Michael Kuettner wrote:
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> On Fri 03 Jul 2009 08:48:18a, Michel Boucher told us...
>>
>>> Wayne Boatwright > wrote in
>>> 5.250:
>>>
>>>> Stouffer's French Coconut Pie
>>> To my knowledge, no coconuts are grown in France.
>>>
>>>> :->
>> And you would certainly be right but they have a long history of use in
>> Europe. Obviously imported.
>
> Yes. And since they are very hard to crack open, a special device was
> invented for that purpose - the Trebuchet. With this machine you
> threw the coconuts against castle walls to crack them open.
> Later, some benighted soul added boulders to the mix to grind the coconuts
> upon impact. This led to some destroyed castles, which caused the machine
> to be forbidden.
> This in turn prompted the invention of black powder, dynamite and finally -
> C4 (C4 means coconut-opener 4).
> From : A short and nutty history, by A. Nonymous, Whacky Press
>
> Cheers,
>
> Michael Kuettner

The history of man and coconut goes back a long way. Ever since early
man first got his skull cracked open by a falling coconut while sitting
under a tree, we've been trying to return the favor. Thanks to
progressive countries like Iran and North Korea, we may soon see ways to
open those little buggers faster and on a larger scale than could be
imagined by even Alfred Nobel - inventor of the first practical
high-speed coconut opener and is often thought to be the real inventor
of coconut in a can.

From : Nuclear Exchanges: Fears Unwarranted?, A. E. Newman, French Press

:-)