Crikey, four common bad habits combined — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests.
So reports this story in the Chicago Tribune -- which I’ve been following for some months, just to see what similarities and differences there are in the daily news from Chicago and my home town of Melbourne, Australia (another “windy city”).
But the British researchers obviously decided not to study the effects of “wild, wild women” … Perhaps they don’t have any such ladies in Britain upon which to base their research (?)
Pointless research, this was! It’s been well known for decades, centuries even. I learned about it as a young lad, way back in the middle of the twentieth century. “How come?” you might ask. Well, it was through the educational impact of a popular song.
And which song was that? None other than “Cigareets and Whuskey and Wild, Wild Women” (a.k.a. “Cigarettes and Whiskey and Wild, Wild Women” if you insist on use of the less colourful pronunciation).
What? You aren’t familiar with this memorable tune? Then let me remedy that.
Firstly, take a look at the lyrics here or here or here.
As for the tune itself, there are various renditions. Over at YouTube.com you can listen to the Big Three Trio’s classic version (Delta Records) with its measured tempo, and this somewhat similar rendition by the Cross Town Cowboys. And then there’s the Red Ingle and The Natural Seven’s 78 rpm interpretation. … And many more versions on YouTube are listed here.
My favorite version was performed by The Muppets with Peter Sellers, and here it is:
But let British supercentenarian Henry William Allingham (6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009) have the final word, doubtless with a twinkle in his eye:
Allingham credited "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women – and a good sense of humour" for his longevity.
So phooey to the new study, it hasn’t taught us much at all … has it?
