Stupid arguments you remember with childhood friends
Discussion
The "weird parents" thread got me thinking about some of the incredibly stupid arguments that I had as a child with my friends which were entirely based on having to be one-up on my friends, and the lengths it was necessary to go to in order to maintain that lie in order to "win" the argument. Does anyone else remember any that they had as a child, with their friends?
One birthday, aged 10, I was given a digital watch. Amazing. Loved it.
For no reason I can remember, it was then suddenly very important amongst my group of friends as to who had the best watch. And the argument, I still remember it quite nearly 22 years later
Friend: "my watch is better because it has 4 buttons"
Me: "No mine is better because it has a light on it"
Fr: "yeah but mine has a stopwatch that is really good"
Me "So does mine"
Fr: "Yours isn't as good because mine cost £50"
Me: "Mine cost £100"
Fr: "yeah but mine is really accurate and the time is exactly right"
Me: "Mine is the most accurate because I set the time using Ceefax" to be countered with
Friend: "Mine is the most accurate because I set it using Big Ben" (we were around 40 miles from Central London, in Sussex...)
Me: No you didn't
F: "yeah I did my dad took me there yesterday so I set it"
Me: "yeah but I set mine on Ceefax this morning"
F: "no you didn't"
"yeah I did"
which carried on throughout the afternoon at primary school to the extent that I then had to run out of school before my mate caught me so that I could say to my mum "If Mark asks you have to say I set my watch on Ceefax" and then I ran over to him in front of his mum and said "Did Mark go to Big Ben yesterday?" in order to win that argument, and him going to my mum "Did Alex use Ceefax to set his watch this morning?"
The wording of those questions was no doubt somewhat less clear than I have made it now because, as a 10 year old, you just blurt everything out when you're in a hurry so both my mum and his mum were naturally confused/befuddled/ignorant of what, to me, was The Most Important Thing - being proved right, even when you knew in your head that you were making it up.
Also, it became very important at one stage when in Year 6, we were allowed to use nice pens instead of the Berol Handwriting pens that you had to use up until Year 5! Who had the best pen? I had a fountain pen that had been given to me at some point but it was known to all of us in Year 6 that Parker Pens were the best pens in the world. Sure enough, someone in my very small local primary school was the first person to get a Parker Pen, and it came in the proper white box, which then had the plastic cover and the support part for it, which took pride of place in her pencil case. It was then the pen to be seen with in Year 6 and much pride was taken with them. I got one from my dad because he got a bundle of branded ones from his work so I was then lucky enough to have a pen.
However it was soon not good enough to anyone else, because it had a company logo on that nobody knew, and it became the subject of Who Has The Best Pen? Which it appeared was to be judged by how nice it looked but also, how many constituent parts made up this pen? Box - 1, plastic cover - 1, moudled insert - 1, lid - 1, body - 1, ink insert - 1, spring - 1, the little blue plastic spacer that means the ink insert fits into the mechanism - 1, clicky bit - 1, pocket holder bit - 1.
Such nonsense, but again, it was The Most Important Thing for a week or two.
One birthday, aged 10, I was given a digital watch. Amazing. Loved it.
For no reason I can remember, it was then suddenly very important amongst my group of friends as to who had the best watch. And the argument, I still remember it quite nearly 22 years later
Friend: "my watch is better because it has 4 buttons"
Me: "No mine is better because it has a light on it"
Fr: "yeah but mine has a stopwatch that is really good"
Me "So does mine"
Fr: "Yours isn't as good because mine cost £50"
Me: "Mine cost £100"
Fr: "yeah but mine is really accurate and the time is exactly right"
Me: "Mine is the most accurate because I set the time using Ceefax" to be countered with
Friend: "Mine is the most accurate because I set it using Big Ben" (we were around 40 miles from Central London, in Sussex...)
Me: No you didn't
F: "yeah I did my dad took me there yesterday so I set it"
Me: "yeah but I set mine on Ceefax this morning"
F: "no you didn't"
"yeah I did"
which carried on throughout the afternoon at primary school to the extent that I then had to run out of school before my mate caught me so that I could say to my mum "If Mark asks you have to say I set my watch on Ceefax" and then I ran over to him in front of his mum and said "Did Mark go to Big Ben yesterday?" in order to win that argument, and him going to my mum "Did Alex use Ceefax to set his watch this morning?"
The wording of those questions was no doubt somewhat less clear than I have made it now because, as a 10 year old, you just blurt everything out when you're in a hurry so both my mum and his mum were naturally confused/befuddled/ignorant of what, to me, was The Most Important Thing - being proved right, even when you knew in your head that you were making it up.
Also, it became very important at one stage when in Year 6, we were allowed to use nice pens instead of the Berol Handwriting pens that you had to use up until Year 5! Who had the best pen? I had a fountain pen that had been given to me at some point but it was known to all of us in Year 6 that Parker Pens were the best pens in the world. Sure enough, someone in my very small local primary school was the first person to get a Parker Pen, and it came in the proper white box, which then had the plastic cover and the support part for it, which took pride of place in her pencil case. It was then the pen to be seen with in Year 6 and much pride was taken with them. I got one from my dad because he got a bundle of branded ones from his work so I was then lucky enough to have a pen.
However it was soon not good enough to anyone else, because it had a company logo on that nobody knew, and it became the subject of Who Has The Best Pen? Which it appeared was to be judged by how nice it looked but also, how many constituent parts made up this pen? Box - 1, plastic cover - 1, moudled insert - 1, lid - 1, body - 1, ink insert - 1, spring - 1, the little blue plastic spacer that means the ink insert fits into the mechanism - 1, clicky bit - 1, pocket holder bit - 1.
