Hemingway Reference in Podcast?

[SonOfTheKMan]

This may be covered, and is probably ten years out of date, but it didn't strike me until today.

In the haunted house story, I forget which show it was, the one with the flies and the condom, Karl finds a shopping list with "nappy, dummy, blanket" and then on the other side "none of this now needed; baby dead."
This might fuel the "Karl is fake" conspiracy, but might also just be a coincidence, but this is too close to Hemingways famous short short short story, isn't it?
Hemingway's famous conceptual short story is, of course:

"For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn"

So... is it a case of the kids who left it making a reference to Hemingway (that NONE of the boys noticed)? A intended reference to Karl's fakeness? Or just a coincidence?

Thoughts?

Vid:

[ScottHanson]

Coincidence.

[SonOfTheKMan]

Coincidence.

But wouldn't at least Gervais be knowledgeable enough to see the connection?

[ScottHanson]

There isn't much of a connection.

[Scotland Rocks!]

Coincidence.

But wouldn't at least Gervais be knowledgeable enough to see the connection?

No.

I think you're expecting a bit much from two people who don't read literature...or Hemingway, for that matter.

[CantSayBien]

I don't even see the connection you're talking about, apart from the word "baby"

[mars bah bah bah]

Play a record lol.

[Nicola]

I don't really think there is a connection. Just two different anecdotes/stories about babies that never happened. And in Karl's story they never mentioned shoes.

[Kyng]

That's well spotted, Son of K! I always felt there was something strangely familiar about this story about the dead baby but couldn't really put my finger on it. Now that you mention it, yes, this is it.

However,I think there is a reasonable explanation (or many, in fact.) First, it might have been a piece of paper with the actual Hemingway ''story'' on it (written down by somebody for whatever drugcrazed reason), and Karl just quoted it in his own way, not really remembering the details. I mean, this really is the ''Karl's version'' of the shortest story ever written! (Though he has plenty of those.)

Second, well..., actually why there should be a reason? This Hemingway story or joke or whatever it is is kind of common knowledge, so I'm not so suprised if a variation of it appears in an abandoned looney house.

And Hemingway himself wasn't the happiest of bunnies was he. So the milieu is certainly appropriate.

[Kyng]

Karl's ''conceptual shortest story'':

So there is this list umm... of baby things alright? Like an advertisement or summin'... like for nappies and blankets and such. And a dummy, yeah? But the thing is, and listen to this...the baby is dead already. A bit weird. Innit?

[swingball]

Play a record lol.

Couldn't agree more, really clutching with this connection.

[You Are Joking]

Don't want to doubly wee on this bonfire, but Hemingway probably never even wrote that "short short story" anyway. http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/babyshoes.asp. So I'm afraid, a bit like the psychological test by the famous American fella that finds out if you're a psychopath, this is one of those stupid little shitty things.

[MECHANT!]

You could be onto something here, I remember reading a poem by Edgar Allan Poe involving Condoms and flies

[monkeysandthat]

and i'm sure shakespeare's aunt had a split tennis ball on show.