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Comment by Kye | Hacker News Reader

I still encounter people who don't know "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" was a heavily censored version of the real show. They realize how weird the edits are in retrospect, but it didn't register much/at all for them at the time.

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> "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles"

Are you referring to the UK version of the 1987 animated "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" TV series? I never realized it was considered controversial! [0]

0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_(...

Heavens above, Myrtle! That turtle is a ninja! With nunchaku! Someone think of the children!

> nunchaku

Huh, you weren't kidding. Banned and censored in the UK, banned in Canada, Germany, and several US states... because of Bruce Lee? Bizarre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunchaku#Legality

So is Napoleon Dyanamite censored too? I think he mentions nunchucks

The word isn't banned.

This sounds so hilariously quaint to someone in the US like me. But, I guess that's because I'm used to being surrounded by people armed to the gills with assault rifles and shit. Maybe if you're in a mostly gun-free country, nunchaku actually seem kind of scary and threatening.

Especially ironic given nunchaku as a practical weapon is really not that great, especially in the hands of an amateur. A common kitchen knife or an iron rod (or even a good sturdy stick) would probably be more dangerous. It may be a great tool for a martial artist to develop valuable dexterity and speed skills, but as a practical weapon... It's common though for politicians to ban things out of sheer ignorance and following cultural stereotypes borrowed from fictional movies.

This is what the UK police confiscates in their "weapons sweeps" these days:

https://twitter.com/MPSRegentsPark/status/974645778558980096

TIL of Hero Turtles! That literally blows my mind.

On this, Dragon Ball is heavily edited too

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