# General > General Knives & Blades >  Machetes vs Green Coconuts

## Pict

YouTube - Ten Green Coconuts

This video is based on a simple concept, machetes and green coconuts. Most people in the Northern Hemisphere think that coconut water comes neatly packaged in sterile boxes. Reality is somewhat harsher. 

If the splitting of green coconuts with machetes makes you feel uneasy or you have some moral objection to the eating of green coconuts or the splitting of green coconuts with machetes then please look away. These green coconuts were raised for human consumption and splitting them wide open with sharp steel machetes is simply a daily reality of life in the tropics.

Please dont search for any deeper meaning or allegory in this video. It is not a commentary on modern American liberalism.  I promise that I was NOT thinking of Nancy Reid or Harry Pelosi when I made this video.  It really is just a simple video about green coconuts, machetes, and the people who love them.

Machetes in order of appearance

#1. 14 inch Tramontina Bolo

#2. 14 inch Tramontina Bolo

#3. 16 inch Latin Pattern Tramontina

#4. 14 inch Tramontina Bolo

#5. 12 inch Ontario CT1

#6. Condor Puerto Rican Machete (I had just received this one as a gift)

#7. I put the Cold Steel Bushman in this video to give some form of comparison between a seven inch knife and a machete. The Job was finished with a 13 Inch SAICO.

#8. 13 Inch SAICO Heavy Machete (SAICO is a Brazilian brand)

#9. 20 Inch Chies Machete

#10. 14 inch Modified Tramontina Golok of my own design

The Giant Toad is commonly called a Sapo Boi or Bull Toad. This one lives in our yard and happened to show up while we were filming. Hes so ugly even the Pit Bull leaves him alone.

Mac

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## Themeek

Great vid, seems like you lose a lot of the water that way though. :Innocent: 
I was wondering, what is that tool you used to poke a hole in the coconut to drain it, and where can one be found?

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## rebel

Thanks for the vid.

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## Pict

The coconuts are empty when they are split.  We drain them in the kitchen first.  I only showed the whole process with the last one.

Those tools are common here in Brazil.  I don't know of a US importer.

Mac

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## rebel

> The coconuts are empty when they are split.  We drain them in the kitchen first.  I only showed the whole process with the last one.
> 
> Those tools are common here in Brazil.  I don't know of a US importer.
> 
> Mac


Could one be made from a piece of pipe?

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## Pict

Yes, there are cheap versions of that tool made here from pipe but they end up getting twisted.  That one's heavy duty stainless.  They cost about $15.00 here but if you drink coconuts like we do it's worth every penny.  Mac

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## rebel

Mac,
Which machete did you like the best in your vid?

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## crashdive123

Thanks.  Very entertaining video.

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## hunter63

Great vid, the first couple with bare feet gave me the willies though......I'm a steel toe kind of guy, have one scar on my ankle from a glancing ax
Thanks.

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## Pict

The way they are set on the railroad ties and the and the angle of the chop don't allow it to go anywhere but into the wood.  I actually try to not stick it too deep through the coconut and into the wood.  The blade is coming straight down and winds up horizontal in most cases.

My favorite?  Might as well ask that of my kids.  I have used the 14 inch Bolo as my kitchen machete for years but that Condor has got my attention recently.  Mac

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## Pict

> Mac,
> Which machete did you like the best in your vid?


I have used the 14 inch Bolo as my kitchen machete for years.  In the bush I most often carry the 16 inch Tramontina.  In North America I carry the 12 inch Ontario.

That Condor Puerto Rican is a very scary blade that will serve well in this role as a kitchen blade and also may come in handy for Home Defense.  If I had to cut my way out of a fight with a machete, that would be the one.

The Long 20 inch is one of the ones I use for clearing vacant lots.

The cut down Tramontina Golok is going to be my new utility bush blade for much of the terrain I hike through.  I wanted a blade that cuts like a 16 inch Tramontina in a shorter package.  That was a prototype but I think I got it right.

