Re: Well that's my wallet raped for another couple of weeks

Athol wrote:
>
>Rape seed is the original name for a specific oil seed plant.  The
>reality is that the word "rape" didn't used to have the negative
>connotations that it does now.  Because the original term became a
>negative, someone came up with a completely different name for the
>plant, and it's now commonly known as Canola.

It's not nearly that simple!  :)

In agspeak, canola only refers to the the commercially grown oilseed
varieties (not all rape is oilseed).    It was first grown
commercially in Canada during WW2, as a lubricant, which is where the
name canola originated. 

More correctly, it refers only to those commercial cultivars of the
oilseed varieties which have specified (low) levels of erucic acid and
glucosinolates (naturally occurring toxicants).  Nowadays it's mainly
used as cooking oil.  Non oilseed varieties (still called rape) are
also grown commercially as forage crops... ie used for grazing
animals.

Google *brassica napus* if you want the complete story.  :)

-- 
John H