Rockets Center Yao Ming Says Fruitcakes are Garbage

"Fruit cake" isn't a U.S strict product.. But it is where it is most unappreciated.. and downright detested..

So more likely than not.. it will be viewed as the joke it was meant to be.. Be the joke uttered by a local American or not.. Most will agree with the remark.. with good humor..

 

Either the script was badly written or Yao misread the line.

I think detest might be too strong of word. Many people like tasting fruit cakes including myself, but just hate them as a gift.

The line should have been, as someone already posted, buy something nobody likes such as a fruit cake as a donation to China, which is a very good thing to do.

Instead people like me first construed the joke as a critique of fruit cake because of the reference to garbage in Chinese, which is a little bit confusing in the context of donation. If it is a useless gift, it would be still useless in English, right? This Chinese reference is not necessary, and adds possible misunderstanding IMHO.

Well, just a little surprised this thing went on 3 pages. I hope some of yall see what I was seeing now.

 

Yao's just simply referring to the American common culture. While fruitcakes can taste good, but when I think of fruitcakes, I think of "garbage". And that is the byproduct of the American culture that degrades fruitcakes as gifts in general. Not that I would throw a fruitcake into the trash when I see one, but I would if I get one for Christmas. And that's where the pop culture reference comes in, most fruitcakes given as presents ultimately would end up in a trash can unfinished or even uneaten.