Mac

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## Batch

I just used the standard Mora to cut the husk off of a green coconut. 

I would like to get a hold of that spike you used.

I am interested in any tips on coconut harvesting. I have the following:

Put the nut in a cooler environment such as a freezer to loosen the meat from the shell.

limit your coconut water (we called it milk growing up) to 3 cups a day as it has a strong laxative effect.

To get the coconut oil grind the meat and add water and then squeeze through a cloth. Boil the water out and you'll have coconut oil for a food additive or fuel...

The fastest way I know to husk a coconut is a pick axe stuck in the ground. I have seen other tools all based on the same principle.

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## Rick

You can tap a ripe coconut around its equator with the handle of a knife or some other hard object and it will crack open. I've never tried it on the green ones.

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## Batch

Rick, that is the nut its self. I take a heavy blade like the back of a cleaver and work it around the nut.

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## Rick

Oh. Well, where I live nuts are about the only thing you encounter. Along with the occasional coconut.

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## Pict

"limit your coconut water (we called it milk growing up) to 3 cups a day as it has a strong laxative effect."

I'm not sure this applies to coconut water from a green, unripe coconut.  The mature dry, hard coconut milk is much stronger tasting and I can't drink much of it at all.  I have drunk as many as three green coconuts in a day and haven't noticed any ill effects, that's about a liter and half.

I have heard that both the Americans and Japaneses used green coconut water as an IV during the war in the Pacific.

"_As a tree sap, coconut water is essentially the "blood" of the coconut palm. The electrolyte profile of coconut water is somewhat similar to human plasma and for that reason it has been used by doctors as an intravenous solution and injected directly into the bloodstream to prevent dehydration. When freshly extracted from the coconut, this liquid is free from germs and parasites. Doctors working in tropical climates have often used the water from coconuts as IV solutions, a common practice during world war 2 and in Vietnam where commercial IV solutions were often in short supply.* Water from unopened coconut is uncontaminated by bacteria, fungi, or other pathogens. Therefore, if properly prepared, it cancan be given intravenously without fear of introducing microorganisms. Recent research on the use of coconut water as an intravenous fluid has shown it to compare favorable with commercial solutions.*  Coconut water does not harm red blood cells, is non-allergenic, and is readily accepted by the body. It is considered a safe and useful means of rehydration, particularly when a patient suffers from a potassium deficiency.* In fact, coconut water has been shown to be just as effective as commercial electrolyte solutions in prolonging survival times in sick patients.* Researchers have demonstrated that coconut water can be given through intravenous infusion by as much as one fourth to one third of the patients body weight without complications_."

*MORE ON COCONUT WATER*

Mac

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## Rick

I learn more stuff on this forum. I have never heard of using coconut water as a substitute for plasma.

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## owl_girl

what makes them fizzy like soda? they dont taste fermented. maybe its just starting. but thats how i like them, sweet and fizzy.

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## Trabitha

> "limit your coconut water (we called it milk growing up) to 3 cups a day as it has a strong laxative effect."
> 
> I'm not sure this applies to coconut water from a green, unripe coconut.  The mature dry, hard coconut milk is much stronger tasting and I can't drink much of it at all.  I have drunk as many as three green coconuts in a day and haven't noticed any ill effects, that's about a liter and half.
> 
> I have heard that both the Americans and Japaneses used green coconut water as an IV during the war in the Pacific.
> 
> "_As a tree sap, coconut water is essentially the "blood" of the coconut palm. The electrolyte profile of coconut water is somewhat similar to human plasma and for that reason it has been used by doctors as an intravenous solution and injected directly into the bloodstream to prevent dehydration. When freshly extracted from the coconut, this liquid is free from germs and parasites. Doctors working in tropical climates have often used the water from coconuts as IV solutions, a common practice during world war 2 and in Vietnam where commercial IV solutions were often in short supply.* Water from unopened coconut is uncontaminated by bacteria, fungi, or other pathogens. Therefore, if properly prepared, it cancan be given intravenously without fear of introducing microorganisms. Recent research on the use of coconut water as an intravenous fluid has shown it to compare favorable with commercial solutions.*  Coconut water does not harm red blood cells, is non-allergenic, and is readily accepted by the body. It is considered a safe and useful means of rehydration, particularly when a patient suffers from a potassium deficiency.* In fact, coconut water has been shown to be just as effective as commercial electrolyte solutions in prolonging survival times in sick patients.* Researchers have demonstrated that coconut water can be given through intravenous infusion by as much as one fourth to one third of the patients body weight without complications_."
> 
> *MORE ON COCONUT WATER*
> ...


