T-Rex: There was a time when we assigned labels to areas of the IQ scale: if you were 0-19 you were medically an "idiot", 20-49 was "imbecile", and 50-69 was "moron".
T-Rex: But then folks started using these medical terms as insults!
T-Rex: So we removed THOSE names because they turned diagnosis into a horrible insult, and instead labelled areas as "mild" to "profound mental retardation", with that word being at the time an INoffensive word meaning "slow"! But people grabbed that medical term and turned it pejorative too. Turns out, every time we come up with a new way to describe something it runs the risk of being turned into an insult!
Utahraptor: It's the euphemism treadmill!
T-Rex: IT SURE IS. And we're all stuck on it!
T-Rex: It's not just for insults: "toilet" started out life as a euphemism (it came from French, where it suggested dressing and washing), and from that came other euphemisms, like "water closet", "ladies' room", and "restroom"!
Utahraptor: What did people call toilets before "toilet"?
T-Rex: "Honest Jakes".
Off panel: Oh my gosh, I'm never using the word "toilet" again.
T-Rex: Uh, hard same??
