I spotted this last weekend. The phrase was not new to me but I could not remember why – again the internet acting as a memory back-up. It seems the original phrase was ‘Man needs God like a fish needs a bicycle’ or even ‘Aragon didn't need an American consul any more than a cow needs a bicycle; for it had no trade with America, and no American tourist ever dreamed of stopping there’ from 1898. In 1970, ‘A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle’ was coined and which in turn led to a Guinness ad. As DOT is apt to comment, all of the above is as beneficial as a lighthouse in a bog – totally brilliant, correct and accurate but of no benefit in explaining the reason for the particular fish on the particular bicycle in the harbour at Ballyvaughan. The non-existence of the website on the pontoon only adds to the mystery. | |