[BlueLancer]

I recall reading one of the Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser, one of the many of the series that was set in Afghanistan. In it, an Afghani princess confides to Colonel Harry Flashman that Moslem men are clueless in that they know that their wives are always buying cucumbers, but there's never any in the salads.

That line never fails to set me laughing ...

[MoochPooch]

Moslem men are clueless in that they know that their wives are always buying cucumbers, but there's never any in the salads

I read somewhere that (seriously) cucumbers were prohibited in the Sultan's harem.