I was going to ask that exact question!  Thanks Mac!

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## Pict

> what makes them fizzy like soda? they dont taste fermented. maybe its just starting. but thats how i like them, sweet and fizzy.


I have never had a fizzy one.  The ones we get are usually under alot of pressure and squirt all over once you punch the spike into them.  Mac

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## owl_girl

hawaii has fizzy ones. some are sweet and some are not, and some taste like coconut and some taste like sugar water. have you ever tried one that just got the tip of a sprout coming out of it? it has a spongy inside where its normally hollow. that can taste really good depending on how sweet the coconut is. in hawaii they called it samoan ice cream.

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## Pict

I have never tried a sprouted coconut.  I imagine you would have to leave the nut on the tree until it was fully mature and drops off on its own.  Ours get shipped long before that.

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## Batch

Mac, Thanks for the reply. Most of what I know of coconuts I got from growing up down here and having them everywhere. I just recently started reading about them. 

One of the problems I have here is that everybody is an expert. My neighbor from Trinidad and a couple of other people I have known from the Caribbean swear that their are different types of coconut trees. Mostly they say green, brown and yellow.  I haven't seen anything that supports that.

I was told when I was young that the juice was called coconut milk. Later, people said that the milk and the water were different. Some said that the water turned to milk. I just read and it appears that coconut milk is made from the meat of a mature coconut. 

Also googling coconut laxative brings up more hits for coconut milk than coconut water. So, I wonder if the few books that I have read recently that have mentioned limiting intake to 3 cups a day had not just been misinformed. 

When we were kids we opened mature fruit that had fallen from the tree. We were shown to use a hammer and a screw drive and make a dotted line three times down the husk and then pry the husk off of the nut. A very slow process that I would recommend people not use. LOL

I have seen people make quick work of the husk with a knife near the beaches here. They use a regular butcher type knife and cut the husk off of the end of the coconut to expose the eyes and then they open the eyes and stick a straw in to it and sell it right there to people.

I usually let the neighbors take my coconuts. Because, otherwise I had to pick them up when they fell. Last weekend I used a ladder and a push pole to knock a green coconut down and open it with a Mora. It wasn't horribly difficult to open. But, there must be a technique that I am missing. Any tips you can give me there would be appreciated.

I did read where coconut water is listed as both a good hydrate and a good laxative in the same article. I read that the more mature the coconut, the stronger the laxative. I don't know. I have never experienced any laxative effect that I can remember. 

Here is one of the articles:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4742587_of-c...-wellness.html

*"Coconut water aids people with constipation problems. This natural juice has a laxative effect. Drinking lots of coconut water everyday improves bowel movement by loosening the stools."*

The small nut is supposed to be edible. I tried one with a gel like meat that could be scooped out and eaten. This supposed to be good for you as well. I will probably pull a couple out of the tree and play around with them today. I'll snap a couple of pics. 

Have you played with coconut husks or shells as fire fuel or tinder? I had better luck burning the shells than the husks. But, I used nuts that had been on the ground for days.

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## Rick

*"Coconut water aids people with constipation problems. This natural juice has a laxative effect. Drinking lots of coconut water everyday improves bowel movement by loosening the stools."

