[A. Pole]

An academic bombshell, the tome went against long-held beliefs by claiming that few colonial Americans actually owned guns.

Americans at that time were using bows and arrows instead. Or maybe it was American Indians?

Mr. Bellesiles, when asked to explain, provided ever-more outlandish excuses: that his notes had been lost in a flood, that his Web site had been hacked, that he couldn't remember where he'd found certain documents.

Did he check his dog? I suspect that dog ate his notes.

Either way the great discovery of Mr. Bellesiles will become unquestionable truth together with global warming, deadliness of second hand smoking, genetic gay (joyful) nature of homosexuality, benefits of free trade and genocide in Kosovo/Srebrenica.

[Buffettbassman]

If his dog ate his notes, don't you think we should lodge a complaint with PETA because he mistreated the animal, which he should not be keeping in animal slavery any way, by leaving the notes where the previously free range, feral canine could be easily posioned by the old wood forest tree pulp which was treated with countless polluting agents and ruining the environment.

The cad!

[Marauder]

I suspect that dog ate his notes.

Or flooded them.