At the office certain themes repeatedly come up in conversation, to such an extent that they've become a running joke. Some people are so annoyed that they say, "You can't talk about that!" when debate begins. I haven't yet learned most of the taboo issues, but two that I'm aware of are:

• Can you make fire without artificial/technological aids? It seems easy enough in the movies and in Boy Scout lore, but the most common approaches require artificial materials: batteries, lenses, steel, special chemicals, etc. Can you start a blaze using only "native" substances? (I suspect yes, but with great difficulty, using friction methods.)
• Who would win in a fight between a Man and a Baboon? The man is assumed to be unarmed. The baboon is assumed to be untrained but pugnacious. (I would run away as fast and as far as possible, in hopes of exhausting the great ape and thus winning peacefully.)

Folks have suggested making a list of forbidden topics and putting up a sign that says:

... like the signage one sometimes sees at construction sites displaying how long since the last accident.

^z - 2009-07-13