20/04/2007 16:00:00
US: A High-Falutin Expression
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Urban Legends Create a Smoky Haze Around “420”
This is my column for April 20, 2007. Those interested in its subject
matter herein either already know the etymology behind the expression
"420" or are doing something they enjoy more than sitting at a computer.
Indeed, today is Christmas for potheads—and, I'd imagine, a day for the
people who normally wouldn't partake in the wacky tobacky to indulge.
Unlike April Fool's Day or New Year's Eve—when the pranksters and
all-night partiers take a step back to allow for amateur hour—this day
tends to be one that the aficionados relish. For example, it's the only
day I know of in which you can head to Isla Vista and watch a scheduled,
promoted joint-rolling contest.
Aside from being a day when I can guarantee to smell a certain kind of
smoke that, since my graduation from college, has become oddly
nostalgic, this unofficial holiday intrigues me because the origins of
its emblematic narcotic number are so obscure. Given what some studies
claim long-term marijuana use does to the brain, I suppose it's possible
that everyone who would have reason to know has forgotten. Nonetheless,
most sources estimate it came into use in American English sometime in
the 1970s. That's not long ago, even considering the relatively short
lifespan of most slang, but apparently long enough that no one can say
with certainty why we use it the way we do.
Mathematically, I'm told that the number 420 is the sum of four
consecutive primes—101 and 103 and 107 and 109. It is also "a zero of
the Mertens function and is sparsely totient." That last bit means
nothing to my small English major brain and I suspect it doesn't have
anything to do with people lighting up across the country today.
Urban legends abound, of course. Snopes.com, a website that specializes
in investigating such friend-of-a-friend stories—and often debunks
them—quickly dispels the ways in which we didn't pick up this
expression. We're sure it's not that 420 is the penal code section for
marijuana use in any given state. It's not police radio code for pot
smoking. The number of chemical compounds in marijuana does not total
420. And April 20 (or 4/20, written in shorthand) is not the date on
which drugged out celebs like Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis
Joplin all happened to die.
The date comes close to commemorating LSD inventor Albert Hofmann's
first intentional trip on the psychedelic substance on April 19, 1943.
That day is sometimes referred to as "Bicycle Day," in celebration of
Dr. Hofmann's trippy ride home from the lab. But "419" is no "420," and
LSD is not today's recreational drug of choice.
The story most commonly accepted traces "420" back to San Rafael,
California, of all places. According to this particular urban legend, a
group of high school students calling themselves "The Waldos" would meet
at 4:20 p.m. to get high at the feet of a local statue of Louis Pasteur.
Not knowing anyone from San Rafael—much less a person who attended San
Rafael High School in the early '70s—I can't personally disprove this
story. (Though, for the record, any online mention of the statue beyond
the context of other articles exploring the origin of 420 is hiding from
even the all-seeing eye of Google.) How an inside joke among these kids
ever grew into a national phenomenon boggles my mind—an entirely sober
mind, I should add—but Snopes is often looked to as the authority on
these matters and I'm inclined to agree with their theories.
After all, every slang expression has to start somewhere.
The origin as a specific time, however, would account for its standard
pronunciation as "four-twenty" and never "four hundred and twenty."
(Squares be warned.) In that sense, the term makes me think of the
nursery rhyme, "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie." Again,
there's no real connection, although if you do plan on getting
especially high today, I recommend you go read that poem and then tell
all your friends about how totally weird and messed-up it is—you know,
when you really think about it.
Today, just the mention of "420"—even out of the context of pot—is
enough to elicit snickers from teenagers and adults-in-the-know alike. A
classic example: A high school math teacher asks the class to flip to
the back of their textbook to page "four-twenty" and some kid repeats
the phrase emphatically. Everyone laughs—even the kids who aren't sure
why that number is important—and the teacher pretends like he or she
didn't hear it. It's second only to "69" in that respect.
Beyond just being the so-called "international time to smoke pot," "420"
has become synonymous with the act itself. A quick search online will
yield dozens of sites hawking hats, posters, stickers, and all manner of
knick-knacks bearing the number, often superimposed on the cannabis leaf
itself. The record label 4:20 Records has gained some renown for
specializing in—what else?—reggae and stoner rock. The phrase "420
friendly" has even gained usage in classified ads seeking
marijuana-tolerant roommates. (That last bit, by the way, comes from the
Wikipedia entry for "420," which has understandably been locked from
editing until everyone regains their senses.)
Widespread though its usage might be, "420" doesn't seem to carry the
same connotation outside North America. England, for example, has its
share of cannabis enthusiasts, but a relative lack of 420 festivals by
virtue of the way the English write their dates. Over there, today is 20
April, 2007, and so-called "20/4" festivals are few and far between.
This strikes me as even more odd than the popularity of "420" in the
United States, as I'd imagine people wanting a national pot holiday
would gladly preserve the spirit of the occasion and just invert the
order of the numbers in its name.
On that note, my head is spinning—though, notably, only at the speed
this number and this activity have become firmly enmeshed in not just
cannabis culture, but pop culture as well. I hope those who feel
inclined to do so enjoy their April 20 and snicker at those who think
it's just another day. As for myself, I feel oddly compelled to listen
to "25 or 6 to 4" and wonder what that could possibly mean.
http://www.independent.com/
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12468
Author:
Santa Barbara Independent via UKCIA
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