*Drinking lots of plain water everyday will do the same thing.

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## Pict

I drank a full liter of coconut water yesterday with no noticeable negative effects.  here they sell coconut water and coconut milk, which is white and thick, hardly a beverage.  The water from a dry, mature coconut is very strong and is most likely what they warn against with the severe laxative effect.

The jelly stuff in a green, unripe coconut is the meat as it is beginning to form.  I like it, that's why I open them.

I have never played with naturally ripened coconuts still in the husk.  We don't have wild coconut trees around here, they mainly grow in coastal areas.  Mac

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## owl_girl

> My neighbor from Trinidad and a couple of other people I have known from the Caribbean swear that their are different types of coconut trees. Mostly they say green, brown and yellow.


there are different types of coconut trees.
http://ambergriscaye.com/cocopalms/palmtype.html
http://groups.google.com/group/cocon...81fbc8805aceb1
http://www.cookycoconuts.com/typesofcoconuttrees.html

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## owl_girl

the bf climbing and chopping with our kukri
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## Pict

That's only a free coconut for you, he paid plenty for them.  Great action shot.

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## Rick

LOL. Any attempt I would make in that regard will involve the numbers 911. The are MUCH cheaper for me to purchase at the store. 

"Honey, are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?"
"No."
"Then why did you even ask?!"
"Should I call them?"
"Please."

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## hunter63

We don't have coconuts around here, so getting mugged at the store would be the most dangerous part.

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## Rick

Hunter, Rick and AFLIneman after coconuts....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7GdRhj8Vu0

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## crashdive123

When I lived in Hawaii I used to watch the little kids go up to tourists and point to the coconuts in a tree asking if they would like a coconut for a dollar.  Every time the zinc coated nose, Bermuda shorts wearing guy with black socks and white sneakers said sure - fully expecting the kid to scurry up the tree and retrieve a coconut - his partner would push the cart over and hand the dismayed tourist a coconut.  The kids would gather all that had fallen the night before.  They were true little entrepreneurs.

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## Rick

Ha!! That's funny. I've told this story before but it's a good one so what the hey....

When we landed in Nova Scotia the little kids would hit up all the tourists for an American dollar. I saw them hitting the first group and pulled my wife off to the side and said watch this. Those kids went through the crowd like a dose of salts then scurried off to the exchange bank to convert it to Canadian. They knew the drill.

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## owl_girl

this is a sprouted coconut
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if you get the chance try it. its all foamy

oh and have you grilled coconut yet? it taste like ham. no kidding. soak the meat in salt water then fry it and make coconut BLTs

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## Batch

So, the sprouted coconut is a brown nut that fell and sprouted?

As far as I can tell there is only one species. Cocos nucifera.

But, the way the article explained it is how I have had it explained to me before.

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## owl_girl

> So, the sprouted coconut is a brown nut that fell and sprouted?
> 
> As far as I can tell there is only one species. Cocos nucifera.
> 
> But, the way the article explained it is how I have had it explained to me before.


ya its a coconut that spouted. regardless of the color it was it will turn brown when it gets that old. and they will all have that stuff in them when they sprout.

i dont know what causes the color variation as far as the orange, yellow, and green ones go. its not age. it might be light or soil differences. i dont think it has much to do with species. but there are dwarf ones thats for sure. they will produce coconuts at a shorter height and have a thicker trunk for its height then a non dwarf one.

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## crashdive123

Here's some info on coconut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut  As far as the differing colors of coconuts - I was under the impression (could be wrong) that it was varying stages of ripening.

Coconut sprouts - When the seed of the coconut tree drops - once that seed starts to sprout (grow a new tree) the milk in the center is no longer present and the fiberous mass has formed.

Batch - where you live you can make your own.  Grab a couple that have fallen and plant them (half burried with the stem end up).  When the sprouts are a couple of inches long pull it up, open and eat - or let it continue to grow into a tree.

