Pysma

Pysma (pys’-ma): The asking of multiple questions successively (which would together require a complex reply). A rhetorical use of the question.

“Why is my hair brown? Why do boats float? Why do knives cut? Why is sugar sweet? Why do things explode? Where do trees come from?” These are just a few of the questions my daughter asked while we had breakfast. It happened every day. Non-stop questions. She was a girl. What the hell was she doing asking all those questions? It drove me so crazy, I even inquired with Dr. Formbee whether I could have her larynx removed so she couldn’t talk any more. He told me I WAS crazy and I better shut up with talk like that—that my daughter Scarlet was a bright, inquisitive girl that deserved my love and respect.

I wracked my brain. I had to find a way. I considered duct tape, but that didn’t show love and respect. I invented a “jaw jammer.” It was a bungee chord that went under the chin and clamped her mouth shut. But, that didn’t show love and respect. Last, I had heard people say “Put a sock in it” when they wanted a person to be quiet. But, like my remedies, it didn’t show love and respect.

Then, I got an idea that DID show love and respect. I bought Scarlet an Encyclopedia Brittanica. Now, when she asked me a question, almost before the words were out of her mouth, I would tell her “Look it up in your encyclopedia.” She would go look it up and then come back and recite the answer from memory. This wasn’t an improvement over what we had, but at least she got an answer. This all happened before desktop computers were invented, or I just would’ve told Scarlet to “Google ir.” But, I didn’t have that luxury.

Eventually, she came up with a question-answer game. It was a deck of cards with the cards having a question on one side and its answer on the other. It was a two-person n game. The “Dealer” would hold up a card with the question facing the “Player.” The Player had to answer the question correctly to continue playing. When the Player couldn’t answer, or answered wrong, the Dealer would pass the deck and become the Player. The game was called “Smarty Pants.” The game took off and the rights were purchased by Milton-Bradly for $500,000 plus royalties. Eventually, Smarty Pants became a popular Tv game show with the cards turned around—with answers showing and the questions were guessed.

Scarlet became too busy with the business to constantly ask questions. I, on the other hand, have written a book titled “Shinola!” It shows how to make money from things that would otherwise be a pain in the ass. Of course, Scarlet is my key success story that undergirds the book and makes it credible. There are a number of easy steps you can take to find a niche you can profit from with “your pain in the ass.” The book is self-published on Amazon. Sale are slow, but I’m sure I’ll sell a book sooner or later.

Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)

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