Kryponite and garlic--(Why the hair-salon name "Krytonnite"?)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Green kryptonite (the original) would weaken and soon kill Superman.

Red kryptonite (ca 1959) would have unpredictable weird effects, often
mental or emotional.

Blue kryptonite (ca1960) only affected Bizarro.

Gold kryptonite (ca1962) would rob him permanently of his powers.

Plaid kryptonite is so awful it was never imagined.

I heard a few years ago that all kryptonite has been removed from Superman's
universe, but for all I know it could be back.

JL
On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 12:10 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Kryponite and garlic--(Why the hair-salon name
> "Krytonnite"?)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Here's a guess as to the origin of the hair-salon name "Kryptonnite."  =
> Kryptonnite is the only substance in the universe that can make Superman =
> lose all his strength.  I don't remember if it knocks him out or merely =
> renders him totally weak. Meanwhile, the 2 n's in "Kryptonnite" permit =
> us to divide the word into "Krypton" plus "nite" (alternate spelling of =
> "night").
> =20
>  So the hair-salon name humorously implies that the women who emerge =
> from a hair-styling session there will be so feministically powerful =
> that they can make even Superman go weak in the knees. They are =
> therefore  sort of promised a Krypton night, i.e., an evening out in =
> which they will can have a devastating effect on whichever men they may =
> be interacting with.
> =20
> Gerald Cohen
> P.S. Btw, Superman (as a Superbaby) arrived on earth in a spaceship sent =
> by his parents from the planet Krypton shortly before it blew up.=20
>
> ________________________________
>
> >At 1/2/2010 10:13 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> >>There's a hair salon about a half mile from my house whose name is
> >>"Kryptonnite".  I have no idea why (or what's with the two n's), but
> >>I haven't seen Superman around the neighborhood, so I guess it works.
> >
>
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