God only gave me two hands. The rest he gave to the Indians.

[Mark Mandel]

FWIW, I doubt that Asian religion has (or ever had) anything to do
with it. You can (sometimes) do two different things with two hands,
like handing someone the milk while continuing to stir the soup. But
that's all you've got.

(Unless you're the circus family wife in the Charles Addams cartoon:
"Wait a minute, can't you? I've only got three hands."
In The New Yorker, June 20, 1942
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/389168/US-Copyright-Renewals-1969-July---December-by-US-Copyright-Office)

--
Mark Mandel

On Mon, Aug 4, 2008 at 12:00 PM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
>
> Though I've never heard this, I wonder whether Indians here means American or
> South Asian Indians. If the latter, might it refer to depictions of
> Shiva or of
> Buddha as many-handed?
>
> Stephen

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