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## owl_girl

no its not just varying stages of ripening. some start orange and stay orange till they tern brown. others start green and stay green till they tern brown.

you dont need to bury coconuts for them to spout. i wouldnt cause then its more likely to rot or be full of ants.

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## owl_girl

http://www.springerlink.com/content/l3768rk217kw7169/
yes they are all _Cocos nucifera_. but you can have a 3rd name and it would still count as _Cocos nucifera_.
for example if you look up _Cucurbita pepo_ you will not find one species but many and you will have to add a therd name to narrow it down like this _Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca_. _Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca_ is still _Cucurbita pepo_ get it?
so to narrow coconuts down you would go _Cocos nucifera var. Spicata_ or some other one and its still _Cocos nucifera._ 

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Order : Arecales
Family : Arecaceae
Genus : Cocos
Species : Cocos nucifera
Subspecies: Spicata

both a wolf and a house dog are _Canis lupus_  but a house doge is subspecies _familiaris._ (Canis lupus familiaris) :Tt2:

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## Batch

Oh, I guess that makes sense.

Crash, I have a couple out back now.

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## crashdive123

Several years ago I planted a couple of coconuts as I described above.  I was able to baby them through the first winter, but they didn't survive the second.  Just a bit too cold here for them.

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## owl_girl

> Several years ago I planted a couple of coconuts as I described above.  I was able to baby them through the first winter, but they didn't survive the second.  Just a bit too cold here for them.


did you try Christmas lights?

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## Batch

They are every where down here. But, I noticed some trees seemed to have been producing sub par fruit since Wilma blew through here. My tree out back is fine. But, a lot are producing small nuts that brown very early. 

I know we also have had problems with a palm desease called Lethal Yellowing.

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## owl_girl

some of those links i posted talks about a variety that is immune to lethal yellowing. you could try that one.

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## hunter63

Y'all got mind on this song, can't get it out:

Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime
His sister had another one, she paid it for a lime.
She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up
She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up
She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up
She put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up,
And said, "Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?
I say, Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?"
"Now let me get this straight ",
Put the lime in the coconut, you drank them both up
Put the lime in the coconut, you drank them both up
Put the lime in the coconut, you drank them both up
Put the lime in the coconut, you called your doctor, woke him up,
And say, 'Doctor, ain't there nothing I can take,
I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?
I say, Doctor, doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say, Doctor, dooooctor, to relieve this belly ache?'
Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both together,
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better,
Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up,
Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning
Wouh wouh wouh wouh wouh
Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime
His sister had another one, she paid it for a lime.
She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up,
She put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up,
Say "Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?
I say, Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say Doctor! let me get this straight".
You put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up,
You put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up,
You put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up,
Put the lime in the coconut, you such a silly woman!,
Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both together,
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better.
Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both down
Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning
Woo Woo, ain't there nothin' you can take, I say
Woo Woo, to relieve my belly ache,
You say woo woo ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Woo woo, to relieve your belly ache,
You say yah yah, ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Waah waah, to relieve this belly ache,
I say doctor!, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say doctor!, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say doctor!, ain't there nothin' I can take,
I say Doctor!, you such a silly woman!,
Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both together,
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better,
Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up,
Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the moooooorning,
Yes, you call me in the morning,
If you call me in the morning, then [X5]


http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/pract...ic/coconut.htm

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## crashdive123

> did you try Christmas lights?


I used 2 75 watt flood lights under a make shift teepee.  I turned it on if the temps dropped below 35.  I was just not meant to be.

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## Rick

Well no wonder. They couldn't get any sleep. Sheeeesh!

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## Batch

> some of those links i posted talks about a variety that is immune to lethal yellowing. you could try that one.


I'll read up. Thanks.

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## rebel

> Y'all got mind on this song, can't get it out:
> 
> Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime
> His sister had another one, she paid it for a lime.
> She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up
> She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up
> She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up
> She put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up,
> And said, "Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take,
> ...


I like that song.

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## Rick

Yeah, but you're a rebel.

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