
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This is simple. Either mark a strike by using a “Q,” or cut off everyone’s hands.
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I wonder if Ed Norton would have demanded cutting rights if he had known the reason behind the ban.
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This film was Spring Training for Fay Wray’s screaming in King Kong.
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Was Bogart more miscast in this than in the Oklahoma Kid?
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This is proof that even nutzoid laws have some fortunate consequences.
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Al Hufuf Is Out There…
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Images: (AH X) images-eu.amazon.com; (bowling) maccalie.com; (Malcolm X) images.amazon.com; (Dr. X & Return) affichescinema.com; (X-Men) imdb.com; (X Files) en.wikipedia.org
Please find the entire story at the New York Sun and thanks to Raw Story for the heads up.