Such nonsense, but again, it was The Most Important Thing for a week or two.
lets make this PH related: so cars- eg as a schoolboy in the 70's/80's it seemed to revolve around whose dad had the newest and therefore best car. No argument seemed to contain the logic that you could have a slightly older car which had to be infinately superior in every way to a much more inferior brand new car.
eg- I grew up in Oxford initally - so everyone had junk from British Leyland. even to this day I remember brand new cars with oil pans under the sumps on the drives, collecting the leaks. My parents are not British, so if you want a reliable car, the last thing you ever touch is a British car. So what do my parents have: a volvo saloon and a toyota estate. but not as good as a brand new marina !!! and reflecting back, this is in the day when probably having 2 cars as a family was rare, let alone even having a car.
equally roll forward to the early 80's- my dad has a rover P6 3500 V8. so this beast of a car with full leather etc isn't as good as a 1.1 escort bonus !!!!
all on the basis they don't have the latest reg plate on them !
eg- I grew up in Oxford initally - so everyone had junk from British Leyland. even to this day I remember brand new cars with oil pans under the sumps on the drives, collecting the leaks. My parents are not British, so if you want a reliable car, the last thing you ever touch is a British car. So what do my parents have: a volvo saloon and a toyota estate. but not as good as a brand new marina !!! and reflecting back, this is in the day when probably having 2 cars as a family was rare, let alone even having a car.
equally roll forward to the early 80's- my dad has a rover P6 3500 V8. so this beast of a car with full leather etc isn't as good as a 1.1 escort bonus !!!!
all on the basis they don't have the latest reg plate on them !
I can't even remember what I was arguing with a lad about on break time but I used the amazingly mature retort of "yeah, and your Mum" which put a very sudden halt to things as he shut up and went away.
Another kid overhearing the argument informed me that the lads mum had recently died. Go me.
Anyway by weird turns of fate we went on to become good friends and had many happy times together.
He got married, had a kid then less than a year later died from cancer before we were 30
Apologies for the cheery story.
Another kid overhearing the argument informed me that the lads mum had recently died. Go me.
Anyway by weird turns of fate we went on to become good friends and had many happy times together.
He got married, had a kid then less than a year later died from cancer before we were 30
Apologies for the cheery story.
cobra kid said:
Mine was a James Bond one that played the theme tune as it's alarm tone thingy.
Beat that.....
I had one of those too, shame I didn't keep it:Beat that.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Zeon-039-Official-J...
gr1340 said:
cobra kid said:
Mine was a James Bond one that played the theme tune as it's alarm tone thingy.
Beat that.....
I had one of those too, shame I didn't keep it:Beat that.....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Zeon-039-Official-J...
I remember swapping a pushbike for a nearly brand new go-kart with a friend of mine as he really liked my bike. Unfortunately his parents did not think it was a good swap at all and saw my parents to get it back. I argued with him many times about how he went back on the deal.
I think my bike may have been worth about £2 and his kart about £200 but a swap is a swap.
I think my bike may have been worth about £2 and his kart about £200 but a swap is a swap.
oooh- good swapsies point.
I changed schools at the age of 9 when we moved and there was a craze of playing marbles- for keeps. Big marbles were rare and seemed to be swapped for lots of normal sized ones or toy cars.
I then worked out you could buy a bag of big marbles for not much - certainly less than a toy car and then swap them at the rate of one big marble for one toy car. clearly, a huge financial gain.
not so for all the mothers that mobbed my mother at the school gate, or kids that were made to swap them back.
I changed schools at the age of 9 when we moved and there was a craze of playing marbles- for keeps. Big marbles were rare and seemed to be swapped for lots of normal sized ones or toy cars.
I then worked out you could buy a bag of big marbles for not much - certainly less than a toy car and then swap them at the rate of one big marble for one toy car. clearly, a huge financial gain.
not so for all the mothers that mobbed my mother at the school gate, or kids that were made to swap them back.
Shakermaker said:
watch story
I wish I could think of more because we had endless petty arguments back than. Even the few I can think of I cant even remember which side I argued.
I had a similar watch argument with an Asian friend that nearly came to blows but my watch was indeed miles better.
Two weeks later he sat next to me with what seemed like the coolest thing in the world at the time: A shiny gold digital watch.
Any adult could see that this was the most vulgar disgusting and cheap little thing in the world but as a 7 year old it was the shiniest most beautiful thing imaginable. Gold. Watch. Even then I had to conceed defeat but only if he first admitted that my watch was better than his old watch which he was happy to do. Win win.
cobra kid said:
Mine was a James Bond one that played the theme tune as it's alarm tone thingy.
Beat that.....
Mine got stolen by the quietest and most unassuming lad in the class.Beat that.....
Worst thing about it was the fact that he used to hang around with me and a few other friends outside of school.
It had been missing for a few weeks and he was only caught when his lunchbox started playing the James Bond theme!! Seems as though he had become complacent and had set the alarm to remind him it was lunchtime!
Anyway, what I believe led to him stealing the watch was an argument we had had in the park a couple of days prior.
Being 8 years old and the proud owner of a 007 watch that played the theme tune, I was practically 'The Don' amongst my school year. Wishing to maintain and increase the adulation I let slip that not only could the watch play the James Bond theme tune, but I could also directly communicate with K.I.T.T. Through it. Which I demonstrated in the park.
Most of my friends agreed that I could talk to The Hoffs car and that they heard it talk to me once, I guess being 8 years old you will agree to anything in order to fit in?
But this one lad who ultimately ended up nicking the watch from Mr Snowdens class while we were doing PE didn't agree that I could. He eventually left the park crying to go and ask his dad.
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